Road safety

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Road safety is a crucial issue for anyone operating on the roads, not just in the UK but internationally. In 2006, 3,172 people died on UK roads with 255,000 injured. Road transport operators must show that they comply with road safety legislation including:

As well as legislative cover for this area there is also a wealth of best practice guidance, including: Health & Safety Executive guidelines; advice from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents; and Department for Transport guidelines. While much of this is not mandatory, any road transport operator whose vehicle is involved in a road traffic collision may be held responsible through negligence if best practice has not been followed. In a fatal road traffic collision, directors of the operating company can be held responsible under corporate manslaughter legislation if their practices and policies are not found to be sufficient and properly enforced throughout the organisation.

Points to consider

Road safety depends upon the following:

  • Driver education
  • Roadworthy vehicles
  • Legislative compliance
  • Well designed and maintained infrastructure
  • Public awareness of road safety risk
  • Road safety groups

There are many road safety groups in the UK, many of them charities, which give advice on safety with regard to specific types of road user - cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders, motorcyclists etc. Some useful groups to be aware of are:

Road safety abroad

While road safety is a high-priority issue in Western and European countries, it is also an increasingly important social and political issue in developing economies. The 2004 World Health Organisation report suggests that worldwide 1.2 million people are killed on roads each year and 50 million are injured. Its 2007 Global Status on Road Safety report is currently being compiled. Nine-tenths of road deaths will be in less-developed economies. As motorisation increases so will road deaths, by 80% in less-developed economies by 2020. 96% of children killed on the roads die in poor countries. Transaid is one the key charities promoting road safety in under-developed nations.

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