LOCAL authorities in England have slashed road safety spending.

But Kirklees Council has bucked the trend, investing more in 2011/12 than the previous year.

Across the country, spending on road safety education and traffic management dropped by £23m.

In Kirklees, it rose 4% from £3.55m in 2010/11 to £3.69m last year.

Simon Best, chief executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists said: “In difficult times, councils can work with the voluntary and private sectors to provide the services they can no longer afford.

“Austerity is forcing councils to make difficult choices, but the fact that these cuts only represent the first year of savings under the coalition’s spending review is deeply worrying.

“Cutting road safety so hard makes no sense. The average wage of a lollipop lady is £3,000 a year while the cost of each road fatality is £1.6m.”