THE number of people killed or seriously injured in the last three months nationally has fallen by 18%.
The provisional figures produced by The Department of Transport showed that 400 people were killed in reported road accidents in Britain between April – June: an 18% reduction on the figure of 487 in the same period last year.
But the department warned factors such as unexpected weather could make comparing year-on-year figures difficult.
Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) policy and research director Neil Greig said: “In the six months before these results today there were increases in the numbers killed and seriously injured. This overall drop for the period April – June 2012 has not made up for that.
“We need to do much more to turn this quarter’s figures into a trend. Upgrading roads, targeted safety campaigns and measures to improve road user awareness among new drivers are needed too.
“The drop in road casualties is really good news but the Department of Transport admits that it is likely to be linked to this year’s wet weather. We shouldn’t rely on a few months of dodgy weather to get cyclists and motorcyclists casualties down.”
Meanwhile police figures for West Yorkshire show that the region’s road deaths rose from 58 in 2010 to 65 last year.
