HUDDERSFIELD-based national charity Brake has blasted savage road safety funding cuts in this week’s emergency Budget.
But it has welcomed a reduction in the number of deaths and serious injuries and says money must go into keeping the figures on the decline.
Official figures from the Department for Transport show continued reductions in road deaths and suggest serious and minor injuries are steadily falling.
Deaths have fallen to 2,222 in 2009 from 2,538 in 2008 – a reduction of 38% from the 1994-8 baseline.
The number of people reported as being seriously injured fell from 26,034 people in 2008 to 24,684 in 2009 – a 45% reduction from the 1994-98 baseline.
But Ellen Booth, campaigns officer for Brake, said: “The Government’s road safety strategy and targets were a step in the right direction but all too often crucial road safety action has been undermined.
“There have been too many missed opportunities to save lives in the past decade.
“Every death is a tragedy so this is no time for congratulations.
“We want to challenge the new Government to seize every opportunity to protect road users, starting with setting new, challenging targets.
“We also need a bold strategy that spells out the importance of investing in road safety, despite government cuts.’’
The capital grant used for pedestrian crossings, speed cameras and speed humps, is to be cut immediately by £17.2m.
And a further £20.6m is to be trimmed from council funding for road safety campaigns and maintenance of speed cameras.
The Government has said it does not expect there to be a direct correlation between the cuts and local authority expenditure on road safety.
