Has to be a Brake on Rising Figures

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01 October 2015 | Updated 01 January 1970

The road safety charity, Brake, is calling on the government to show ‘strong leadership’ and reintroduce causality reduction targets.

The demand comes as the Department for Transport (DfT) publishes its figures for 2014 and shows that 1,775 people died on the roads (a 4% increase on the year before), 22,807 more were seriously injured (a 5% annual increase).

Casualties of all severities rose to 194,477 in Great Britain in 2014, an increase of 6% from 2013, interrupting what was a steady downward trend since 1997.

Brake believes the reintroduction of ambitious casualty reduction targets that were axed in 2010, must be a key first step in an urgently needed fight against road danger, alongside a ‘vision zero’ approach that acknowledges that any number of road deaths is unacceptable.

People on foot and bike bore the brunt of the rise:

• Pedestrian deaths rose by 12% to 446, accounting for three quarters of the overall rise in fatalities.
• Serious injuries to cyclists rose by 8% to 3,401, continuing a long term trend that has been ongoing since 2004.

Worryingly, traffic levels in 2014 were 2.4% higher than in 2013. Air pollution is estimated to cause 24,000 deaths a year in the UK, half attributable to road transport. The number of cars are set to increase by 43% by 2035 and traffic delays by 50%.

“The government needs to get a grip of this situation and it can start by reintroducing ambitious casualty reduction targets with an ultimate aim of reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads to zero,” stated Julie Townsend, Deputy CEO, Brake. “At a time when car manufacturers [also] have serious questions to answer on vehicle emissions, it is worrying to see a growth in vehicle traffic. The price for this is being paid by individuals, families and the planet and it’s not a price worth paying.”

Picture:    The latest DfT figures in 2014 have shown a rise in road accidents and death which Brake believes needs serious government intervention.

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 01 October 2015

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