Road Casualties
Thursday 4th January, 2007 15:29 Comments: 0
I just came across some interesting statistics about road casualties in Britain (from BBC News on 28 September 2006). The Department for Transport released contributory factors for the first time, showing drivers' failure to look properly featured in 32% of accidents. But in fatal crashes, loss of control was most common (35%). Safe Speed said the suggestion that speeding or excessive speed for the conditions was a factor in only 15% of all accidents showed the "entire road safety policy has been based on dodgy data".
But Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, disagreed, saying the report showed a need to re-emphasise the overall campaign against speed. The contributory factors suggested eight times more male than female drivers in road accidents were speeding. Older drivers were less likely to speed (they're presumably quite happy to sit in the middle lane of a motorway at 70mph :S). Use of a mobile phone did not even feature in 1% of accidents. Of the six most stated factors, five were some form of mistake by the motorist.
The DfT emphasised that contributory factors were based on the reporting officers initial assessment and were not subjected to a strong standard of proof.
But Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, disagreed, saying the report showed a need to re-emphasise the overall campaign against speed. The contributory factors suggested eight times more male than female drivers in road accidents were speeding. Older drivers were less likely to speed (they're presumably quite happy to sit in the middle lane of a motorway at 70mph :S). Use of a mobile phone did not even feature in 1% of accidents. Of the six most stated factors, five were some form of mistake by the motorist.
The DfT emphasised that contributory factors were based on the reporting officers initial assessment and were not subjected to a strong standard of proof.