Provisional figures for road deaths and injuries for the second quarter of 2012 published today by the Department for Transport allow no room for complacency. That is the conclusion of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gifford, Executive Director of PACTS, said “These figures give us a snapshot of the period from April to June 2012. As the Department rightly warns, this was a period of extremely wet weather across England (where around 84% of casualties occur) which may have affected the amount of road use.
“Clearly it is welcome to see the long-term decline in deaths continue. However, KSI injuries have risen 1% over the last year so there can be no room for complacency.
“Of even greater concern is the increase in deaths and serious injuries (KSI) of vulnerable road users over the last year. Pedestrian KSI are up by 5%, cyclist KSI by 9% and motorcyclist KSI by 5%. If figures for the next 6 months do not improve significantly, we will see little improvement in the safety of these groups in 2012.
“The new team of Ministers at the Department has identified that road safety remains a priority. I welcome this public commitment. What we need to see now is a review of the current Strategic Framework and its Action Plan to ensure that we have a long-term vision for road safety beyond 2015.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Robert Gifford 020 7222 7732 (work)
Note to editors:
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety is a registered charity and associate Parliamentary group with the charitable objective: To protect human life through the promotion of transport safety for the public benefit.
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