Driving down road accident figures (From This Is Local London)

Driving down road accident figures

12:43pm Thursday 10th July 2008 in

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New council figures reveal casualties and accidents on our roads are on a downward spiral. SCOTT MULLINS investigates what is being done to bring this about.

NEWS accidents on our roads are falling has been welcomed by those trusted with keeping them safe.

Figures show 143 children and adults were killed or seriously injured on Bromley borough's roads last year - a 12-per-cent drop from the previous year's figure of 163.

The total number of accidents, which can often involve more than one casualty, fell by 10 per cent, from 756 to 676.

In Bexley borough last year, 95 people were killed or seriously injured, an increase of four per cent from 91 in 2006.

However, the number of slight injuries on the borough's roads last year fell from 535 to 433 incidents.

A Bexley Council spokesman said: "Figures differ from year to year and trends are measured over a number of years.

"The overall trend is down and we are confident of meeting the Government targets by 2010."

An extensive education programme from the Safer Bromley Partnership is helping Bromley Council to try to reduce the figure for people killed or seriously injured to an annual figure of 121 or less by 2010.

The partnership aims to improve safety in the borough.

It includes officers from the council and the police, health, probation, fire and ambulance services as well as the Metropolitan Police Authority and Broomleigh Housing Association.

The partnership runs workshops in schools to recreate serious road accidents.

Its Driven By Consequence workshops target 16 and 17-year-olds with five scenarios looking at how to avoid hazards while driving before investigating the human factors which can lead to accidents.

Students also hear from the emergency services about their experiences of dealing with crashes involving young people.

Pupils then get the chance to carry out a collision investigation to study clues, record data, make calculations and take statements to assist the police collision investigator prepare evidence for a coroner's court inquest.

The workshops then culminate in the inquest, where pupils hear evidence from witnesses and investigators.

Ravens Wood School, Oakley Road, Bromley, ran a Driven By Consequence day on June 16.

Bromley Council's senior road safety officer, Elaine Beadle, said: "The day took so much work to put together but meeting the students and seeing their reactions made it worthwhile."

Gary and Lesley Morgan, parents of former pupil Ben Morgan who died in a crash in Barnfield Wood Road, Beckenham, in 2003, have pledged to continue to support the work of the council's road safety unit.

Mr Morgan travelled more than 400 miles from his home in north Wales to be at the event and during one session he openly wept as he watched a video showing the father of a road victim describe the "knock on the door" from the police.

He added: "I knew it was going to be a really emotional day before I came, but I didn't drive all this way to do nothing.

"If my tears have made just one of them think about their actions then that's fine by me."

WORKING TO CUT NUMBER OF DEATHS

In the battle to further reduce road deaths, Bexley Council has a long list of proactive initiatives.

The Children's Traffic Club helps parents educate their children while they are out walking, playing or travelling in cars and on buses.

It is aimed at three and four-year-olds and their parents and lets them work together through a series of six books filled with road safety advice.

At the other end of the spectrum, the council also runs short refresher driving courses for residents aged 60 or above.

Council officers also work with schools to identify and improve the safety of routes used by pupils on journeys to and from school.

The council's road safety target, set by the Government in 2000, is to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on its roads from 134 to 81 or less by 2010.