Fatalities on West Midlands' roads fall

Date: 8/3/2011

Last year saw the lowest number of people losing their lives while travelling on roads in the West Midlands since 1996, according to police figures.

West Mercia Police and the Safer Roads Partnership have announced that casualties involved in collisions now stand at an all-time low for the region.

During 2010, 47 individuals lost their lives in road accidents in the area, while 330 were seriously injured.

This was almost half the 1994-98 average of 97 fatalities annually and far lower than the typical 1,236 severe injuries recorded each year.

Vicki Bristow, Communications Manager at the Safer Roads Partnership in West Mercia, says: "It's encouraging that the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads continues to fall and this, in part, is testament to the hard work and investment that continues to be undertaken by the partnership."

Meanwhile, Superintendent Matt Mead of West Mercia Police claims the force will continue to work closely with the road safety organisation to maintain this trend, by delivering a combination of enforcement and education initiatives.

Elsewhere, a new DVD is to be shown to pupils in the Isle of Wight in an effort to teach them the risks of dangerous driving on the island's roads.

Posted by Sarah Bailey