Less road deaths this year

[Guest]

Just for interest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8118341.stm

 

UK road deaths reach record low

 

The number of people killed on UK roads has reached a record low, according to government statistics.

 

There were 2,538 people killed on Britain's roads in 2008, which is the lowest annual total since records began in 1926.

 

That is 14% down on the 2007 figure. The highest recorded post-war annual total was nearly 8,000 in 1966.

 

The drop came despite half of Britain's A-roads failing to be rated as safe in a European survey.

 

European road assessment programme (Euro-RAP) experts found 58% of A-roads it assessed were either neutral for safety or poor.

 

Department for Transport statistics, based on casualties in accidents reported to police, showed that 28,567 people were killed or seriously injured last year.

 

This was 7% fewer than in 2007.

 

It means the government has hit its target of reducing by 40% the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads by 2010, compared with the mid-1990s average.

 

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said: "Every death on the roads is a terrible tragedy, but these figures show that every day last year one less person died on the roads than in 2007 and that Britain now jointly has the safest roads of any major nation in the world.

 

"While this news is encouraging, seven people are still dying on the roads every day and we will continue to do everything we can to prevent these tragedies."

 

The AA's head of road safety, Andrew Howard, said: "Even taking into account the almost 1% drop in traffic due to high fuel prices and recession, these figures are an excellent step in the right direction.

 

"If this trend continues the UK will soon restore its position as one of the safest countries in the world."

 

'Improvements needed'

 

He added that much needed to be done to cut casualties among groups such as youngsters and drink or drug drivers.

 

Last month, the RAC Foundation said the UK's road safety record could be improved further through the establishment of a road accident investigation body.

 

It said studying why accidents happened could help drive improvements in policy, and road or vehicle design.

 

The Campaign for Safe Road Design also claims 10,000 deaths or serious injuries could be prevented over 10 years by using better signs, lines and kerbs.

 

Statistics show the total number of casualties, which includes deaths and both serious and slight injuries, stood at just under 231,000 in 2008 - also 7% down on the previous year.

 

Despite the overall falls, 124 children were killed on the roads last year - three more than 2007's record low figure in this category. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents described this as "unacceptable".

 

New strategy

 

The number of casualties among cyclists also rose 1%, although there were 15% fewer deaths at 115.

 

Some 572 pedestrians died, down 11%, while 493 motorcyclists were killed, down 16%.

 

Peter Rodger, from the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said improvements in both car safety technology and road design had helped drive casualty figures down.

 

"There's also been a lot of talk about the need for driver improvement which makes people more conscious about the way they drive," he said.

 

"The main message is how can we keep things going in that direction."

 

The Department for Transport is currently consulting road users, emergency services, local authorities and interest groups on a new strategy aimed at making UK roads the world's safest.

I would say the best new strategy would be an advertising campaign which says "don't drive like a bell-end".

[FredTransit]

He added that much needed to be done to cut casualties among groups such as youngsters and drink or drug drivers.

WTF?? Since when was 'drug drivers' a 'group'? Makes it sound like a legitimate ethnic base or sommat

[Mr_Bo11ox]

they were talking about this on the radio this morning. I like this bit:

European road assessment programme (Euro-RAP) experts found 58% of A-roads it assessed were either neutral for safety or poor.

OMG 58% OF ROADS ARE UNSAFE, WONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!This is such a ridiculous statement it made LOL, who on earth comes up with this stuff. It was on radio 4 as well! Not 'Sun Radio' with racist gobshite Jon 'Gaunty' Gaunt.

[FredTransit]

they were talking about this on the radio this morning. I like this bit:

European road assessment programme (Euro-RAP) experts found 58% of A-roads it assessed were either neutral for safety or poor.

OMG 58% OF ROADS ARE UNSAFE, WONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Better shut em then.....

[Guest]

Actually the fact they are called Euro-RAP is amusing in itself, because I keep imagining their representative Will Smith banging on about how his Vauxhall Belmont got flip-turned upside down on the A645 as a result of poor signage/visibility, yet failing to mention that his concentration was compromised by attempting to drink orange juice out of a champagne glass.

[Guest]

they were talking about this on the radio this morning. I like this bit:

European road assessment programme (Euro-RAP) experts found 58% of A-roads it assessed were either neutral for safety or poor.

OMG 58% OF ROADS ARE UNSAFE, WONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Better shut em then.....

Hey this could happen: Wales is short of cash

[pompei]

Ban fast cars, reduce limits everywhere, employ limiters in cars, because everyone knows SPEED KILLS Trouble is, the government is probably considering all those things ...

[Futuramic]

Actually the fact they are called Euro-RAP is amusing in itself, because I keep imagining their representative Will Smith banging on about how his Vauxhall Belmont got flip-turned upside down on the A645 as a result of poor signage/visibility, yet failing to mention that his concentration was compromised by attempting to drink orange juice out of a champagne glass.

Damn you Hirst, was going to attempt to make a humourous comment about Euro-RAP. But you got there first. And did it better. That is hilarious.Anyway, there are no unsafe roads only unsafe drivers. Euro-RAP and its bretheren may bang on about old cars being unsafe, but only if you crash. What worries me is being hit by a mother (in the sense of a woman who has borne children, not a bitch ass mutha fucker) in a four wheel drive. The I realise that I can quite easily drive out of the way. Although, maybe the 58% of unsafe roads could be made safer, here's how:1) Cyclists and other slow moving vehicles such as invalid carriages are an abject nuisance and should be banned2) Congestion causes accidents, both at high and low speed, so to relieve this anyone driving a Silver Audi or similar will be banned from using roads and forced to travel everywhere by train.3) Bad drivers cause accidents, therefore anyone driving a new-ish shopping hatchback should be banned from raods.4) Competitive dads are a menace that is under-recognised. Vauxhall should be dissolved for inventing the Zafira VXR and all S-MAX T5s will be burnt. Anyone who believes that the fact that they have had a child means they have to drive everywhere like a lunatic in an ill handling van will also be banished to the railway.5) Large motorhomes are an absolute nightmare from a safety point of view. They are generally driven by old people who have never piloted anyhting larger than a Kia Shuma so have no idea about handling what is essentially a 7 1/2 tonner. Banish them.6) Finally repairs to all road surfaces should be carried out to make them extra safe.Following these simple steps will reduce road deaths to nothing.

[Negative Creep]

No no no. All you need to do is ban Picassos and Scenics. Instant cut in road deaths and general fuckwittery

[M'coli]

I still think a big spike on the steering wheel would work wonders.

[Guest]

I'm not a fan of cyclists lately - it seems like there's a direct link between "getting in the way" and "having a really stupid outfit".i.e. I rarely see some normal-looking person on a bike getting in the way by riding in the middle of a lane at 15mph like some kind of slow car, it's always sad-looking middle-aged men in luminous skintight shorts. It's not the Tour De France - get in the bloody gutter!

[Justin Case]

Last month, the RAC Foundation said the UK's road safety record could be improved further through the establishment of a road accident investigation body

WALOB Nothing has ever been improved by setting up a committee, in fact it is normally the reverse.

[M'coli]

get in the bloody gutter!

This makes it far more dangerous for those of us who do cycle, as encourages people to run us off the road etc.. By riding out a good amount, it makes it more difficult to do so and hence safer for both rider and motorist, and also helps us avoid the broken headlamp glass that gets left in the gutter...so excuse me if I don't.

[Guest]

Really not to be taken too seriously (used to have a bike as a frustrated teenager as I imagine most did), but it does annoy me when they take up more room than required.The worst I can think of is a road on the work run - it's a wide road with frequent traffic islands, so you can't really get onto the other side of the road to get round, but it is pretty bike friendly - they could be riding over a metre from the kerb and still have ample room for overtaking cars (even with the traffic islands), but some choose to sit there right in the middle and be a 10mph rolling roadblock for ages, either oblivious/unmoved by the queues of traffic building up behind who can't get past. Does my head in as it happens fairly often too, inevitably when I'm late. I wish I could fit some kind of giant spider catcher to the front of the car and scoop them up harmlessly, then deposit them further up the road.

[M'coli]

I understand your frustration! Some bike riders, sorry people, are just as ignorant and selfish as some car drivers! I get pissed off at car drivers overtaking me on a downhill stretch and then having to stop for parked cars and something coming up the hill, when there's plenty of room for me to get by the parked cars - it helps that I'm on a racer, am fairly fit (despite being overweight, which helps downhill) and hence am NOT doing 10mph...

[Guest]

The worst I can think of is a road on the work run - it's a wide road with frequent traffic islands, so you can't really get onto the other side of the road to get round, but it is pretty bike friendly - they could be riding over a metre from the kerb and still have ample room for overtaking cars (even with the traffic islands), but some choose to sit there right in the middle and be a 10mph rolling roadblock for ages, either oblivious/unmoved by the queues of traffic building up behind who can't get past. Does my head in as it happens fairly often too, inevitably when I'm late. I wish I could fit some kind of giant spider catcher to the front of the car and scoop them up harmlessly, then deposit them further up the road.

I've started to ride further from the kerb, owing to the sheer discomfort of travelling along the area of tarmac most prone to breaking up (truck wheel ruts, sunken gullies, crumbling yellow lines etc). I like the idea of your spider catcher though, that would save me a lot of time and effort going up hills.

[Richard]

I was treated to something similar to the spider catcher once. I was on the steepest bit of the road home from school once when a small motorbike stopped alongside me and the rider pushed me all the way to the top of the hill, nearly a mile. Then he buggered off and I still didn't know who he was.

[Negative Creep]

Cyclists round here don't appear to understand the Highway Code applies to them as well. Consequently they just switch between road and pavement as they see fit

[Pillock]

they were talking about this on the radio this morning. I like this bit:

European road assessment programme (Euro-RAP) experts found 58% of A-roads it assessed were either neutral for safety or poor.

OMG 58% OF ROADS ARE UNSAFE, WONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!This is such a ridiculous statement it made LOL, who on earth comes up with this stuff. It was on radio 4 as well! Not 'Sun Radio' with racist gobshite Jon 'Gaunty' Gaunt.

But they don't say what the other categories are that roads can fall into.Say, for example, that it's "Good", "Neutral" and "Poor".In that case, given an even spread, you'd expect 66% of roads to fall into any two categories. The worst two only covering 58% is actually a good result, it means 42% are "good". BOLLOCKS STATISTICS BEING TROTTED OUT TO INITIATE MORE FUNDRAISING FROM MOTORISTS - WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!!?

[trigger]

You can search to see how save your local A road is from today at this website here http://www.eurorap.org/gb2009.

 

My main roads are at a low-medium risk so i can sleep happily tonight knowing i will be save driving to work tomorrow! (touch wood)

[Pillock]

You can search to see how save your local A road is from today at this website here http://www.eurorap.org/gb2009.My main roads are at a low-medium risk so i can sleep happily tonight knowing i will be save driving to work tomorrow! (touch wood)

http://www.eurorap.org/gb2009(you had a . at the end and it threw a wobbly)Every one of the roads round here I've tried are Medium! A617, A611, even the A38 is low apart from my section.

[seth]

My local very densely trafficed A roads are low-medium too. I guess it might be out of town high speed, barely used except for nutter biker roads that are high risk. But then they'd only be high iof you're a nutter biker...

[Guest]

Mostly "Medium High" with a few "High" - looks like I'm done for, chums.

[Richard]

I think I've seen that site before and it's a load of bollocks. It doesn't tell anything like the whole story. As Seth says, the country roads that are only used by the district nurse and some twattish Born Again bikers will have a high rating but it's not the road that's dangerous, it's the bikers.The type of use will skew the statistics too. The real carnage happens when roads are quietish, that's when people start to drive too fast and attempt heroic manoeuvres- but one accident on a quiet road will be more significant than one on a busy road. Bollocks statistics being trotted out indeed.

[King Maz]

Talking of bollocks statistics, try this:If the UK in more densely populated than another European county by a factor of n, then the likelihood of collisions occurring is n2. Surely, then our driving is better than theirs by n2. This is even before we factor in our 58% shite roads.Despite this, the Association of Hysterical Moms Who Try and Apply Eyeliner and Talk On Mobiles On The School Run described the number of silly little gets running out in front of cars (usually theirs) as 'unacceptable.' As a result, the Ministry of Transport has announced that cheese wires will be employed to try and decapitate motorists automatically at 32mph when passing any building made of the same materials as a school.

[Milford Cubicle]

A939 - 2005-2007 Medium-highA940 - 2005-2007 Medium-highOh no, the roads to work are a killer. I think I'll start walking the 28 miles.

[seth]

Mostly "Medium High" with a few "High" - looks like I'm done for, chums.

Maybe they've heard about various beige cars being driven in a non hurried manner and are warning everyone else to steer clear?