Government has been urged to reinstate road safety targets following casualty figures released last week that suggest the downward trend in fatalities is beginning to slow.

Department for Transport's reported road casualties annual report shows that 1713 people died on roads in Great Britain last year, a reduction of 41, or 2% on 2012. But the reduction in fatalities the previous year was more marked at 8%.

Fatalities did rise 2% between 2010 and 2011, but fell by more than 10% for each of the preceding three years.

“Nearly five people still die on our roads every day and progress on reducing deaths and injuries has stalled,” said Labour's Shadow Roads Minister Richard Burden. “The Government should rethink its decision to scrap the last government's road safety target. Safety needs to be a national transport priority again.”

Road safety charity Brake said that Government needs to take more action to drive down casualties including making 20MPH the default urban speed limit and introducing graduated driver licensing to tackle young driver crashes.

The report also revealed that 1640 children were killed or seriously injured while walking or cycling.

Transport charity Sustrans’ director of policy Jason Torrance said: “Current levels of child road death and injury are entirely unacceptable and completely preventable. Urgent action is needed to make our roads safer by making dedicated funding available, lowering traffic speeds and transforming local walking and cycling routes.”

Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety executive director David Davies pointed out that the figures, based on casualties reported to the police, show that total road casualties in Great Britain fell by 6% last year to 183,670. But, he added, the National Travel Survey estimates that total casualty numbers (reported and non-reported) over the same period increased by 10,000 to around 720,000.

(Photo: Alvey & Towers)

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