RAC responds to latest Great Britain road casualty statistics

RAC head of external affairs Pete Williams said: “It is alarming to see that years of progress on road safety appears to have come to an abrupt halt, with this increase going against the trend of falls in road fatalities and casualties for almost all of the last thirty years.

“Most worrying of all is that child fatalities and casualties are on the up for the first time since 1995 with the figures showing an increase in each quarter of 2014 over 2013 – the first time in 20 years that we have witnessed a year-on-year increase. Similarly the increase in deaths and serious injuries among cyclists, 8% up in the year to September 2014, is a trend we cannot ignore.

“The RAC has highlighted the lack of focus that the current government has shown to road safety, but this is surely the wake-up call that is needed to give the topic the attention and resources it deserves. The public will not accept complacency and we should not be satisfied until we reduce fatalities on UK roads to zero.

“In the run-up to the May election the RAC is calling on all parties to make road safety and road safety education a priority in their manifestos, and to address the urgent need to invest in high-profile campaigns to tackle some of the worst driving behaviours. This should include clearly placing road safety education on the national curriculum for school children, and for that matter for all road users.

“These worrying figures are also a reminder for this and the next government of the need to set national targets for reductions in road fatalities and serious accidents. There can no longer be any justification to resist setting these, and we know historically such targets has proved effective in helping to focus efforts and prioritise actions to reduce casualties.”