Road safety budgets under the spotlight at RoSPA conference

Road safety experts are meeting today (15.02.2010) to work out ways to continue saving lives and reducing injuries in the wake of public spending cuts.

The meeting, in Birmingham, will see professionals from as far afield as Cyprus, Hong Kong and Nigeria, and from around the UK, join RoSPA to look at how tackling the deficit will affect road safety.
 
Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s chief executive, is giving the keynote address at RoSPA’s Road Safety Seminar. He will focus on the event’s overriding theme – road safety in a time of reduced public spending – as well as touching on the more positive aspects of road safety that have emerged recently.
 
The DfT is now committed to publishing a strategic framework for road safety by April this year; and the launch of the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety on 11 May shows that casualty reduction on the roads will remain a global priority.
 
Tom Mullarkey said: “With 1.3m people killed in road accidents around the world, and tens of millions injured, Britain must play its part in the Decade of Action. RoSPA intends to continue improving the UK’s accident and injury rate and we look forward to sharing our expertise and experience with other countries – as well as learning from their successes.
 
“In the light of reduced public spending, it is more important than ever that road safety is undertaken efficiently and effectively, and I hope that today’s seminar will provide road safety professionals with plenty of ideas to take away and put into practice.”

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA, said: “We hope that the seminar will enable people to go back to their organisations feeling positive about what they can do to improve road safety in their areas, in spite of reduced budgets.”

For more information contact Jo Bullock or Vicky Fraser on 0121 248 2134/2045.