Road Safety GB has welcomed the DfT’s draft road safety strategy for 2010-2020, which was published last week by Jim Fitzpatrick, road safety minister.
The strategy, which has been published for consultation, includes new measures to ensure all roads have the right speed limit, and the formation of a new ‘expert panel’ to investigate road safety.
The way people learn to drive and how they are tested is also set for major reform. A new road safety qualification will offer young people a partial credit towards the car theory test, and the learning process and the theory and practical tests will all be improved. Van drivers also will be given the chance to enhance the skills they need through a new qualification.
Jim Fitzpatrick (pictured) said: "We’ve already made real improvements to the safety of our roads – there are now almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries in a year than there were in the mid-1990s. But it is intolerable that eight people are still dying on our roads each day.
"We want to make Britain’s roads the safest in the world. That will mean improving vehicles and the road network as well as helping drivers and other road users to be as safe as possible.”
David Frost, Road Safety GB press and publicity officer, said: “Any real measures that can be taken to reduce the number of people killed or injured on Britain’s roads should be welcomed. It is a fact that injury severities are much reduced in collisions that happen at slower speeds.
“Any life lost on the roads is one too many and we support tough targets that aim to safeguard all road-users.
“When the current Government targets were released, many people thought they were unachievable because they were considered too challenging. Road safety professionals across the country rose to the challenge and will continue to work hard with engineering and enforcement colleagues to meet the tough new targets.”
Click here to read the full Road Safety GB press statement.
Footnote: An online toolkit is available to help organisations brief their members about the consultation and encourage participation.
The aim of the toolkit is to assist effective communication about the consultation to a wide spectrum of potential respondents, from the general public through to road safety specialists.
Click here for links to the consultation document, press notice and toolkit, or for more information contact Vicki Mayo on 020 7944 6295 or Helen Clark on 020 7944 3072.
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