How safe can we get?
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At around 2,500 a year, road deaths in the UK are falling. As Europe launches a new road safety charter, we ask CM's operator panel what more can be done to save lives.
Words: Pat Hagan Britain is often portrayed as the poorer relation of Europe. Whether it's our trains not running on time or a lack of access to cancer drugs, it is fashionable to criticise the country's failure to keep up with our Continental neighbours.
But when it comes to road safety, it's a completely different story. In fact, this is one area where 'Britannia definitely rules the waves: According to the latest Department for Transport figures, deaths from road accidents are falling faster in the UK than anywhere on mainland Europe. Last year, the fatality rate dropped 14% to 2,538. compared with a 9% decline across the rest of the Continent.
Even more impressive is the decline in HGV-related fatalities, falling 40% from 2007 to 2008.
Everything from safer vehicles to much-maligned speed cameras contributed to these dramatic figures, yet road-going vehicles of all kinds are still major causes of deaths and injuries, and the government is intent on driving these figures even further down.
Transport minister Paul Clark recently called for even greater efforts to boost safety, and warned: "We must never grow complacent."
A major initiative, the European Road Safety Charter, aims to try to save another 25.000 lives across the EU by making further improvements.
So what measures would improve Britain's road safety record even further? Members of CM's operators' panel have a wide range of views and suggestions.
A recurring plea is to crack down on foreign drivers, who seem more likely to be involved in accidents, but other ideas include more rest stops for truck drivers, and even calls for boosting speed limits on some A-roads, •