Road safety campaigners urge vigilance after fall in fatalities

Police chiefs joined forces with council officials and fire officers to launch the campaign to prevent 95 deaths over a five year-period amid concerns over the growing number of fatalities.

The county-wide push to prevent thousands of people being injured or killed on North Yorkshire's roads was dubbed 95 Alive, and it has seen an estimated 126 lives saved during the five-year initiative.

But the chairman of the 95 Alive partnership, David Bowe, admitted that efforts need to be intensified to ensure the number of fatalities does not start to increase once again.

While the target to save 95 lives has been exceeded by more than a quarter, 50 people were still killed on the county's roads during 2010.

Funding for the project is due to come to an end in March and while the authorities have pledged to continue to work together under the 95 Alive banner, the campaign will have to be scaled back as a result of the cuts in the public sector.

Mr Bowe, who is also North Yorkshire County Council's director of business and environmental services, admitted that the 95 Alive campaign had set "very ambitious targets" and paid tribute to the "staggering achievements" of those involved.

But he added: "We see the appalling reality of fatal and serious injury crashes, over 300 people have died in the past five years on the roads of York and North Yorkshire, thousands have been seriously injured, and while this is a big reduction on the 430 people killed in the previous five years it is still a huge tragedy.

"Crashes are not inevitable, they are preventable. Our ultimate aim is to make safe driving the most vital priority."

The 95 Alive partnership has focused heavily on promoting an education message while taking a tough stance on dangerous driving on the county's 6,000-mile network of roads.

It was launched in 2005 to target high risk road users such as motorcyclists as well as inexperienced motorists amid escalating concerns over the increasing number of road deaths.

In the first 10 months of 2004, there were 53 deaths on North Yorkshire's roads. Up until the end of October 2005, the figure had risen to 64, with motorcyclists forming a large part of the increase.

After studying fatal crash reports, campaigns concentrated on areas of most concern including motorcyclists, a failure to wear seat belts and speeding motorists.

The 95 Alive partnership also targeted drink and drug-driving as well as young and elderly drivers, who are both deemed to be among the most at risk while behind the wheel.

More than 1,700 older drivers attending roadshows to help them to stay safe on the roads for longer.

A huge emphasis has been placed on educating students in schools, where courses have been staged to highlight pedestrian and cycle safety.

In the past five years, 10,000 young people have attended Drive Alive events to learn about the dangers that new drivers face.

More than 200 new motorists have taken part in the Enhanced Pass Plus Scheme, to bolster their skills and knowledge.

Last year alone, road safety staff talked to 10,000 motorcyclists at events across the county.

The safety messages have been promoted through country shows, markets and other public events.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service deputy chief fire officer Chris Anderson praised the work of the 95 Alive partnership.

But he added: "We should not see this as a 'job done' and we need to now look to the future and be just as ambitious as to what we want to achieve over the next five years."