The next government is being urged by a road safety coalition to reduce road deaths through decisive and strategic measures. This call to action comes in light of alarming statistics: annually, more than 30,000 individuals are killed or seriously injured on UK roads, with around five fatalities every day.
The group, led by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has produced a manifesto outlining four priorities to revolutionize road safety. The first of which is to develop a National Road Safety Strategy focused on prevention, protection and post-collision response. They also call for a Road Safety Investigation Branch to provide analysis of road incidents and actionable insights. On top of this, the group urges for the introduction of Graduated Driver Licensing to limit high-risk driving situations. The fourth and final priority is the adoption of Advanced Vehicle Safety Regulations such as automatic emergency braking and intelligent speed assistance.
Speaking on the manifesto, Jamie Hassall, executive director of PACTS, said: “These four simple measures will be the building blocks to enable the UK to reduce the number of people that are killed and seriously injured on our roads.”
“When we have strong leadership and a strategic approach the UK has managed to half the numbers of road deaths in a decade but since 2010 the focus was lost, and daily road deaths have remained at five a day.
“Investing in road safety is not just a moral duty but it’s good for people’s health and wellbeing, the environment, business, and the country ”, said Mr Hassall.
To meet international road safety targets, PACTS is calling for the next government to focus on these priorities within the first 100 days of their administration.
