Safe Speed Forums

John Ingham, Transport Editor
Have your say(1)

DRIVERS should face more 20mph zones and breath-tests to tackle the “major public health ­problem of our age”, MPs said yesterday.

In a hard-hitting report, an all-party committee also called for a broader approach to road safety, rather than a reliance on speed cameras.

It said progress on reducing road deaths had been “disappointing” since 2000, in which time the use of speed cameras had increased dramatically.

There were, for example, the same number of drink-driving deaths – 460 – last year as in 1998.

The MPs also questioned the accuracy of Government data that shows the number of serious injuries are falling more rapidly than deaths on the road.

And it hit out at what it called the “scandal of complacency” at the number of road deaths and injuries in Britain.

“The deaths of 3,000 people and injuries to a quarter of a million are a staggering annual toll to pay for mobility,” said the Transport Committee chairman, Louise Ellman, a Labour MP.

She said: “The number of deaths and injuries on our roads far outweighs those in other transport modes or in work- related accidents. We need to start seeing this not only as a collection of individual tragedies but as the major public health problem of our age.”

The committee, which did not specifically mention speed cam­er­as, called for the creation of a road safety commission with a road accident investigation branch.

The report also called for a “more fundamental approach” to road safety, similar to that in Holland and Sweden, where vehicles, roads, rules and training are designed with safety in mind.



said: “The emphasis needs to shift from treating localised problems to one of long-term improvements to the safety of the infrastructure.”

An RAC spokesman said: “Although we applaud many of the recommendations, particularly when it comes to young ­drivers and drink-driving, we are perplexed that speed cameras do not even warrant a mention.

“It is consistently documented by the Government that speed cameras are a major factor when it comes to road safety. So, why haven’t they been mentioned?

“We believe there should be a review of all speed camera sites in the UK, to ensure each one can demonstrate a proven effect in reducing accidents – and those that cannot should be removed.”

The Director of Policy and Research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, Neil Greig, said: “Simplistic solutions based on the assumption that speeding causes most crashes have skewed policy for years and may have led to an over-reliance on safety cameras, and on penalties rather than deterrence.”

The AA said any new initiative would be undermined by the 20 per cent cut in traffic police in the past decade. It said the failure to reduce drink-­driving deaths corresponded with a decline in breath tests, from 781,000 in 1996 to 600,000 in 2006.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said it would improve the way it collects data.

She 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 last year.”

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said it would improve the way it collects data.

They just missed off "until it confirms our point of view." from the end of that sentence.

I reiterate, 3,000 road deaths over 12 months, but apparently 24,000 during the 3 to 4 months of winter!

Perhaps these MP's are focusing on the wrong topic.