Improving road safety must become a top priority in the next Parliament, with more effort directed towards bringing casualty figures down, two influential charities have said this week.

 

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety says the next Government must commit to an overhaul of safety strategy to tackle the number of road deaths, which has remained largely static over the last six years. It has published three papers in support of its call, aimed at creating safer roads, road users and vehicles.

 

“We need to raise our ambitions in the UK and start planning for a road system which does not tolerate death and serious injury as a routine occurrence,” said the group’s executive director David Davies. He adds that this planned approach is commonplace within the rail, shipping and aviation sectors.

 

PACTS is calling on all political parties to commit to a focus on the safety needs of vulnerable road users and to take effective action in tackling inappropriate speed and drink driving. It also wants the next Government to work more closely with local authorities on delivering casualty reduction measures and establish a UK road collision investigation body.

 

Elsewhere the safety group IAM RoadSmart, which has published a 12 point manifesto, says that driver distraction is now a major safety issue. It is calling on legislators and car makers to work with social media and smartphone companies to help deliver practical solutions to the problems caused by phone use by drivers and their interaction with dashboard displays.

 

It also calls for a 12 month minimum learning period for new drivers, a reduction in the drink drive limit in England and Wales – matching that already in place in Scotland – and for all highway authorities to aim for a minimum ‘three star’ rating on their A roads.

 

Its chief executive Sarah Sillars said: “The UK has one of the best road safety records in Europe, but still 1730 people a year are killed. We believe by working together with Government and the road safety industry we can deliver a step change in road safety and significantly reduce the fatalities and injuries which occur daily on our roads.”

 

(Photo: West Midlands Police)