This report examines whether the Department for Transport's Road User Safety Division is improving safety among pedestrians and cyclists. It assesses specifically whether the Department has an effective strategy and programme of activities for these groups and whether it works well with other organisations. Key findings include a variation in the reported casualty reduction rates among different groups and a lower than expected reduction in the numbers of seriously injured. The Department's current road safety strategy is discussed and compared with the strategies of other countries. The effectiveness of improvements such as 20 mph zones is considered.The uses to which the Department put its 36 million Pounds budget in 2008-9 are listed. Recommendations made in the area of measuring road safety amongst pedestrians and cyclists include setting targets that report separately on the numbers of people killed and those seriously injured, further subdividing these figures between different groups and making use of other sources of information such as hospital admissions and insurance claims. Recommendations for the implementation of road safety projects include better evaluation and the dissemination of best practice information. Suggestions are also made for setting up improved strategies for working with other organisations such as local highway authorities.
Abstract