A new report from the government's advisers on road safety has been criticised by a leading county councillor for ignoring problems on rural roads and focusing too heavily on urban areas.
This week the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts) produced its long-awaited report 'Beyond 2010 - a holistic approach to road safety in Great Britain', which makes a series of recommendations to reduce the number of road casualties. One key recommendation includes introducing a default speed of 20mph in built-up areas.
In the UK there are currently around 3,200 road deaths annually. Current Government targets to reduce the number of road casualties expire in 2010 and the Pacts report will be used as an important factor when deciding how any new targets will be achieved, enforced and monitored.
Cllr Ian Stewart, Cumbria County Council's Cabinet member responsible for road safety, said:
"Cutting the number of deaths on our roads is an incredibly important issue, but I'm afraid this report barely pays lip service to rural areas. Speed cameras enforcing a 20mph limit in urban areas would have a neglible impact on road deaths in Cumbria as most road deaths in this county occur on rural A-Class roads.
"One recommendation in the report is to introduce a "pint of milk test" for all new residential developments, checking whether a resident can reach a shop to buy a pint of milk in under 10 minutes without using a vehicle. It just shows a fundamental lack of understanding about the nature of living in a sparsely populated area such as Cumbria.
"The recommendations are fairly typical of an administration that is urban-based and has little idea of what happens in rural areas. You only have to witness the Department for Transport's latest Rural Driving campaign - which has nothing whatsoever to do with targeting drivers from rural areas, but urban motorists who may drive in the countryside. All advertising spend was focused in towns and cities and not in the likes of Devon and Cornwall, East Anglia or Cumbria.
"The Government needs to pour more resources into tackling the problem of deaths on rural roads. They cannot just raise expectations and then expect local authorities to be able to stretch their budgets even further to satisfy those expectations. I'm offering an open invitation for the minister responsible for road safety, Jim Fitzpatrick, to get away from congested London, come up to Cumbria and listen to the Cumbria Safer Roads Partnership. Our problems are not London's, come to Cumbria and listen and learn. And don't forget to bring your cheque book, so we can pour extra resources into tackling the problem."
ENDS
Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 606332