Organisation: Road Safety Foundation
Date uploaded: 6th December 2016
Date published/launched: November 2016
The report says that road deaths are now 10 times greater than all deaths in all workplaces added together, and that on highways there is ‘greater discipline protecting road workers from risks than the general public using them’.
The report analyses crashes on the British network of motorways and A roads outside urban areas, using data produced by TRL which looks at the assignment of crashes and traffic data to individual routes and classification of crash types.
The data shows that the largest single cause of death is running off the road (29%), while the largest cause of serious injury occurs at junctions (33%).
The report also shows that, for the first time, the South East is the area with highest rate of death and serious injury on the network; more than 80% higher than the risk in the West Midlands, the English region with the lowest rate of death and serious injury.
The most improved roads are the A227 between Tonbridge and the A25 near Borough Green, where Kent County Council has introduced a routine maintenance regime. In addition to a signing and lining package, there are yellow backed signs in hazardous locations, good use of double white lines, speed limit roundels and road safety education packages.
England’s ‘most persistent high risk road’ is the A285 between Chichester and Petworth in West Sussex. It is a rural, winding road popular with motorcyclists who account for 39% of crashes causing death or serious injury. Half of the crashes causing death or serious injury occur from running off the road.
England’s most improved strategic road is a 13km section of the A1 near Newcastle.
The report calls for government to boost the economy by investing in proven measures to deliver safer infrastructure and tackle unacceptably high risk roads.
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