Figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) revealed ‘hit and run’ deaths are up over the last decade, motorcyclist deaths are continuing to rise and our child pedestrians are among the least safe in Western Europe.
The grim statistics are published in Road Casualties Great Britain 2006, the Government’s annual report on the death and injury toll on our roads. The report also revealed little progress made towards Government casualty reduction targets during 2006, with no more than a 1% drop in fatalities or serious injuries on our roads
Brake, the road safety charity, is calling for the Government to set its sights higher, following the example of Sweden’s ‘Vision Zero’ approach to casualty reduction and adopting zero tolerance of drivers’ risk-taking.
Brake is also demanding tougher charges and penalties for ‘hit and run’ drivers, which can be brought regardless of whether their driving was ‘careless’ or ‘dangerous’ at the time of a crash. Although ‘hit and run’ cases feature daily in the media, it’s jaw-dropping to have statistics confirm that so many drivers show such a callous disregard for people they have left dying or injured in their wake.
Brake is calling for measures, which have proven extremely effective in other countries, such as 20mph zones around schools, and homes, lowering the drink-drive limit and introducing graduated driver licensing.
It’s time we adopted a zero tolerance approach to risk-taking on roads and worked towards eliminating the tragic, needless deaths and injuries on our roads.
FemaleFirst Jackie Violet