The Government announced that it has met its target to reduce road casualties in disadvantaged areas. Since the target was set, road casualties in the 88 most deprived districts in England have fallen by 19% beside a fall of 15% for England as a whole. The target was introduced in 2002 as part of the Government's response following research which showed that children from the poorest communities are up to five times more likely to be involved in road accidents than some of their better off peers.
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:"We are committed to making our roads even safer for everyone, no matter where they live.
These results are testament to the work of local councils up and down the country who have risen to the challenge of improving safety for people in disadvantaged communities.
But the risks to people in the most disadvantaged groups are still high, so there is no room for complacency and we will continue to work to reduce casualties even further. "
The Departments Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative has awarded grants totalling £17m to local authorities over 3 years to develop and demonstrate strategies for tackling the special road safety problems in disadvantaged communities. Examples of funding include:
* Schemes to provide safer places for children to play and to provide safer access to existing play areas.
* Engineering schemes, for example to improve pedestrian movement and access through new crossing facilities in deprived areas.
* Education projects such as Our Walk to School, an after school project for year 5 pupils in one of the most deprives areas of Liverpool, aims at increasing awareness of road safety issues such as danger recognition and safer routes to school.
* A Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative central team for the 15 local authorities involved, tasked with developing and delivering innovative collaborative projects across the areas of regeneration and renewal, marketing and publicity, and education and training.
The Government's road safety target was strengthened in 2002 to include a commitment (for England) to tackling the higher incidence of casualties among disadvantaged communities. The target was to secure a greater reduction in the overall number of road casualties in the 88 Neighbourhood Renewal fund areas in England designated by the Department of Communities and Local Government, than for England as a whole, comparing the figure for 2005 with the average for 1999 to 2001.
Compared to the average for years 1999 to 2001, data for 2005 showed that casualties in the 88 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund districts fell by 19% against a fall of 15% for England as a whole.
The Government has also set casualty targets set for 2010; these are to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 40% and to reduce child deaths and serious injuries by 50%, both compared with the average for 1994-98.
The Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative (NRSI) was established in response to the target in 2002. The Department awarded grant funding of £17.6 million to the project, which covers 15 local authorities in the Midlands, North West and Yorkshire. The authorities involved in the initiative are, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, City of Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside, Wigan, Bradford, Liverpool, City of Nottingham, Sandwell, Stoke on Trent.
The work done by NRSI authorities has included a range of physical measures such as new play areas, pedestrian crossing improvements and traffic calming schemes, alongside partnership working with communities, schools and organisations such as Sure Start and Primary Care Trusts to raise road safety awareness and to foster a road safety culture.
For more information on Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative visit
www.nrsi.org.ukPublic Enquiries: 020 7944 8300. Department for Transport Website:
www.dft.gov.uk
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