1 Introduction
1. It will be fifty years this December since
the first motorway opened in Britain.[1]
In 1958 there were seven million motor vehicles licensed in Britain,
resulting in the deaths of 6,000 people.[2]
By 2007 the number of licensed motor vehicles and vehicle mileage
covered had increased by 400%, yet deaths had halved to below
3,000 - the lowest figure since records began in 1926. This is
a remarkable achievement by all involved, right across the road
safety spectrum.[3]
Figure
1: Road traffic deaths in Great Britain 1958-2007
Sources: Department for Transport, Road Casualties
Great Britain 2007: Annual Report, September 2008, Table 1a; and
Department for Transport, Transport Statistics Great Britain 2007,
November 2007, Table 8.1.
2. And yet, as is so often pointed out in progress
reviews, the deaths of three thousand people and injuries to a
quarter of a million are a staggering annual toll to pay for mobility.
It is inconceivable that any transport system invented today would
be accepted, no matter what its benefits, if it involved this
level of carnage.
3. Our witnesses pointed out how road accidents
have an impact on society on multiple levels. At a personal level,
road deaths are devastating not only for the victims but also
for the families and friends left behind. Professor Danny Dorling
of Sheffield University told us that road accidents were the largest
single cause of death for people between the ages of 5 and 35
in Britain.[4] Road accidents
cost our economy about 1.5% of GDP - some £18 billion each
year.[5] Dealing with road
safety is a major item of public expenditure[6]
that extends far beyond the budgets and boundaries of the Department
for Transport and its agencies. This involves not only the local
highway authorities, and health and police services but also others
whose involvement may not be so well appreciated.[7]
The Fire and Rescue Service, for example, now spends a large proportion
of its resources on dealing with road traffic collisions.[8]
Road safety also affects wider transport policy. Making pedestrians
and cyclists feel safer is crucial to promoting walking and cycling.[9]
On the railways the largest risk of a catastrophic train accident
comes from road vehicles, mainly at level crossings.[10]
4. Few people, if any, would argue that we should
not try to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our
roads. Yet road safety is a contentious issue. Relatives of those
killed in traffic collisions call for radical measures whilst
restrictions on the rights of individuals to take risks are often
strongly resisted by some motorists.[11]
Even after detailed analysis, it is not easy to prove exactly
which measures are effective. The Netherlands has seen impressive
reductions in road deaths between 2004 and 2006. Yet the Dutch
road safety institute SWOV concludes that "It has not been
possible to find an explanation for […] two-thirds of the
decrease."[12]
5. Even the meaning of road safety is disputed.
For some, as implied by the Government's casualty reduction target,
safety is the absence of death and injury. By this count the UK
does relatively well, with 'only' 5.4 deaths per 100,000 population
- placing it sixth amongst European countries after Malta, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.[13]
In contrast, the USA has almost 15 deaths per 100,000 population.
Yet for others, road safety implies freedom from the dangers associated
with motor vehicles. These dangers may not always lead to accidents
but the threat can impose restrictions on the people's daily lives,
particularly for children, older people and those wishing to walk
or travel on two wheels. Some of our witnesses emphasised the
need to reduce dangers at source and not to unduly restrict the
freedoms of vulnerable road users, which may have other, undesirable
consequences.
6. In this Report, we examine the progress made
in reducing death and injuries and in reducing danger to vulnerable
road users. We focus on the diverging trends between deaths and
serious injuries. We then identify the key actions and delivery
mechanisms that we believe are needed to reduce casualties dramatically
beyond 2010. In particular, we highlight the need for a step-change
in approach, overseen by a high-level independent body to ensure
consistent, cross-departmental support.
1 The Preston Bypass was officially opened on 5 December
1958. It now forms junctions 29-32 of the M6. Back
2
Department for Transport, Transport Statistics Great Britain
2007, November 2007, Tables 8.1 and 9.1. In 1958 there were
7,175,000 motor vehicles licensed, 107 billion vehicle billion
kilometres and 5,970 people killed. In 2006 there were 33,369,000
motor vehicles and 511 billion vehicle kilometres; in 2007 2,946
people were killed. Back
3
Department for Transport, Road Casualties Great Britain
2007: Annual Report, September 2008. This annual publication is
the main source of information about casualties. As the title
suggests, it provides only basic information about casualties
in Northern Ireland. The figures quoted in our Report are therefore
mostly for Great Britain. Back
4
Ev 323 Back
5
Ev 333 Back
6
The Minister and official were unable to say what percentage of
the Department for Transport's budget was allocated for road safety.
See Q 428. Back
7
Q 153 Back
8
Ev 349 Back
9
Q 312 Back
10
Ev 315 Back
11
Ev 133 Back
12
"Why is the UK no longer number one for road safety fatalities?"
Local Transport Today, 21 March 2008, pp14-17 Back
13
Department for Transport, Road Casualties Great Britain
2007: Annual Report, September 2008, Table 51 Back
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