Joe Finnerty

Progress on improving road safety has stalled as focus seems to move elsewhere

GREAT Britain has some of the safest roads in the world, with road deaths falling drastically since the early 2000s and cars being held to an increasingly high standard of testing.

But latest Department for Transport (DFT) figures show progress has stalled. Since 2010 there has been no reduction in drink-drive deaths; the rate is now 240 a year. Total road deaths have remained static, too, and there’s even been a two per cent increase in serious casualties in the past 12 months.

Clearly, big improvements that helped slash figures 20 years ago, like mandatory airbags, aren’t so easy to find and returns are ever diminishing. Driver assistance systems are seen as the next big step, but that could take several years to show any real affect.

There’s a separate issue, too. The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety says the casualtyreporting system is vulnerable, in part down to shrinking police forces. As editor Graham Hope wrote (Issue 1,434), traffic cops are fighting a lost cause to keep roads safe in the face of harsh cutbacks to staff. This is highlighted by seven police forces, including some of the largest ones like the Met and Greater Manchester, failing to submit official casualty reports in time, forcing the DFT to estimate the figures for Q1 of 2016.

For a nation that prides itself on a top road safety record, all this is disappointing and unacceptable. The Home Office needs to make it clear to police forces they must keep up-todate records, and Government must reintroduce road safety targets to bring cutting deaths and serious injuries back into sharp focus.

“Since 2010 there has been no reduction in drink-drive deaths; it’s hovering at 240 a year“