Road safety

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Travelling plays an important role in all our lives whether going to work, school, shopping or leisure. The road safety team looks at ways to improve the behaviour of motorised road users, from cars to motorbikes, along with pedestrians and cyclists. Measures to help improve their safety are encouraged and promoted through a comprehensive programme of education, training and publicity.

Safe guarding the environment is high on the government’s agenda and the road safety team is committed to this by encouraging safe sustainable travel. At the same time it supports the health and social benefits of walking and cycling, and the opportunity to experience our wonderful rural county.

The team divisions include: Road Safety Education, School Travel Planning and Driver Training.

Recent campaigns include: Drinking and driving don't mix and Bike week.

Have a look at our Road Safety Handbook 6mb to find out in more detail what we do.

A copy can be ordered from Road Safety at the address below.

Casualty reduction is a key part of the team’s role. National and local research data is analysed annually with the aim of meeting the government’s year end 2010 targets. Guidelines are set out in ‘Tomorrow’s Roads – Safer for Everyone’ as follows:

• a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road collisions
• a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured
• a 10% reduction in slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres

For more information view the Department for Transport website

Road Casualties in Wiltshire & Swindon report:

• 13th Joint Report 559kb

The amended 13th joint report contains data from 2010. It highlights the average cost per casualty from a traffic incident to the community:

• Fatal £1,585,510
• Serious £178,160
• Slight £13,740

In 2010, the total cost for all casualties in Wiltshire was nearly £116,000,000 significantly lower than 2009’s figure of nearly £133,000,000.

To work on improving safety on Wiltshire’s roads, Road Safety collaborates closely with their colleagues in traffic and network services, school transport and the highway engineers; and their many partner organisations.

Road safety activities and principles are included in Road Traffic Acts and are based on the three E’s:

• Education
• Enforcement
• Engineering

Wiltshire Council Road Safety focuses additionally on two further principles:

• Encouragement
• Evaluation

Last updated: 25 January 2012