ROAD DEATH AND INJURY: PERSONAL, LOCAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES.

Sandra Dutson. September 2008

On August 17th 1896, Bridget Driscoll was the first person to be killed by a car. The coroner said at her inquest he hoped such a thing would never happen again.

Since then over 35 million have been killed worldwide on the roads and millions more injured, many seriously. Every year sees a further 1.3million killed and over 15 million seriously injured. Road crashes cost developing countries in some cases the equivalent of their entire overseas aid budget.

At the very personal level when I was four years old a playmate was killed by a lorry while crossing the road, and later a close university friend and a family friend were both killed in car crashes. I can remember to this day my feelings as the news was given to me. More recently a colleague was 'seriously injured' in a car crash ie he had both legs and arms broken and died four years later without having spoken for the last year of his life. This would remain classified as 'seriously injured' and is the kind of reality behind that expression. My sense of outrage about how lightly the death and injury 'toll' on our roads is taken mean that when invited to convene a Manchester group for the NW group of RoadPeace a few years ago I was honoured to do so. In 1990 Brigitte Chaudhry's son was killed by a van driver who had driven through red lights. Police said to her "everyone drives through red lights, this is only careless". She set up the organisation RoadPeace to support road traffic victims through all the complex, often lengthy legal proceedings whilst still experiencing intense shock and grief. This led to campaigns on many aspects of those legal processes involved including investigation of collisions, inquests and criminal prosecution.

One of the things which caused enormous distress to the families of victims was that very often the death of their loved one was not even mentioned in court. A few points on a license and fine of #150 or so when someone may have committed a whole range of driving offences culminating in the death of another person, never even acknowledged, is outrageous. This will change the day I am finalising this perspectives piece. The Roadpeace press release of August 2008 on the legislation includes the following comments:

• 'Careless drivers who cause the death of another person will be held accountable for their actions. No longer will they be charged with the minor offence of Careless Driving, the same offence which applied if they had hit a tree or a post or had a near miss. This charge did not even mention the death.
• The new Causing Death by Careless Driving charge not only mentions the death, but it also can be heard in the Crown Court, and very serious cases can incur a custodial sentence. But this will be rare as findings from a recent CPS survey implied that only 10-20 drivers a year would receive custodial sentences for a death caused by careless driving. The new charge also carries a driving ban of 12 months minimum.
• Under the old system, careless drivers who killed were allowed to continue driving--much to the horror of the bereaved.
• But these changes only affect fatal crashes. Drivers who cause injury and disability are still treated lightly by our justice system. To have a deterrent effect on drivers, the courts need to close this gap. For every fatal crash, there are over 60 injury crashes, eight of which are serious.'

Language plays its part in changing attitudes. The words 'toll' and 'accident' make it sound as though road death is to be expected, a necessary price to pay in an affluent, 'civilised' country. The word 'accident' is being increasingly replaced by 'collision' or 'crash' by police, coroners and local authorities following a campaign by RoadPeace.

Many collisions involve some level of driver culpability and some involve drivers without licenses or insurance who commit several other clear, serious offences. 'Car crime' does not refer to causing death and injury but stealing vehicles.

During the same week I was writing this article, an elderly man was seriously injured at the end of my road in an incident involving a bus. There was then a further incident in which the car of a doctor who had stopped to help was stolen. This was clearly extremely shocking but in this case as ever the injuries of the elderly man were secondary to the story. The headlines referred to the theft of the car.

RoadPeace has also been involved in a great deal of work around road danger reduction. This is not totally separated from the support for victims and fight for justice. Taking road offences seriously does play a part in the changes in driver attitudes and behaviour needed if roads are to be safer for all users.

There has been a significant drop in the numbers of people killed and injured on Great Britain's roads in recent years. In 2000 the Government announced a new Road Safety Strategy and set new targets for reducing casualties by 2010.

The targets were:

• a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured,
• a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured,
• a 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate,

expressed as the number of people slightly injured per million vehicles, all compared to a baseline average from 1994-1998.

Since then local authorities and police forces, increasingly working in partnership with other agencies and groups have engaged in some very careful analysis of reasons for casualties and much very carefully focussed work on prevention has been done. The figures for 2007 will undoubtedly bring a sense of satisfaction to all involved in this painstaking and hard work, often in the face of public or press hostility. For the first year in over a decade the numbers killed on British roads are lower than 3,000 and numbers of children killed was down to 121. These tragedies compare with 3578 average for 1994-1998 for all killed, and 260 children killed. Pedestrian deaths numbered 646 in 2007 compared with the baseline average of 1008. Serious injuries figures also reduced.

The casualty figures reported in July 2008 showed the following % improvement:

• a 36% reduction below the 1994-8 baseline average of the no. of people killed or seriously injured,
• a 55% reduction below the 1994-8 baseline average of the no. of children killed or seriously injured, and
• a provisional estimate of a 30% reduction in the slight casualty rate.

[If you want to look at all data in more detail, see the Department for Transport.]

This achievement is to be commended and proves when there is a political will reductions in casualties can be made. Other countries could tell a similar story. However there are two reasons for refusing to be too congratulatory. The most important is that these are still tragic, devastating events. The lives of bereaved families and those seriously injured will never be the same. There is always more that could be done by way of prevention if we really had a zero tolerance attitude to road death and injury instead of continuance of the 'road death toll' mentality.

Also, road danger reduction is about more than reducing road death and casualties. Casualty figures can fall because people walk and cycle less. Roads can appear to be becoming safer when in fact they are more dangerous to vulnerable users who therefore do not use them. Child safety may appear to have improved simply because children do not play out as much.

One of the key campaigns for road danger reduction is around slower speeds, in particular to make 20mph the default position in residential areas and in areas where pedestrian safety issues are extremely clear. This, it is hoped, would encourage more cycling, walking and children's outdoor play with all associated health benefits to individuals concerned and the wider public health ramifications for improved air quality and tackling obesity with less car use. Lower speeds with less changing of gears and braking reduce pollution including CO2 emissions as less fuel is used.

Moving back to the global scene there is now involvement by the World Health organisation and an international campaign 'Make Roads Safe'. Next year in November in Russia there will be the first UN Ministerial conference on road safety.

The full public health impact of global road travel has finally been acknowledged. The tragedies of road death and injury afflict people the world over. However once more it is the poorest most at risk and as the age groups most affected are breadwinners there are all the implications for families already experiencing hardship.

In a recent article in the Guardian Kevin Watkins from Oxford University's Global Road Governance programme wrote: "Two years ago the G8 pledged $1.2bn for road development in the region (sub-Saharan Africa). Road safety financing amounts to less than 1% of the package. Meanwhile with a $4bn transport infrastructure portfolio, the World Bank and regional development banks employ just two full-time road safety specialists among them"

His final sentence reads "It is time for a 21st century transport policy that puts human safety at the heart of road management"

I agree. We need to see road danger reduction locally and globally as fundamental to all transport policy. This is much more than the odd seat belt campaign or the work done on road safety with children, important though this is. Reducing speeds through road and vehicle design and driver attitudes and behaviour is crucial. Reducing road danger, as I have illustrated in broad terms, also links in with work on climate change as slower speeds in particular encourage use of more benign modes and minimise fuel use. We need more car manufacturers to think in terms of vehicles with slower speeds and reduced fuel consumption rather than the 'gas guzzling, speeding' monsters currently promoted.

We have made a tentative but real start in the right direction in this country. I would like to think it became a matter of real pride to be seen as a world leader in this. Most of the bereaved people who campaign tirelessly say what they want is justice for their loved one and for no-one ever to go through what they have been through.

Useful websites:
Department for Transport
Global road safety partnership (GRSP)
Make Roads Safe
Road Peace
World Health Organisation (WHO), Injury Prevention