Brake calls for action as road casualty figures rise

Brake, the UK road safety charity, is calling on the government to take action to reduce the numbers killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads. In recent years road safety policy has been diminished by a lack of interest, urgency and resources, the consequences of which are becoming increasingly apparent as our road casualty figures begin to rise. Brake is calling on the government to act now to uphold its commitment to zero road deaths and injuries on the road. Road casualty figures just released
February 3, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
4235 Brake, the UK road safety charity, is calling on the government to take action to reduce the numbers killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads. In recent years road safety policy has been diminished by a lack of interest, urgency and resources, the consequences of which are becoming increasingly apparent as our road casualty figures begin to rise. Brake is calling on the government to act now to uphold its commitment to zero road deaths and injuries on the road.

Road casualty figures just released by the 1837 Department for Transport reveal that 25,160 people were killed or seriously injured in the year ending September 2016, a six per cent  increase, although there has been a small drop in slight injuries over the same period. Road casualties have increased for all road users during this period, with car occupant casualties increasing by 10 per cent and motorcyclist casualties by five per cent. The number of children (aged 0-15) killed or seriously injured on UK roads has risen by eight per cent.

Brake says this is clear evidence that action needs to be taken, particularly to protect the most vulnerable road users.  

In addition, the government’s provisional estimates suggest that there has been a ‘statistically significant’ increase in the numbers killed and seriously injured in a crash where one or more of the drivers were under the influence of alcohol. The number of collisions involving alcohol increased by two per cent over the same period, revealing a widespread problem that Brake says must be addressed. It is calling on the government to increase the resources available to the police so they can crack down on dangerous drivers that choose to get behind the wheel when they are over the limit.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Truvelo TRIMMS night-time speeds on unlit roads
    June 5, 2014
    Truvelo UK’s new TRIMMS infrared illumination enables mobile speed enforcement in the dead of night. Lincolnshire is the UK’s fourth-largest county, has a population of over a million and is predominantly rural. Only 66km of its 8,893km road network is dual carriageway and 79% of the rest is ‘C’ class or unclassified roads. In terms of Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) figures, there were 415 casualties in 2013 (down from 526 in 2002). Official figures show inappropriate speed accounts for 25% of the UK’s
    Read More
  • Ability to keep in touch on US buses woos travellers
    February 1, 2012
    David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri
    Read More
  • Ability to keep in touch on US buses woos travellers
    February 1, 2012
    David Crawford finds evidence of a new trend in American intercity travel: that better access to data sources on the move is tempting passengers away from air travel and onto surface modes. In the US the ease of use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) is successfully wooing long-distance travellers away from airlines and onto surface public transport, according to just-published research. Using data from field observations of 7,028 passengers travelling by bus, air and train in 14 US states and the Distri
    Read More
  • Car traffic in London is down but congestion is up, says new study
    May 18, 2016
    London Congestion Trends, an in-depth study of the causes of traffic congestion in London between 2012 and 2015 published by Inrix, indicates that congestion in London is increasing, with journey times in Central London growing by 12 per cent annually. Inrix says this is consistent with data that shows that the London economy and population are growing, which normally results in an increase in gridlock. Further, unemployment and fuel prices are down, both of which usually mean a rise in traffic. Despite thi
    Read More

Highlighted Content