AUSTERITY cuts have been blamed for the rise in numbers killed and seriously injured last year on UK roads.
And road safety experts the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) have placed the blame squarely on the doorstep of government cutbacks.
It expressed disappointment at the Department of Transport figures saying years of government cutbacks and the resulting drop in visible policing is the cause for the rise.
It is disappointing that after many years of solid falls in the numbers of people killed and injured on our roads, the government has taken its eye off the ball
There have been 1,711 deaths, up 1% in the year ending September 2014, but 24,360 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties, an alarming 4% increase. Child KSI casualties rose by 3% over this period. There were also 192,910 reported road casualties of all severities, 5% higher year-on-year.
Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research, said: “It is disappointing that after many years of solid falls in the numbers of people killed and injured on our roads, the government has taken its eye off the ball.
“These figures reflect our view that cuts in visible policing and road safety spending has had an impact, with a third successive quarter of increases. We have had pretty much two decades of falls in the KSI figures and, while these new figures can in no way be regarded as a trend, they are a big concern.”
Greig added that the government has been “riding its luck” and that the recession has played its part in artificially making the figures seem better than they really are.
He said: “Recent transport ministers have been lucky. The recession had slowed traffic growth, new car technology has delivered safer roads year on year and most accident black spots have now been engineered out of existence.”
