England 'needs new road safety targets'

28 May 2019

The government in England should set new road safety targets in a bid to cut the number of deaths and injuries on its highways.

This is according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which told a Westminster Transport Committee inquiry it is concerned about recent casualty figures.

In 2017, 1,544 people were killed on England's roads, the highest figure since 2011. Meanwhile, the number killed and seriously injured was 23,825, far above the 2010-2014 average of 21,283.

In contrast, RoSPA pointed out that road accident statistics are now far lower in Scotland where targets have been set, while in Wales they have dipped to half the number seen in 2004.

The organisation's chief executive Errol Taylor said it believes challenging targets are an excellent way of improving road safety and that the government in England should follow Wales and Scotland's lead.

He added: "We must also ensure that we are continuing to invest in engineering, education and enforcement interventions, as we know that a combination of all three is what's needed to reach a future where no-one is harmed on the UK's roads."

The comments come after motoring organisation Transport Focus called on Highways England to redraw its motorway signage to make the carriageways safer and curb dangerous manoeuvres.

Its poll found many drivers are making unsafe moves on motorways because they claim they cannot see junction numbers clearly enough or have witnessed them being obscured by vegetation.

Worryingly, this had included swerving across lanes at the last minute or even reversing the wrong way up the carriageway, something that may be contributing to England's high accident rates.