Development and Property Services

Roads and Transport

ROAD SAFETY PLAN

Introduction

Road accidents are a major cause of death and injury in the world today. It is estimated that each year up to one million people are killed world-wide with many more being injured. Over 60,000 are killed in EU states and some 600,000 seriously injured. Britain, despite having a good safety record, still has over 3500 fatal and 50,000 serious accidents each year. The 1997 totals for East Ayrshire were 7 fatal, 121 serious and 367 slight. The cost of these accidents is very high in terms of the loss and suffering they represent to families and individuals. It is also high in economic terms, some £20 million in East Ayrshire and although the personal impact of accidents is much more important these costs are an indication of the scale of the problem and of the resources needed to tackle it.

Road safety plans

Until recently, road accidents, along with congestion and pollution were seen by many sectors of society as a regrettable effect of the need for personal mobility and for economic growth. This is now changing due to a determined effort by central and local government to change attitudes and to put in place co-ordinated programmes and structures which will reduce accidents. This shift is associated with the move towards sustainable transport policies. In 1987, in common with a number of other countries, Britain introduced a road safety plan entitled 'Road Safety: The Next Steps'. This was characterised by the setting of a casualty reduction target, a focus on cost effective measures, proposing closer liaison between central and local government, and involving other agencies who had a potential role to play in accident prevention. This was followed in 1989 by the publication of the Local Authority Associations 'Road Safety Code of Good Practice'. This recommended that each authority produce a plan detailing the actions that each of its departments in association with other agencies could take to achieve set targets in casualty reduction. The current document details the steps that East Ayrshire Council will take to reduce accidents. A strategy for co-ordinating programmes undertaken by the Council and other agencies is laid out, along with an action plan for future activities.

Links to other council policies

The Ayrshire Joint Structure Plan and the East Ayrshire Local Plan are currently being prepared. Both consultative draft documents recognise the need for safer, more efficient roads in order to meet personal mobility needs and to make the area attractive for inward investment and job creation. The Road Safety Plan accords with these general principles, and sets out a comprehensive policy framework for improving road safety.

Strategy

The council will adopt the following strategy which comprises a casualty reduction target and a series of other aims to accelerate the downward trend in road accidents:

• Activities will be directed at achieving    a set casualty reduction target
  
  In its road safety plan, the government proposed a one third reduction in casualties by the year 2000. This was to be measured against a base line of the average number of casualties in the years 1981-85. The total in East Ayrshire was 600, so to achieve the target casualties would have to be reduced to 400 per annum. Significant improvements in road safety have been achieved. However, with increasing traffic flows and limited finance for road improvements, the council may not be able to realise the current national target. The Government has announced that it will publish a new casualty reduction target for the period up to 2010 later this year, along with a strategy for achieving it.
  
  
  
• Programmes will be data-led
  
  Accident analysis is used to identify and target high risk locations and road user groups. This allows resources to be used where they are most needed. The council has accident records for a number of years and Strathclyde Police supply up to date figures on a regular basis.
  
  
  
• Greater public involvement will be encouraged
  
  This represents a shift in emphasis from seeing the public as a passive target of official-led initiatives to seeing them as active partners in relevant programmes. There will still be programmes targeted at road user groups and engineering work carried out at specific locations but additional work will be undertaken to increase public awareness and understanding of the issues involved and the part they can play. Local Committees and Community Forums have a key role in involving local communities more closely.
  
  A corporate and co-ordinated approach will be adopted by council departments and other public agencies
  
  Every effort will be made to co-ordinate the programmes carried out by various agencies. The main vehicles for this will be the Member/Officer Working Group on Road Safety and the Road Safety Plan.
  
  The business and commercial sectors will be encouraged to participate in accident reduction work
  
  Initially this will require appropriate roles to be identified and an attempt made to persuade these sectors to participate. Once they do become involved, assistance and guidance will have to be provided.
  
  
  
• Programmes will be monitored on  a
     regular basis
  
  All activities will be monitored, using appropriate criteria, so that their effectiveness can be assessed and modifications made as necessary.

Foreword

Executive summary

Introduction

Road casualty statistics