Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership
News Archive
Five Years of Falling Casualties
Partnership is working to make roads a safer place.
New figures released 30/06/2005 show that roads in the Thames Valley have never been safer, as initiatives right across the region are driving home the message about dangers on the road.
To coincide with the national road casualty figures being released by the Department for Transport, local agencies involved in road safety are highlighting just how much improvement has been made on the regions roads in the last five years.
The combination of engineering, enforcement and education seems to be working as the number of casualties has fallen by 19.3% in the last five years; and the number of road deaths is down by nearly a quarter.
These reductions are being achieved across the whole spectrum of road types, vehicle types and driver profiles, suggesting that we are beginning to see a shift in the way that people drive across the entire road network.
Superintendent Mick Doyle, Head of Roads Policing for Thames Valley Police said:
“Whilst we are pleased that the reduction in the number of people killed and seriously injured means that less families have mourned the death of loved ones and less people have had their lives wrecked, one needless death is still one too many.”
Superintendent Mick Doyle continued, “Last year still saw one hundred and thirty people die on the roads of Thames Valley and more than nine and a half thousand injured. The causes of this unnecessary waste of life are well known; speed, drunk and drugged driving, failure to wear seat belts, dangerous and careless driving and driving when tired,. Together we can reduce this unacceptable loss of life and we will continue to work tirelessly in order to do so.”
One measure that has been particularly successful at reducing collisions has been the partnership programme of safety camera enforcement.
There has been a 44% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured across the sites where safety cameras have been working; that compares to a 24.6% reduction across all roads in the region.
Chris Scroxton, Project Manager for the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership commented:
“We work very closely with our local partners to reduce road traffic crashes because the tragic consequences are often avoidable. Today’s report and our own research show our efforts are making a significant contribution to improved road safety.”
Among the many other initiatives that are contributing to the improvements include new signing and engineering measures being run alongside the local Highway Authority’s education and training programmes, community safety work being undertaken by the Fire Service, and education courses for drivers caught speeding.
Created: 2005-10-25 08:56:31 | Last Updated: 2005-10-28 11:48:21
