United Kingdom
 Road Safety Vision, Plans, and Targets
The casualty reduction targets for deaths and serious injuries, set in 1987, have been achieved, with road deaths descreasing by nearly 40% and serious injuries by 45% compared to the 1981-85 average. However, the UK has not had a steep decline in the numbers of road accidents or slight injuries and the UK record for child pedestrian deaths does not compare well with other European countries.
On 1 March 2000, the former Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (now the Department for Transport) published the UK road safety strategy entitled "Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone", which also sets casualty reduction targets for 2010.
The UK road safety programme contains many specific recommendations, but is not intended to be a rigid blueprint. The strategy and targets will be reviewed every three years to take account of new ideas and technologies, and a Road Safety Advisory Panel will be established to assist in that review process.
By 2010, the UK government wishes to achieve, compared with the average for 1994-98,:
- 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents
- 50% reduction in the numbers of children killed or seriously injured
- 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle*kilometres
Road Safety Priorities
The UK road safety strategy is very comprehensive, covering ten priority themes with a host of specific measures and an implementation timetable.
- Safer for children
- Safer drivers – training and testing
- Safer drivers – alcohol, drugs and drowsiness
- Introduce new measures to reduce drink-driving further
- Develop more effective ways to tackle drug-driving
- Safer Infrastructure. The emphasis is on making best use of the existing highway network, giving priority to treating the places with the worst safety (black spots), congestion and environmental records. In England, the Highways Agency has a new role and there are new responsibilities and funding for local authorities. Key elements of the approach include:
1.Recognition that good engineering reduces the risk of accidents.
2. On national roads, a strategy focused on better maintenance and a targeted, seven-year programme of road improvements.
3. Ensuring that safety continues to be a main objective in designing, building, operating and maintaining trunk and local roads.
4. Ensuring that safety continues to be part of the planning framework for main and local routes.
5. Publishing guidance about engineering for safer roads based on sound research and experiment.
6. Using local transport plans to promote safer neighbourhoods.
7. Monitoring progress on local efforts to reduce casualties.
- Safer speeds
- Safer vehicles. Improvements in vehicle safety have contributed significantly to reducing road deaths and injuries, and will continue to do so. The strategy here is to improve vehicle safety further by encouraging:
1.Improvements which protect car occupants in the event of an accident.
2. Improvements which protect other road users.
3. Better information for consumers, helping them to choose safer vehicles. (The Department for Transport is a partner in the European New Car Assessment Programme.)
4. Better standards for vehicle maintenance.
5. Renewed emphasis on new vehicle safety inspections by manufacturers and dealers.
- Better enforcement
- Promoting safer road use
Road Safety Management Organisation
The national road safety policy is the responsibility of the Department for Transport and sets the national framework for policy up to 2010. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure road safety under their jurisduction as well as set their own targets in their Local Transport Plans, in consistency with the national targets. Programmes are funded by national and local taxation. For infrastructure programmes on motorways and trunk roads, the Highways Agency – part of DfT – is responsible and has a three-year, centrally funded budget. Local authorities are responsible for local safety engineering schemes and road safety education, in accordance with national regulations and best practice guidance.
Road Safety Programme Monitoring and Evaluation
The Department for Transport is responsible for the evaluation of the road safety programme. Routine monitoring is carried out annually, and formal programme reviews are planned to be carried out every three years. General monitoring indicators are the number of crashes and casualties by severity and by road user group, drink-driving, use of seatbelts, use of cycle helmets, speeds, road user attitudes by means of surveys, and other ad hoc surveys. Other indicators that are monitored are traffic volume by vehicle type, travel patterns, modal split, vehicle registrations, driving test volumes and pass rates. Cost/benefit studies of the various measures are an integral part of programme evaluation.
Links
http://www.dft.gov.uk/ The Department for Transport's objective is to oversee the delivery of a reliable, safe and secure transport system that responds efficiently to the needs of individuals and business whilst safeguarding our environment.
The Institution of Highways & Transportation http://www.iht.org/ is the foremost learned society in the UK concerned specifically with the design, construction, maintenance and operation of sustainable transport systems and infrastructure.
The SRSC http://www.road-safety.org.uk/ is funded by the Scottish Executive to develop and co-ordinate Scotland's wide road safety initiatives and campaigns. The SRSC works closely with all local authority and police road safety units in an attempt to ensure a co-ordinated approach to road safety in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) http://www.pacts.org.uk/ is a registered charity and an associate Parliamentary Group. Its charitable objective is "To promote transport safety legislation to protect human life". It brings together safety professionals and legislators to identify research-based solutions to transport safety problems having regard to cost, effectiveness, achievability and acceptability.
Transport Management Research Centre draws on staff across the Middlesex University Business School who share a common interest in transport management. http://www.mdx.ac.uk/
Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at Leeds University is one of the leading inter-disciplinary groups involved in teaching and research in transport studies http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/
Transportation Research Group http://www.trg.soton.ac.uk/index.htm
ITS International concentrates on the deployment of technology, rather than simply the technology itself. http://www.itsinternational.com/
National Statistics Online http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ (National statistical office for the United Kingdom)
The Road Safety Strategy for Wales was launched in 2003 with the aim of bringing together key measures and policies to address the causes of road collisions and reduce casualties. http://www.wales.gov.uk/subitransport/content/road-safety-e.htm
Crash Testing Laboratories. The Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre. http://www.thatcham.org/safety/
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