Road Casualty Figures Drop

Finally, some good news. It was revealed by the department of transport that last years casualty figures were the lowest they have been since the record began which is all the way back in the mid-twenties. Year on year the number has continued to fall, in 2011 the figure went from 1901 killed on the road to just 1,754 in 2012 which represented an 8% fall in the figure. All the other figures fell too but not as significantly, for instance things such as serious injuries had a 1% reduction, there was one other significant stand out figure however, motorcycle fatalities fell 9%.

Unfortunately there was one real other stand out figure which was bad news, cyclists killed increased by a large 10% from 107 to 118. Overall however the trend shows a huge decrease and safety and prevention of accidents seem to be on the path of progression. According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists director of policy and research Neil Greig the cyclists figure is of real concern “A 10% increase in cycling deaths in a year when the weather suppressed cycling trips is a real red danger signal that simply cannot be ignored”. Expect the government in the near future to try and prevent the figure rising further by any means necessary.

The vast majority of accidents that occur on British roads is in the lower speed limit areas of towns and villages. The number of collisions on the motorway are significantly lower than that in lower speed limit areas. It’s a bit of food for thought about the whole increase of the speed limit debate which has been tirelessly continuing to rage on without any conclusion in sight, evidence points to the speed increase as it seemingly would save lives yet there are many still against the change.