Stay Safe!
New data from the Department for Transport (DfT), shows there has been a sharp rise in the number of road deaths in Britain.
However, these statistics are more in line with the figures that were released in 2019 – before the covid-19 pandemic, so it could just be the world returning to the office after years of working from home.
The Highway Code was changed in January to try to make the road safer for vulnerable road users. Sadly this hasn’t translated to a drop in road fatalities. Is it possible that the changes weren’t communicated very well to everyone.
Road Statistics
Sadly the number of motorists killed on the roads this year was 354, 44 more than last year. pedestrian deaths were also up by 15 to 376, and e-scooter deaths were up 2 to 12. Cyclists were the only people bucking this trend, with 26 fewer fatalities than the previous year. Sadly more cyclists were seriously injured than last year, so there isn’t really anything to be celebrated here. The rates are still down on 2019 levels, so it depends whether you’re measuring against the last year or pre-pandemic levels, but any road deaths are a tragedy.
A DfT spokeswoman said: “We welcome a continued decrease in road casualties compared with 2019 levels, and work tirelessly to improve road safety for all, including through our Think! campaign, updating the Highway Code to protect the most vulnerable road users, and recent funding of £47.5 million towards improving the 27 most dangerous roads in England through the Safer Roads Fund.”
As the young are more at risk of having a serious accident we feel instead of being gloomy about these figures we should be motivated to do everything we can. Learners need to be taught to drive safely, to obey speed limits and be made aware of road safety. If we can create good drivers for tomorrow we can help to avoid road traffic accidents.
If you want to learn to drive there’s no need to be nervous, we’ll teach you to drive safely!