Local authorities issued road safety guidance

'Making it Count' sets out issues to be considered when making decisions about scaling back road safety funding.

Leading road safety organisations have issued the Making it Count guidance to local authority chief executives, to help them set spending priorities that will protect their communities.

The guidance addresses the difficult spending choices that will have to be made over the coming months and outlines the role local authorities can play in protecting their residents’ quality and length of life and offers guidance about where to look for additional financial and informative support.

It sets out a variety of issues that local authorities should consider when making decisions about scaling-back road safety funding.

The briefing document concludes that it is clear that long-term and sustainable interventions that make a difference need to be prioritised.

Local authorities have legal responsibilities for road safety and are the lead delivery agent of road safety activity.

This has contributed to the significant reductions in road death and injury in Britain, shown by deaths on the road having fallen from around 5,000 a year at the start of the 1990s to 2,222 in 2009.

The total value of prevention of reported road accidents in 2009 has been estimated to be £15.8bn, with a broad illustrative figure taking the value to around £30bn when accidents not reported to the police are included.

The document has been produced by a variety of organisations working together, including the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and Road Safety Great Britain.

Robert Gifford, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: "The joint publication of this document shows how important cutting death and injury on our roads is to the quality of life in communities in Great Britain."

Further information:
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents