Beyond 2010 : Taking Stock and Moving Forward


Organisation: Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety
Date uploaded: 21st July 2010
Date published/launched: March 2010


To mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Tomorrow's Roads Safer for Everyone, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has published this report to provide an evaluation of road safety in Great Britain 10 years on.

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Tomorrow’s Roads – Safer for Everyone, was published on 1 March 2000. The strategy set out new casualty reduction targets to 2010, determined the key partners, identified 10 road safety themes and outlined the link between road safety and a wider range of societal concerns.

PACTS believes that local highway authorities and their casualty reduction partners need to take on ‘smarter’ working processes. A more rigorous approach to evaluation, a clearer focus on evidence-led working through improved data analysis and more joined-up working between partners and across organisations will help to further road safety efforts over the course of the next strategy.

Based on the significant disparity of casualty reduction across GB, it is hoped that the DfT will look more closely at minimising road risk through the application of more sophisticated targets, guidance, research and funding to road safety delivery partners by area-type or by region where applicable.

PACTS would like to see DfT taking a more delivery-based focus, working more closely with their road safety partners at the local level to provide consistent funding streams and to bridge the gap between academics and practitioners.

PACTS believes that the DfT should lead by example, outlining and demonstrating the benefits of closer joined up working, working more closely with their colleagues across government to ensure that road safety becomes confirmed within the public health agenda. Good practice guidance should be offered to those at the local level, identifying ways into communities and options for closer working with primary care trusts (PCTS), schools, fleet managers and, in many cases, police forces and fire services.

The DfT should acknowledge the lack of reference to road safety within Local Transport Plan (LTP) guidance and more effectively communicate the link with advice about local road safety strategies. This will provide local highway authorities with some tangible assistance about what to include.

There is a concern that safety relevance will be minimised if this step is not taken. In the consultation for A Safer Way, the DfT indicated a high-level document which it is hoped would be legible and usable to those stakeholders who have less experience of road safety. However, the consultation did not provide any indication of delivery plans. It is hoped that the final strategy will either contain, or be accompanied by, a toolkit for all road safety partners and an outline of DfT’s specific commitment to casualty reduction over at least the next 10 years.

For more information contact:
Eleanor Besley
T: 0207 222 7736

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