Saving lives for less is achievable

30 June 2010

The latest survey from the Road Safety Foundation, shows that savings in the cost of road crashes, worth £18bn a year (1.5 % of GDP), are readily achievable. The survey covers 28,000 miles, making it largest analysis of its kind in the world. It identifies the high-risk roads, where road trauma and high costs are concentrated.

Key findings:

• The roads that are 10 times more prone to death and serious injury than others in the UK network.
• One-third of all fatal and serious collisions occur at junctions.
• Single carriageways are six times the risk of motorways and twice that of dual carriageways.
• One in seven primary roads is high risk compared to one in 33 non-primary.
• 10% of Britain’s motorways and A roads have unacceptably high risk.

Consultation with road authorities shows that simple, relatively inexpensive engineering measures are paying dividends. On the top ten roads listed, improvements to signing and markings, resurfacing (particularly the use of high-friction anti-skid treatments), and the layout and signing of junctions have contributed to a reduction in fatal and serious injuries of more than 70%.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Dr Joanne Hill, director of the Road Safety Foundation says, “As the road budget becomes tighter, emphasis must be on saving lives with less. This year’s report shows that not only can Britain reduce roads deaths and serious injuries but that, by targeting a relatively small mileage of high risk roads, we can do so with good economic returns”.

RoadSafe supports the Campaign for Safe Road Design led by The Road Safety Foundation.