The Transport Committee has launched an inquiry into road safety following a stalling of the decline in fatal crashes on our roads over the last five years.
Despite a reduction of more than 40% in the number of fatal road traffic accidents from 2007-2012, there has been no reduction over the last five years. In response, the inquiry will scrutinise the Government’s approach to road safety, last set out in its 2015 road safety statement, and investigate which changes would be most effective at reducing the number and severity of road traffic accidents.
The Committee is calling for evidence on the following questions:
- How effective is the Government’s current approach to road safety?
- Are there any areas where the Government’s current approach to road safety could be improved?
- What interventions would be most effective at reducing the number and severity of road traffic accidents?
- What evidence is there on the effectiveness of these interventions?
- How can interventions to reduce the number and severity of road traffic accidents best be implemented?
- Once the deadline for written submissions had passed, the Committee will identify which areas it will investigate in more detail.
Chair of the Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP, said: “In 2017, almost 1800 people died in road traffic accidents on the UK’s roads. While there are far fewer fatalities than there were in 2007, that figure is still too high, and hasn’t fallen at all in the last five years.
“We want to know what should be done to bring down the number of accidents. We are keen to hear from everyone who feels our roads could be safer and has ideas on how to make it happen.
“Are you a road safety campaigner or a road user group? A local authority? Do you run a business which employs drivers? Or do you see your children off to school with concerns about their journey? We want to know what you think. Tell us how to make our roads safer. This could be anything from the use of technology to make cars and roads safer, to road safety around schools. Your input will help us to decide which issues we will investigate in more detail.”
RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams commented on the news: “We welcome this new inquiry. Progress on reducing road casualties has stalled in recent years and it is clear we should be looking at ways to make our roads safer for drivers and all road users. Our research has shown worrying trends emerging such as more drivers using handheld mobile phones at the wheel and a sharp increase in those who self-report drink driving, while many are becoming increasingly concerned by the standard of driving by others at the wheel. We hope this inquiry brings a renewed focus on safety and new ideas to make everyone using our roads safer.”
The deadline for written submissions is 18 April, 2019.
For more details and to send a written submission to the Transport Committee’s inquiry on road safety, click here.
