Thames Valley road death toll at all- time low

FOR the first time on record, the number of people killed on the roads in the Thames Valley has dropped to below 100.

There were 95 road deaths in 2008, 19.7 per cent lower than in 2007 and 34.3 per cent lower than in 2006.

Sue Brown, Chairman of the Safer Roads Partnership Board, said: ?The impact of a fatal crash cannot be underestimated. To have witnessed the reductions in road deaths that we have seen, in the last year in particular, marks a dramatic change on our roads. The challenge that lies ahead is maintaining those reductions and aiming to go further.?

Whilst road safety bosses are delighted with the progress this represents their message to motorists is still one of caution.

Mick Doyle, Superintendent of Roads Policing at Thames Valley Police, said: “The reduction is wonderful news but no comfort for those families that have lost a loved one this year. Far too often officers have to break the news to somebody that their son, daughter, wife or husband is never coming home again.
?The reduction comes as a result of the dedicated commitment of many agencies: Intelligence led police enforcement and education initiatives like The Young Driver Scheme and Safe Drive, Stay Alive make important contributions. We have led the way nationally with our innovative diversion schemes used as an alternative to prosecution for errant drivers, but there is still much to do.”

Richard Owen, Operations Manager for the partnership praised the work of professionals in the field: ?It is a great credit to the work of all our partners that today?s results are the lowest on record; a just reward for the incredibly dedicated road safety officers, emergency service personnel, engineers, analysts, administrators and volunteers whose work is rarely seen.
“There are, of course, some key areas that remain of concern to the partnership. Over 30 per cent of those who died were under the age of 25, 18 per cent of the deaths were motorcyclists and 14 per cent were over the age of 70. Relative to the amount of time in which they occupy the roads these groups are more at risk than many and it is hoped that greater progress can be made in improving safety for these groups.”

In a statement today, Thames Valley Police said that the need for coroners to finalise their investigations into the causes of some of these fatal collisions could result in the death toll attributable to crashes being altered, but this will only affect a small number of cases.