An Audit Commission performance report on Road Safety in Cumbria has praised the partnership organisations involved in making the county's roads safer, while saying further improvments need to be made.
The report states: "Networking and co-operation between many of the organisations involved in road safety in Cumbria has gradually improved during the past two years. There is evidence of a willingness to change and various innovative ways of improving road safety have been undertaken.
"This has included a wider role for some organisations, such as the Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, and a greater awareness of what each partner is doing. The development of networking and the establishment of contacts represent valuable groundwork..."
Cumbria County Council works with the police, the six district councils and various Primary Care and national Service Health Trusts to improve road safety. The Cumbria Road Safety Partnership is the co-ordinating body for road safety in the county.
The report notes that the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) on Cumbria's roads has dropped from 557 in 1999 to 427 in 2005. Although there was a drop in the number of fatalities last year from 57 to 45, the report says the number of deaths on the road has remained relatively constant over the last decade, and more needs to be done to reduce fatalities.
The report also says that, while information and data quality has improved, more work needs to be carried out to meet the original objectives of the Cumbria Road Safety Partnership and the current structure of the range of organisations promoting road safety is overly complex.
"This report is completely independent and the Audit Commission have made some constructive comments about how roads in Cumbria can be made safer and how the various organisations involved can work together more effectively. It's their job to point out our strengths and weaknesses and it's our job to improve on areas that are perceived as weaknesses, " said Councillor Geoff Hodgson, cabinet member responsible for road safety.
The Audit Commission report also notes that collisions at safety camera sights have reduced by 70 per cent and says that changed livery on vans used by the Cumbria Safety Camera Partnership will maximise their impact and provide a further deterrent to speeding.