Safety

46.    The transport system as a whole is the safest it has ever been. Although roads in England have a good safety record, there were still 2,834 people killed in 1998 and over 288,216 injured^[22]. Advances in technology, our renewed focus on partnerships changing human factors, and effective legislation offer great hope for progress in reducing transport crashes and fatalities.

New 2010 target

47.    The Government’s new 2010 target is a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents; a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured; and a 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres^[23].

48.    Motorways and trunk roads carry over 30% of traffic generally and over half of lorry traffic. But less than 10% of deaths and serious injuries happen there. Safety is 'mainstreamed' into all trunk road improvements and maintenance systems. In the next 10 years, technology will bring increasing benefits through controlling traffic, mainly to make the flow smoother and to avoid accidents.

49.    Most advances in safety have come from improvements in road and motor vehicle design, increased seat-belt use and decreased drunk driving. Public awareness campaigns have also helped to improve safety. Additional improvements in safety are expected to come from advances in motor vehicle road designs, in-vehicle technologies, technology-enhanced traffic-law enforcement, and improvements in pedestrian/cyclist safety.

Older drivers

50.    There will be greater concerns for the safe mobility of older adults who will make up a greater proportion of the population. New technologies will be employed to keep them driving safely for longer, as they continue to use the car as their main mode of transport. Criteria will have to be found to judge a person’s ability to drive, and, if the elderly were to be banned from driving, alternative services would have to be provided. Safety will also become a crucial issue for pedestrians, many of whom will be elderly and very elderly.