The most dangerous places to drive in Britain

A Government report has named and shamed the worst councils in the UK for road safety. This follows news that road deaths rose in 2011 for the first time since 2003.

The data comes in response to the alarming road casualty figures published by the Transport Select Committee, which prompted road safety organisations to call for better leadership and the abolition of specific accident-related targets.

Increase in road deaths should be ‘wake-up call’

Social voices: Road deaths on the rise – why speed isn’t to blame

The worst performing councils in the UK were Doncaster, Bournemouth and Redcar and Cleveland, with a 0%, 3% and 8% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously inured on the roads respectively, when comparing results over the period 2006 to 2010 with that of 1994 to 1998.

By comparison, the councils that cleaned up their act the most were Halton in Cheshire, Coventry and Telford, and Wrekin, with a 70%, 66% and 65% improvement in the number of individuals killed or seriously injured respectively over the same period.

The report noted “considerable variation amongst local authorities in their performance on road safety. Whilst there are examples of good practice, there are cases in which authorities have not improved their road safety performance in recent years at all.”

The new information has prompted the inclusion of plans to out the worst performing local authorities to improve their performance.

In 2011, 1,901 people were killed in road traffic accidents, while a further 23,122 people were seriously injured. MPs will have to give an explanation for the first yearly increase in road deaths in nearly a decade and a reassurance to Parliament that the statistics do not mark the beginning of a road deaths rise.

The publishing of the data is the first step in an improvement of leadership and a “clearer visions” on cutting serious and fatal road traffic accidents in the UK through a combination of better education for drivers – especially newly qualified motorists.

Increase in road deaths should be ‘wake-up call’

Social voices: Road deaths on the rise – why speed isn’t to blame