Road User Safety and Disadvantage

It has been shown that, for some road users, there is a relationship between socio­
economic disadvantage and the risk of being killed or injured on the road.

In particular, children and young people from disadvantaged areas are at greater risk
when walking compared with those from relatively affluent areas.

In 2008, the Department for Transport commissioned research to explore the reasons why this might be the case.

The aim of the research was to provide a practical overview of road safety issues in disadvantaged areas involving an exploration of:

• The populations, environment, behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of risk in
disadvantaged communities;

• Attitudes to road safety issues, and behavioural responses in the context of other
issues and priorities that people living in disadvantaged areas may hold;

• Road safety service provision in disadvantaged areas across different sectors, and
the nature and extent of partnership working in this provision; and

• The extent of community involvement in road safety delivery.

The project aimed to provide lessons for improving road safety service provision in
disadvantaged areas and to provide suggestions for public policy responses,
including improved linkages with other areas of public policy and initiatives.

While the primary focus of this research was the situation in disadvantaged areas, many issues raised in this research are clearly applicable to other areas with high levels of road traffic incidents.