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MPs demand action on road deaths

Lower speed limits and a tougher enforcement of drink-driving laws are needed to cut the number of road deaths, MPs have said.

The Commons transport committee also criticised the government's system for recording deaths and serious injuries, adding it seemed to be "flawed".

Chairman Louise Ellman said road fatalities were "the major public health problem of our age". The government said it recognised "more can be done" to improve safety.

'Particularly concerned'

The committee said that, although last year saw a 7% fall in road user deaths, overall progress since 2000 had been "disappointing".

Motorcyclist deaths had risen by 26% between the mid-1990s and 2007.

The committee said it was "particularly concerned" about high accident rates among male drivers, younger drivers and those using country roads.

It heard evidence that child pedestrians from the poorest social groups were 21 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than those from the richest.

Less well-off car users were also at greater risk of death than the more affluent.

Ms Ellman, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: "The number of deaths and injuries on our roads far outweighs the deaths and injuries in other transport modes or in other work-related accidents.

"We need to start seeing this not only as a collection of individual tragedies but also as the major public health problem of our age.

"The deaths of 3,000 people and injuries to a quarter of a million are a staggering annual toll to pay for mobility."

Targets

The committee queried the accuracy of the government's data on injuries and deaths and wondered whether it would meet its road safety targets.

There had to be a better linking of accident statistics gathered by police and hospitals to get a clearer idea of what is happening, it added.

The government says the number of injuries on roads is falling far more quickly than the number of deaths.

The MPs called for new road-death reduction targets, separate from those set for serious and slight injuries.

In its report, the committee recommended the drink-drive limit should be lowered, roadside breath test devices should be approved and there should be tougher penalties for alcohol-related offences.

More 20mph speed limit zones should be in place, it added.

The committee said: "There is a significant body of evidence that the current methods for recording road traffic injuries are flawed."

MPs also said there should be a road safety commission and that a road accident investigation branch should be set up.

'Should be ashamed'

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Mark Hunter said: "It is a travesty that drunk drivers still kill as many people now as they did a decade ago.

"The government should be ashamed that it has failed to make a dent in this problem."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We've cut the number of people killed or seriously injured each year by more than a third since the mid-1990s.

"That means almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries on our roads last year.

"But we have always been clear that one death is one too many and so recognise that more can be done to make our roads safer.

"We work continually to improve the way road casualty data is recorded and are now linking police and hospital data.

"However, criticism of our statistics is itself based on flawed comparisons with hospital admissions data, which are It heard evidence that child pedestrians from the poorest social groups were 21 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than those from the richest.

Less well-off car users were also at greater risk of death than the more affluent.

Ms Ellman, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: "The number of deaths and injuries on our roads far outweighs the deaths and injuries in other transport modes or in other work-related accidents.

"We need to start seeing this not only as a collection of individual tragedies but also as the major public health problem of our age.

"The deaths of 3,000 people and injuries to a quarter of a million are a staggering annual toll to pay for mobility."

Targets

The committee queried the accuracy of the government's data on injuries and deaths and wondered whether it would meet its road safety targets.

There had to be a better linking of accident statistics gathered by police and hospitals to get a clearer idea of what is happening, it added.

The government says the number of injuries on roads is falling far more quickly than the number of deaths.

The MPs called for new road-death reduction targets, separate from those set for serious and slight injuries.

In its report, the committee recommended the drink-drive limit should be lowered, roadside breath test devices should be approved and there should be tougher penalties for alcohol-related offences.

More 20mph speed limit zones should be in place, it added.

The committee said: "There is a significant body of evidence that the current methods for recording road traffic injuries are flawed."

MPs also said there should be a road safety commission and that a road accident investigation branch should be set up.

'Should be ashamed'

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Mark Hunter said: "It is a travesty that drunk drivers still kill as many people now as they did a decade ago.

"The government should be ashamed that it has failed to make a dent in this problem."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We've cut the number of people killed or seriously injured each year by more than a third since the mid-1990s.

"That means almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries on our roads last year.

"But we have always been clear that one death is one too many and so recognise that more can be done to make our roads safer.

"We work continually to improve the way road casualty data is recorded and are now linking police and hospital data.

"However, criticism of our statistics is itself based on flawed comparisons with hospital admissions data, which are published with a warning about their reliability for monitoring trends over time."

The Commons transport committee also criticised the government's system for recording deaths and serious injuries, adding it seemed to be "flawed".

It heard evidence that child pedestrians from the poorest social groups were 21 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than those from the richest.

Less well-off car users were also at greater risk of death than the more affluent

There had to be a better linking of accident statistics gathered by police and hospitals to get a clearer idea of what is happening, it added.

MPs also said there should be a road safety commission and that a road accident investigation branch should be set up.

Chairman Louise Ellman said road fatalities were "the major public health problem of our age".

It heard evidence that child pedestrians from the poorest social groups were 21 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident than those from the richest.