Councillors Look Local to Build on Road Safety Improvements

The provisional casualty figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) for quarter one of 2012 must have left those trying to improve road safety with mixed feelings. The figures show that, compared with the previous 12 months, there was a fall in casualties amongst "pedestrian and car users" reported to the police of 1% and 6% respectively. There was a fall in the total number of reported road casualties ??? down by 3%. But for the same period, those killed or seriously injured (KSI) amongst pedestrians, cyclists and motor cyclists increased quite significantly by 6%, 11% and 6% respectively. While the KSI figures for car users fell by 6% over the same period. All of this is set against a slight rise in traffic levels.

So there are both reasons to feel encouraged and cause for concern. And this might reflect the government's approach to road safety issues. 2011 saw the first rise in road casualties since 2003 and the chair of the Transport Committee, Louise Ellman MP, has attacked the government's lack of focus and leadership over road safety. Ms Ellman said:

"Generalised talk about everyone playing their part to bring road casualties down should not be allowed to hide central government's responsibilities to keep local authorities, the police, other agencies and the public fully focused on delivering significant and sustained improvements in road safety."

"I am particularly disappointed that the government hasn't accepted the committee's recommendation to initiate an independent review of driver training, especially given the high casualty rate for young drivers."

This lack of centralised leadership has seen Gloucestershire County Council's take an interesting approach to improving road safety -??turning to local communities to consult on how best to spend the budget allocated to that area. As part of their scheme "Highways Your Way" the council is working alongside highways engineers and local residents to try to identify ways in which improvements can be made. Local campaigners have identified a number of projects, from reducing speed limits to improving off road parking, that will make genuine improvements on a local level to road safety both for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers