Failure to bring vulnerable road user deaths in Britain down in line with other leading nations has been highlighted by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS).
A study published by the group today says that Britain is among the best performing countries when it comes to the number of road deaths per head of the population.
But international comparisons suggest investment and action are needed to improve the safety of pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists.
Within these vulnerable road user groups Britain has a higher level of deaths per head – at 13 per million people – than Sweden and the Netherlands, despite no evidence of higher activity or exposure to risk.
Britain also ranks lower than Denmark when it comes to pedestrian fatalities, according to the research which was carried out by transport consultant TRL. PACTS executive director David Davies said: “It is often said that Britain’s roads are among the safest in the world. This report shows that, over the past 10 years, the UK has been second to Malta in the league table of fewest deaths per head of population.
"However, deaths among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are noticeably greater in the UK.”
The report highlights a number of areas where the UK could improve on this. "Perhaps surprisingly, new cars in the UK have on average lower safety ratings than cars in other top performing countries,” said David Davies.
"More worrying is that the average pedestrian protection rating for UK new cars is only 19th out of 28 European countries. The Government needs to promote cars that are low on emissions and high on safety, including pedestrian protection."
Measured against other leading countries the report also reveals that Britain has a higher ratio of 18-24 year old road user deaths relative to other age groups, and a higher proportion of deaths on roads where the speed limit is 60MPH or above.
The study was funded with a grant from the Department for Transport.
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