Both the 5125 Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and road safety charity 3963 Brake have expressed serious concern over official figures showing increased road deaths in the UK. The Department of Transport’s Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2014 Annual Report says there were 1,775 reported road deaths in 2014, an increase of 4% compared with 2013. The IAM has called for a raft of measures to reverse the disappointing increase in numbers of people killed and injured on UK roads. It added the number of people seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents increased by 5% to 22,807 in 2014. A total of 194,477 people were killed or injured in reported road accidents in 2014
Worryingly drivers are to blame for most crashes. The most common factor which contributed to accidents in 2014 was drivers failing to look properly. The IAM is also concerned that pedestrians accounted for 75% of the increase in fatalities between 2013 and 2014. Pedestrian fatalities increased by 12% from 398 in 2013 to 446 in 2014. Brake added that casualties of all severities rose to 194,477 in in the UK in 2014, an increase of 6% from 2013, and the first increase in overall casualties since 1997.
Both the IAM and Brake have called for the reintroduction of casualty reduction targets, in a bid to tackle the rise in road deaths and serious injuries. The IAM is asking the UK Government to take radical steps to reverse these worrying figures before they become a long-term epidemic, in particular that pedestrian protection must be made a much higher priority, and the decline in numbers of police traffic officers must be reversed at the earliest opportunity. Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research, said, “These figures are very worrying, especially the fact that driver behaviour remains the top cause of crashes. We are clear on what needs to be done here. We call again for road safety targets to be reintroduced – they are an internationally recognised way of ensuring reductions are measured and achieved. There also must be a greater focus on driver and rider quality and incentives for companies and individuals to continuously develop their skills. There also needs to be a focus on tackling pedestrian deaths, an area which is often ignored. We believe that car technology and design should now shift from occupant protection to protecting the vulnerable outside cars.”
Greig suggested manufacturers should pursue developments like pop-up bonnets, pedestrian airbags and detector systems. He added, “We also need better pedestrian facilities to segregate traffic and vulnerable users where speeds are high, and campaigns to educate pedestrians themselves as they are most often at fault in crashes.”
Brake believes that there should be a ‘vision zero’ approach that acknowledges that any number of road deaths is unacceptable. In addition to pedestrians, other categories of vulnerable road user have also faced poor road safety. Serious injuries to cyclists rose by 8% to 3,401, continuing a long term trend that has been ongoing since 2004. Research shows too that in most incidents involving a cyclist and a motor vehicle, the driver of the motor vehicle is at fault.
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 is set to increase by 43% by 2035 and traffic delays by 50%.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, commented, “We should be under no illusions as to the seriousness of these figures. We know from running our helpline for devastated road crash victims that every road death causes unimaginable human suffering, and every one is preventable. The increases in serious casualties among pedestrians and cyclists are especially horrifying, given the importance of protecting vulnerable road users and enabling people to walk and cycle more.
“At a time when car manufacturers have serious questions to answer on vehicle emissions, it is worrying to see a growth in vehicle traffic.”
It advocates a comprehensive road strategy to help prevent deaths and life-changing injuries, including: ensuring there are sufficient numbers of road police officers to properly enforce road safety laws, with more targeted road policing at the minority of drivers who put themselves and others at risk by speeding, drink driving and using mobile phones; a reduction in the drink-drive limit in England and Wales; the introduction of a package of measures to reduce crashes involving young drivers, such as graduated driver licensing; and the creation of a safe cycling environment and improvement of driver and cyclist attitudes and behaviour towards each other.
Nick Lloyd, road safety manager at RoSPA, said that an improving economy will cause traffic levels to continue to increase and called for measures to ensure this does not lead to even more increases in road crashes and casualties.
He said the reductions in road death and injury in recent years will not automatically be sustained, without a continued commitment to road safety.
Worryingly drivers are to blame for most crashes. The most common factor which contributed to accidents in 2014 was drivers failing to look properly. The IAM is also concerned that pedestrians accounted for 75% of the increase in fatalities between 2013 and 2014. Pedestrian fatalities increased by 12% from 398 in 2013 to 446 in 2014. Brake added that casualties of all severities rose to 194,477 in in the UK in 2014, an increase of 6% from 2013, and the first increase in overall casualties since 1997.
Both the IAM and Brake have called for the reintroduction of casualty reduction targets, in a bid to tackle the rise in road deaths and serious injuries. The IAM is asking the UK Government to take radical steps to reverse these worrying figures before they become a long-term epidemic, in particular that pedestrian protection must be made a much higher priority, and the decline in numbers of police traffic officers must be reversed at the earliest opportunity. Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research, said, “These figures are very worrying, especially the fact that driver behaviour remains the top cause of crashes. We are clear on what needs to be done here. We call again for road safety targets to be reintroduced – they are an internationally recognised way of ensuring reductions are measured and achieved. There also must be a greater focus on driver and rider quality and incentives for companies and individuals to continuously develop their skills. There also needs to be a focus on tackling pedestrian deaths, an area which is often ignored. We believe that car technology and design should now shift from occupant protection to protecting the vulnerable outside cars.”
Greig suggested manufacturers should pursue developments like pop-up bonnets, pedestrian airbags and detector systems. He added, “We also need better pedestrian facilities to segregate traffic and vulnerable users where speeds are high, and campaigns to educate pedestrians themselves as they are most often at fault in crashes.”
Brake believes that there should be a ‘vision zero’ approach that acknowledges that any number of road deaths is unacceptable. In addition to pedestrians, other categories of vulnerable road user have also faced poor road safety. Serious injuries to cyclists rose by 8% to 3,401, continuing a long term trend that has been ongoing since 2004. Research shows too that in most incidents involving a cyclist and a motor vehicle, the driver of the motor vehicle is at fault.
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 is set to increase by 43% by 2035 and traffic delays by 50%.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, commented, “We should be under no illusions as to the seriousness of these figures. We know from running our helpline for devastated road crash victims that every road death causes unimaginable human suffering, and every one is preventable. The increases in serious casualties among pedestrians and cyclists are especially horrifying, given the importance of protecting vulnerable road users and enabling people to walk and cycle more.
“At a time when car manufacturers have serious questions to answer on vehicle emissions, it is worrying to see a growth in vehicle traffic.”
It advocates a comprehensive road strategy to help prevent deaths and life-changing injuries, including: ensuring there are sufficient numbers of road police officers to properly enforce road safety laws, with more targeted road policing at the minority of drivers who put themselves and others at risk by speeding, drink driving and using mobile phones; a reduction in the drink-drive limit in England and Wales; the introduction of a package of measures to reduce crashes involving young drivers, such as graduated driver licensing; and the creation of a safe cycling environment and improvement of driver and cyclist attitudes and behaviour towards each other.
Nick Lloyd, road safety manager at RoSPA, said that an improving economy will cause traffic levels to continue to increase and called for measures to ensure this does not lead to even more increases in road crashes and casualties.
He said the reductions in road death and injury in recent years will not automatically be sustained, without a continued commitment to road safety.
