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Drive Accidents Off the Highway 

By: Mark Lazarowicz, Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith

(In 2003 he was named Road Safety Parliamentarian of the Year by the charity Brake)

6 April, 2004

WHAT’S special about tomorrow? Well, in the ever-expanding calendar of international days you may be forgiven for missing this one, but Wednesday April 7 has been declared World Road Safety Day by the World Health Organisation.

The Scottish Road Safety Campaign, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and others will be doing their best to make sure you don’t forget it, but statistics alone should remind us why we must take note of this day.

The WHO says 1.2 million people are killed and up to 50 million more injured on the world’s roads every year. It also predicts that if current trends continue these figures could rise by more than 60 per cent by 2020. In fact, the WHO says by then road deaths could become the third most significant cause of death worldwide.

The huge increase in traffic across the world has inevitably led to more road deaths and injuries. In the UK and other high-income economies, it is common for families to own at least one and possibly two cars. This being the case, it is not a surprise to learn that not only has the amount of traffic on Britain’s roads increased but so has the number of deaths and other casualties. In 2001 there were 317,000 casualties (including fatalities) on our roads as compared with 139,000 casualties in 1926.

Clearly, then, the UK still has some way to go to improve its road safety record. Significant improvements have been made, however. Since the Motor Car Act introduced driving licences in 1903, UK governments have taken a number of steps to address issues of traffic and road safety. Traffic lights, the Highway Code, driving tests, compulsory basic training for motorcyclists, publicity campaigns, and the recent ban on mobile phones whilst driving are among the range of measures which have made a real difference to road safety in Britain.

In 2000, the Labour Government published a safety strategy in Tomorrow’s Roads: Safer for Everyone. A target to cut death and injury in road accidents by 40 per cent by 2010 had already reached one-third of that by the end of 2002 and the Government was well on its way to reducing child deaths by 50 per cent by 2010.

This is encouraging and the UK record is, in world terms, relatively good. At 6.1 road deaths per 100,000 people, the UK’s death rate (Scotland’s is 6.9 per 100,000) is lower than every other EU state for which data is available. It also compares favourably with Australia (9.5 per 100,000) and the United States (15.2 per 100,000).

The improvements in road safety in Scotland and the UK more generally, are, of course, down to more than just the initiatives of the Scottish Executive or the UK Government. Organisations such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign have made vital contributions to this cause. Industry, too, has joined the effort, with car manufacturers doing more and more to improve vehicle safety and car technology.

The success of the efforts of government, industry and civil society illustrate the truth of the day’s slogan "Road Safety is no Accident", for real progress has been made in preventing road and traffic injuries occurring.

Much work still remains. Although the UK has a good road safety record compared with many other countries, our record for child death or injury on the roads is poorer.

Road calming measures, 20mph zones, and speed cameras can sometimes raise the hackles of motorists. Yet I believe most people accept they do the job they were designed to do - to cut speed and improve road safety. Such measures are not anti-motorist - they reduce the likelihood of vehicles being involved in an accident - but they are pro-pedestrian, which is, after all, what most of us are most of the time. I drive myself - but I also want the streets and crossings in the community in which I live, and where my children walk, to be safe, and I’m sure most motorists are the same.

The World Health Organisation highlights five areas for intervention in reducing road and traffic-related accidents. In common with other high-income countries, the UK has met many of the criteria required for effective action - setting and enforcing speed limits, public information and road safety campaigns, breath tests, seat belts and child restraints and other measures concerning visibility such as effective street lighting. Moreover, publicity campaigns such as "Don’t Drink and Drive", "Kill Your Speed" and "Think!" have left an indelible message on the public consciousness and their attitudes to these issues.

In 1896, Bridget Driscoll, a 44-year-old mother of two, became the first person ever killed by a motor vehicle as she walked with her teenage daughter across the grounds at Crystal Palace. Witnesses said the car was going "at tremendous speed". At the inquest, the coroner said: "This must never happen again." Well, of course, it did happen again and it continues to do so. Even though we know the dangers of drink-driving, of speeding and of dangerous driving, accidents still happen.

We need to do more. Government, councils and road safety organisations should play their part, but we need to make sure we do ours as well. Almost 3500 people were killed on the roads of the UK last year. Let’s do what we can - as individuals and as society, to help cut the toll of death and injury by the time of the next World Road Safety Day.

Mark Lazarowicz is the Member of Parliament for 'Edinburgh North and Leith'. In 2003 he was named Road Safety Parliamentarian of the Year by the road safety charity, Brake.