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Truck death toll is falling
Page 8
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Road deaths are up — but not among truck drivers. Jennifer Ball reports.
THE NUMBER OF truck drivers killed on UK roads fell 13% from 2002 to 2003, despite the overall number of road deaths reaching its highest level for six years.
The Department for Transport report Road Casualties Great Britain 2003 reveals that 116 truckers were killed in 2003; down from 133 in 2002. Injuries fell 8% to 1,078. Overall the number of road deaths rose 2% to 3,508 despite recent boasts by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling that the number of people killed or seriously injured has fallen 40% at sites where speed cameras are in use (CM 24 June).
The RAC Foundation says the rise could be due to a mas sive increase in speed cameras. It argues that this has led to a decline in traffic police, which means offences such as driving while on drugs and careless driving could be going unchecked.
Geoff Day.the FreightIkansport Association's engineering policy manager, says: The fall in deaths could be due to better safety such as the improved structure of cabs and fitment of seat-belts. A few years ago it was not seen as macho to wear a seat-belt, despite it being an offence. But nowadays there is far more acceptance and more drivers are wearing them."
Road Safety Minister David Jamieson insists that the government continues to make progress in cutting road deaths — child and pedestrian casualties fell 8% and 6% respectively: "However, the figures for motorcyclists and deaths on minor roads have gone up. We need to look carefully at what is causing these accidents so we can work more effectively to address the root causes."
• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has launched a plan to cut road accidents. Measures include: cutting the drink drive limit to 50mW100m1; encmffaging drivers to take refresher training and a switch in the system of changing clocks in spring and autumn to give lighter evenings.