Esitu Solutions Backs Road Safety Manifesto 2024

On the 30th of May 2024, the UK passed a ‘grim and shaming’ milestone, 500,000 people have died on the roads in Great Britain since records began in 1926. In that same period, approximately 375,000 UK citizens have died due to warfare, including the Second World War and other conflicts.

In the UK, an average of 1,800 people are killed on the roads every year, and this figure has plateaued since 2010. Currently, five people die on the roads in the UK every day, with more than 30,000 individuals killed or seriously injured annually, amounting to a staggering societal and economic cost of approximately £43.5 billion each year. Road crashes and the subsequent trauma have devastating consequences for those involved and their families. However, many of these deaths are predictable and preventable.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has spearheaded a ground-breaking manifesto, which sets out four key priorities designed to transform road safety and significantly lower the number of road fatalities and serious injuries in the UK.

The four priorities outlined in the manifesto are:

1. Developing a National Road Safety Strategy: the implementation of Safe System Strategy that is focused on prevention, protection and post-collision response. This is to be coupled with evidence-based targets for reducing road casualties, with performance indicators to track progress.
2. Establish a Road Safety Investigation Branch: To establish an independent body, modelled after existing transportation safety branches, to investigate road collisions to inform safety improvements by learning from incidents and preventing future tragedies.
3. Introduction of Graduated Driving Licenses: Young and novice drivers are overrepresented in collision statistics. In 2022, 4,935 people were killed or seriously injured in crashes involving at least one young driver. PACTS argues that Graduated Driving Licences should be introduced to support young drivers by limiting high-risk driving situations. The evidence for this is compelling, with a potential reduction in fatalities of up to 40%.
4. Adopt the highest standard of Vehicle Safety Regulations: The immediate implementation of world-leading vehicle safety standards, mandating critical technologies such as Automatic Emergency Braking and Intelligent Speed Assistance. Estimates show that by implementing of such technologies could prevent up to 1,762 fatalities and 15,612 serious injuries, amounting to an economic value of around £7 billion over 16 years.

Jamie Hassall, Executive Director of PACTS, said: “These four simple measures will be the building blocks to enable the UK to reduce the number of people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads. When we have strong leadership and a strategic approach the UK has managed to half the numbers of road deaths in a decade but since 2010 the focus was lost and daily road deaths have remained at five. Investing in road safety is not just a moral duty but it’s good for people’s health and wellbeing, the environment, business, and the country.”

Dr Victoria Kroll, CEO of Esitu Solutions, expresses her support for the manifesto. “Esitu Solutions proudly supports the PACTS Road Safety Manifesto. These priorities directly align with our core mission of improving road safety through the use of our innovative and evidence-based driver assessment and training tools. Now is the time to work together to have a significant impact on reducing road traffic fatalities and injuries”

PACTS urges the incoming government to prioritise these strategies within the first 100 days of office, aiming to align with international road safety targets and establish a benchmark in safeguarding its citizens globally.

The Road Safety Manifesto can be found here: https://www.pacts.org.uk/15769-2/