UK road deaths down

Thursday, 26 June 2003 12:00 AM

Road casualties were down by 3% last year, according to the Department for Transport, but critics have claimed that the equivalent of ten deaths a day is still too many.

In 2002, nearly 36,000 people were killed or seriously injured, compared with 40,500 in the previous 12 months. But the reduction in fatalities was less significant with 3,431 killed over the year - just 1% lower than 2001's figures.

The number of children killed or seriously injured in 2002 was down by 8% to 4,596.

But the department has pointed out that the decreases come in a year when road traffic levels were 3% higher than in 2001 and consequently, the casualty rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres was 6% lower than in 2001.

The latest figures show that the Government is well on the way to meeting its 2010 target of halving the number of child deaths and serious injuries, and reducing the overall death and casualty rate by 40%.

Compared with the 1994 to 1998 average against which the pledge was made the number of people killed or seriously injured was 17% lower last year, while the number of children killed or seriously injured was down by 33%.

Don Foster, Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson, however, claimed that the improvement was not good enough.

"I welcome these figures. But despite these modest falls and the recent announcement on banning hand-held mobile phones while driving, there's much more that the Government could do," he said.

Among Mr. Foster's suggestions was the idea of reducing the blood alcohol limits for drink-driving - as the Government pledged to do in 1996 - and reversing the cuts in traffic police.

Britain has one of the lowest road death rates in the EU, but the overall number of fatalities has remained fairly static since 1998 (when there were 3,421 deaths) with most of the reductions in today's figures being accounted for by fewer serious injuries.

However, child fatalities were down to 179 in 2001 - the lowest level by far for 24 years.

But there are concerns that attempts to reduce congestion and get cars off the road could, ironically, have the effect of driving up child pedestrian death rates, since a major reason for the lower levels in recent years is the fact that very few children walk to and from school.

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