Five year high on UK road fatalities
I was doing my usual scout around the various news sites earlier, and I came across this pretty scary statistic:
Road fatalities in the UK reached a FIVE YEAR high last year, with 1,792 people killed on our roads.
There was an 8% rise in fatalities involving cars, and a 10% rise in pedestrian fatalities.
I don’t know about you, but that scares me.
Why are things getting less safe, rather than safer?
As Neil Worth, road safety officer at the GEM Road Safety Charity says:
“We will no doubt hear a Minister explaining that Britain has some of the safest roads in the world. But the truth is that our roads are considerably less safe than they were six years ago, and that is very worrying.
In spite of technological improvements to vehicles and systems, car occupant deaths have risen by eight percent.”
What’s going on?! Why are things getting less safe? Do you think the increase in foreign drivers is having an impact? Or could this simply be due to an increase in the number of new drivers learning to drive at the moment?
Millenials (from the baby boom of 2000) are starting to learning to drive now in 2016/2017 and also the economic slump of 2009 has meant those people who would have learnt to drive and didn't are now passing their test around the age of 26.
Would love to get your take on it, leave a comment below!
Chris
I personally feel that every 10 years when you have to send you licence off for a new picture you should sit a mini test. Have a driving Instructor sit beside you and drive for say 20mins. If and only if the instructor is happy with your standard of driving you can then get your picture changed and licence re-issued. There are far too many people on the roads today who haven’t looked at a highway code in far too many years and many who have no idea what the highway code actually is. Again personal opinion but could make the roads a safer and nicer place to be.
Gary
I feel it is due to the fact that speed cameras have been switched off in urban areas, and a total lack of policing (due to budget cuts) in towns and cities. I can get away with driving at this speed, next time I will go faster mentality is developing in this country.
I moved from the midlands, Birmingham area, to Devon, to get away from this.
Matt
Hello,
It would be interesting to see where the % rate is jumping – Is it Motorways, Residential, A roads. In the past, higher incidents were around residential and rural roads areas, but with motorways being made safer are rural roads getting even worse now? is there more of a need to focus on rural driving habits? Interesting to see some statistics. Thanks M
Seb
Thanks for this.
I guess the big question for me is: why are these cars not getting safer?
I understand the argument that there are more cars on the road, but surely new safety features should be reducing fatalities, so even if there are more cars, fatalities shouldn’t increase?
Driving Monitor
Seb you make a good point – personally, I think the new safety features in vehicles today don’t make up for the lower standards in driving. More worrying is the number of companies that don’t have any policy in place to manage Grey Fleet drivers – as they may also be driving uninsured for business!
Mark
The more technology that is fitted the drivers think they are safe and therefore can become more complacent. Technology removes the skill from the driver thus reducing an acceptable standard, These are my views and opinions.
Gordon Finlay
Road ZERO Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1529989547298631/?ref=bookmarks
Peter Smith
Perhaps it’s the additional delivery drivers with companies like Yodel or DPD? Seems to be a massive increase in online orders with delivery drivers under pressure to make more deliveries each day.
Sue Harrop
I agree with Peter – there are so many more deliveries now it is bound to have an impact.