British Road Deaths Have Dropped below 3,000 per Year, but Has Road Safety Really Improved?
| Author | Anthony H. Reinhardt-Rutland |
| Published date | 01 March 2010 |
| Date | 01 March 2010 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2010.83.1.468 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
ANTHONY H. REINHARDT-RUTLAND
Reader in Psychology, School of Psychology, Coleraine, Co.
Londonderry, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
BRITISH ROAD DEATHS HAVE
DROPPED BELOW 3,000 PER
YEAR, BUT HAS ROAD SAFETY
REALLY IMPROVED?
Road deaths have halved since the 1960s, an outcome that
suggests an improving safety culture: road-users collectively
and individually focusing on safety. However, the reduction
may be attributed to reduced walking and cycling, increased
traffic density and improved NHS trauma care. Although more
contentious, safety engineering should also be considered.
Finally, fuel shortage has in the past reduced deaths and may
do so in the future. Compared with rail and terrorism, the
safety culture pertaining to road use is weak.
Keywords: reduced deaths; roads; safety culture
A notable event in British road casualties has been achieved. In
2007 and 2008 British road deaths dropped below 3,000. This
represents more than a halving of road deaths since the 1960s
(Department for Transport, 2009: 106). A knee-jerk interpreta-
tion might be that current safety initiatives are effective; there-
fore, why invent new initiatives? This scenario is unintentionally
conveyed in many road-safety programmes, including recent
documents from the Scottish Government (Donneley, 2008: 14)
and the Department for Transport (2008b: 7). The British Psy-
chological Society commented on both regarding initiatives that
concerned, for example, driver behaviour and child pedestrians,
but noted that the point of the initiatives was undermined by the
inclusion of the falling mortality rates without any accompany-
ing critique (Reinhardt-Rutland et al., 2008; Reinhardt-Rutland
and Worthington, 2009).
Mortality rates are the generally favoured statistics regarding
road safety. Injury rates are also reported, but are problematic
because of their heterogeneity: injuries are categorised into slight
and serious, crudely reflecting the degree and duration of
incapacity entailed (Department for Transport, 2009: 58–61).
Another alternative: crash rates, whether or not they entail injury
or death, would be valuable for a more complete appreciation.
The Police Journal, Volume 83 (2010) 51
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2010.83.1.468
To continue reading
Request your trial