Britain 'still behind on road safety'

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Britain has some way to go before it catches up with other countries on its road safety record, according to a new report.

The parliamentary spending watchdog has called on the Department for Transport to draw on its research in order to improve road safety, especially for groups most at risk such as young children.

A report by the National Audit Office noted that deaths among pedestrians and cyclists have fallen since the mid-1990s, but "more needs to be done to improve their safety".

There should be separate targets for people killed on the roads and those who incur serious injuries, the NAO recommended.

Deaths among pedestrians have fallen by over a third, while cyclists' deaths have declined by over a quarter. But some types of serious injuries are under-recorded, it added.

The NAO also criticised the DfT over funding issues and noted that a range of other bodies also have responsibility for road safety issues.

"So it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of the department's specific contribution," the report stated.

The watchdog recommended that the department examine local highway authorities and identify which ones have introduced effective measures like the 20mph zones.

NAO head Tim Burr said: "Making roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists is a key element in encouraging people to walk and cycle more.

"While their safety has improved generally, some are more vulnerable, such as child pedestrians from deprived areas."

Edward Leigh, chairman of the public accounts committee, warned that the picture is "not so good" when the road safety of pedestrians and cyclists is examined.

"Despite the number of deaths amongst pedestrians falling, a lot of countries are doing better than us," he said.

"In terms of the number of child pedestrians killed as a proportion of the population, we are way down the league. As a father of children, this concerns me greatly. Our relatively poor performance should be a matter of national debate."

He continued: "The Department for Transport needs to establish more effective ways of communicating with and preventing accidents among vulnerable road users.

"Its current Think! media campaign takes over half of the road safety budget, but it cannot prove that it has an effect on reductions in road casualties."

But a Department for Transport spokeswoman said that the number of child pedestrians aged below 15 who are killed on Britain's roads has fallen by 57 per cent since the mid-1990s.

She argued that this showed "that the work of local authorities, the emergency services and national government is making a real difference".

"This is a dramatic reduction but we are not complacent and that is why we have set a target to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads among children aged under 17 by 50 per cent by 2020.

"We have also launched a groundbreaking children's Think! campaign and new website with materials for children, teachers and parents to learn about road safety."