In a new policy briefing entitled ‘Road Safety Beyond 2010’, PACTS stresses the importance of a road safety vision and strategy beyond 2010.
In the briefing, PACTS says: “A road safety vision and strategy for beyond 2010 is vital if we are to achieve political, professional and public buy-in and make a significant impact on casualty numbers.
“A vision and strategy are necessary parts of a safe system approach to road safety which stresses the importance of and interaction between the road user, the road environment and the vehicle.
“Prioritising a vision and road safety strategy against which outcomes and progress can be measured will encourage the most effective use of resources.”
PACTS goes on to say that the coalition government will be ‘looking afresh at road safety’ in the context of its commitment to reducing public spending, and urges the government to:
• Maintain and build on Britain’s reputation and experience as a world leader for road safety.
• Commit to working towards having the safest road users in the world beyond 2010, and to a reduction in road deaths to no more than 1,000 per year by 2020.
• Focus resource on need, alleviate high-risk areas of the system and generate greater equality between all road users.
• Maintain its focus on evaluation of effective delivery of policy outcomes.
• Centre the road safety vision, strategy and goals upon the safe system approach.
• Complete the process of strategy and goal formulation in consultation with professionals in the field and service users.
Click here to download the briefing document, or for more information contact Eleanor Besley on 0207 222 7736.
I also believe that some form of unification should be reached. Although, not just between local authorities, but also with other interested bodies such as Casualty Reduction Officers, vehicle manufacturers (especially in view of how much technology is evident in vehicles), and those who are in the driver training industry. However, with the advent of ‘vehicle to vehicle’ (V2V) and vehicle to individual (V2I) technologies, perhaps the government should start working towards making the driver training industry a ‘traffic education industry’ instead. When driver training takes place it does so in context of driver – vehicle – load and journey. This has been the case for years – training in context with the environment within which one is travelling. But the medium which the training takes place in has now changed, and therefore, the industry has to look at this new context, hence ‘traffic education’. I’m sure that better interaction would result between all parties.
Howard Redwood – Croydon
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I certainly welcome a unified constructive commitment to improve road safety. It appears to me that with grant monies made available through government some local authorities are finding ways in which to spend it and sometimes failing to address the problem.
Some authorities have initiated good positive and practical measures to reduce accidents and therefore KSIs. However, it would appear that not many if any are taken up in other areas where such initiatives could be made to work. In order to be more successful some form of unification/sharing should be reached. But then again, who am I, just a lay person.
bob craven Lancs
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