Landmark Report Calls for Government Action to Save Lives

17 September 2020

An investment package of £1.2 billion would improve more than 5,000km of roads and prevent more than 8,000 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years, boost the UK’s economic recovery and protect the NHS by saving society almost £4.4 billion over the same period, according to a report published today by the Road Safety Foundation and Ageas.

Now in its 20th year and supported by Ageas since 2012, this annual report examines the performance of Britain’s motorway and A road network, identifying the roads where lives could be saved with physical improvements. This year’s report, Looking Back – Moving Forward, shows that:

• 60% of all deaths are concentrated on 13% of Britain’s roads
• There were significant reductions in the number of fatal and serious crashes on 22 routes between 2013-2015 and 2016-2018; the total number of fatal and serious crashes on these 400km of road fell by two-thirds from 251 to 86, with an estimated Net Present Value of £351m over 20 years
• 765km of 38 persistently higher risk rural routes have been the location of more than 1,400 fatal and serious crashes between 2013 and 2018. The value to society of preventing these would have been almost £700 million

The data from the report has been used to update the interactive ‘Dangerous Roads Map’