Transport Crucible . com

Good news about UK transport is rare – so a fall in road deaths to below 3,000 for the first time since records began is definitely worth noting. Go here for a BBC summary, of the latest figures or here for the full-Monty DfT version. But, TC and a few others note that the latest stats also reveal that speeding is a causal factor in only 3% of accidents. This is equally good news for most of us. Go here for a Massey of the Mail report. A third year of ‘cause’ stats to accompany traffic injury figures builds an increasingly clear and reliable source of facts to help balance road safety policy emphasis between speed limit enforcement and tackling the bad but non-speeding behaviour that causes most road fatalities in practice. The hard news on speed as a factor is however less good for some campaign groups, administrators, and safety/speed camera manufacturers who see speed reduction or limit enforcement as the best way to improve road safety. The facts as revealed by the latest stats place government on the horns of a thorny dilemma. The best way to counteract careless and bad driving on roads is by deploying patrols of experienced traffic police. But, in a nut shell, that is a cost for government to face and speed cameras offer a source of revenue… Road safety also has a social dimension. Links between higher death rates and deprivation are a focus of concern for this Guardian article.