FOR IMMEDIATE USE FEBRUARY 4 2010
PACTS COMMENTS ON LATEST ROAD CASUALTY FIGURES
Commenting on the latest road casualty figures up to September 2009 published today by the Department for Transport, Robert Gifford, Executive Director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said “Clearly a further fall in road deaths is good news and reflects the hard work being undertaken by all involved in improving safety. If the present trend for the first three quarters has continued for the months up to December, we could see road deaths fall below 2,400 – a further step towards making our road users the safest in the world.
“However, there is concerning news about the safety of cyclists. For the second year running, Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) casualties involving cyclists have risen. Q3 in 2007 saw 770 KSI; Q3 in 2009 saw 830 – a rise of 7%. In addition, the rolling annual average is up 9% since 2006-7.
“Obviously, it is important to recognise that there is more cycling being undertaken as well – up 5% between 2008 and 2009. However, we want to see not just more but safer cycling, especially as the DfT is set on creating a rate-based target for cycle safety in the new road safety strategy.
“We need to know more about the kind of crashes that cyclists are having: where they occur, who is involved and what other vehicles. IN that way, we can find the right counter-measures to improve the safety of this highly vulnerable group.”
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 chairy with the charitable objective: To protect human life through the promotion of transport safety for the public benefit. It is also an associate Parliamentary group.
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