A recent Northern Ireland Audit Office Report on Road Safety Policy appeared to show that Northern Ireland had a poor road safety record by comparison with other parts of the United Kingdom. This report presents the results of a study, commissioned by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland, that compares the accident records of Northern Ireland, the English regions, Wales and Scotland. Police accident data are analysed, in conjunction with information about influential factors such as population, traffic flow and road length. In addition, clinical data about road accident casualties who attended the Daisy Hill hospital in Northern Ireland are compared with data from mainland hospitals. It was found that the proportion of injured pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists who die in Northern Ireland is unusually high, as is the number of casualties per million vehicle-km travelled on minor built-up roads. The average number of people injured per accident is much higher on each type of road, and the average for all roads has risen consistently while it has risen only very slowly on the mainland. The level of drink/driving appears to be significantly higher than on the mainland, although the relatively low proportion of drivers breath-tested by the Royal Ulster Constabulary during the period studied tends to conceal the difference. An increased application of speed reduction measures such as traffic calming, camera based enforcement and publicity were recommended for further consideration together with breath testing of accident involved drivers. (A)
Abstract