Deaths on British roads reach five-year high
AA calls for action
FIGURES released today show that the number of deaths on Britain’s roads continue to rise.
A total of 1,792 people lost their lives in road traffic accidents in 2016, the highest number since 2011, according to data from the Department for Transport
Motoring organisations expressed concerns that not enough is being done to prevent crashes.
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The AA said there was a need for better education, engineering and enforcement. Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “It is of great concern that road deaths in Great Britain seem to have plateaued out over the last five years. Five deaths per day is totally unacceptable.”
However, the Department for Transport stressed that in 2016 the total number of casualties on Britain’s roads fell by 3 per cent, year-on-year, to 181,384.
The AA also called for the re-introduction of targets and urged the government to aim for ‘vision zero’, the point at which there are no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic.
“There is definitely more we can do to educate via speed awareness and other corrective courses,” said Edmund King. “Re-introducing targets and aiming for towards vision zero would be a step in the right direction.”
At the same time, the RAC, IAM RoadSmart and Thatcham urged motorists to choose cars that feature an autonomous emergency braking system. The coalition of road safety and industry bodies estimate that such systems could save 1,100 lives and prevent 122,860 casualties in the UK over the next decade.
