‘Strong leadership’ from government key to breaking five year stagnation in UK road death figures, IAM RoadSmart says

Leading UK road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has said the government needs to make bigger efforts in the areas of drink-drive campaigning and rehabilitation, better enforcement of driving standards and increased education on road safety if we want to see any reduction on the stagnant road casualty statistics announced today (4 August) by the Department for Transport.

The charity said that after decades of good progress, the past five years have seen a disappointing plateau which is not acceptable.

Today’s figures show there has been no reduction in drink-drive deaths since 2010 – remaining at 240 deaths a year;  there has been no reduction in total road deaths and a 2% increase in serious casualties in the past 12 months (to 31 March 2016).

Tim Shallcross, head of technical policy at IAM RoadSmart, said: “The Government must get to grips with five years of disappointing figures now. It needs to show stronger leadership to really drive down road deaths and serious injuries in the future. 

“Road deaths are a serious issue; 35 people a week die in crashes throughout the country. In any other sphere, 35 deaths would provoke national outrage, rule the headlines for months and provoke urgent government action. It happens week in week out on our roads and it merits barely a mention. 

“More action on drink driving, more on-road enforcement of driving standards and more publicity and education are urgently needed if we are to return to the gains made before 2010. 

“IAM Roadsmart urges the government to take back the initiative and put forward credible plans to address this vital issue.”

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Notes to editors:

Further information from:

IAM RoadSmart press office – 020 8996 9777 – press.office@iam.org.uk 

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IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://wwwiamroadsmart.com/local-groups  

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