Working for change » Safer Streets
Safer Streets
Our streets are not safe, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists. There have been significant advances in road safety in the last 40 years -- in 2007, the 646 pedestrian deaths, represented a 78% decrease
Death rates per head of population have declined for child pedestrians, cyclists and car occupants but pedestrian death rates remain higher (0.55 deaths/100 000 children; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42 to 0.72 deaths) than those for car occupants (0.34 deaths; 95% CI 0.23 to 0.48 deaths) and cyclists (0.16 deaths; 95% CI 0.09 to 0.27 deaths). Since 1985, the average distance children travelled as a car occupant has increased by 70%; the average distance walked has declined by 19%; and the average distance cycled has declined by 58%. Taking into account distance travelled, there are about 50 times more child cyclist deaths (0.55 deaths/10 million passenger miles; 0.32 to 0.89) and nearly 30 times more child pedestrian deaths (0.27 deaths; 0.20 to 0.35) than there are deaths to child car occupants (0.01 deaths; 0.007 to 0.014). In 2003, children from families without access to a vehicle walked twice the distance walked by children in families with access to two or more vehicles. http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/99/8/402
In 2007, 646 pedestrians were killed in road crashes in Great Britain; this was 22 per cent of all deaths from road crashes, a 78 per cent decrease from 40 years ago when pedestrian fatalities were 2,964.
The total number of deaths in road crashes fell by 7 per cent to 2,946 in 2007 from 3,172 in 2006. However, the number of fatalities has remained fairly constant over the last ten years.
Nearly half (49 per cent) of people killed in road crashes were car users in 2007. Pedal cyclists and motor cyclists represented
5 and 20 per cent of those killed respectively. Occupants of buses, coaches, goods and other vehicles accounted for the remaining 5 per cent of road deaths.
Our streets are primarily designed for motor vehicle users, not for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Road safety has traditionally been reactive, and not preventative, focusing on death and serious injury resulting from collisions, rather than focusing on the prevention of collisions
- The popular ‘share the road’ approach often ignores the imbalance of power and risk between motor vehicle users and more active road users
- Intimidation by and fear of motor vehicles, especially speeding drivers, prevents people from walking and cycling more and destorys community cohesion
- Cyclists and pedestrians in urban areas are increasingly at risk from Heavy Goods Vehicles.
So we are campaigning for safer streets - as we believe safer streets not only result in fewer deaths and injuries, but also contribute to increased walking and cycling, which is good for the environment, and good for public health.
RoadPeace, along with CTC, LCC, Living Streets, and 20s plenty is campaigning for
- 20 mph default speed limit in all residential areas
- A change in civil law to make it more cyclist and pedestrian friendly
We support the Take action active travel demands, which include supporting a 20 mph default speed limit, allocating 10% of transport funding for cycling and walking, and tackling bad driving.
