Better roads spending ‘could save 6,000 lives’

As many as 6,000 lives could be saved on Britain’s roads over the next 10 years if just a fraction of the money being spent on road maintenance was used more effectively, a report has said.

Britain loses up to £30bn annually in the cost of road crashes, most of which happen on motorways and main roads, according to the report for the RAC Foundation by the Road Safety Foundation.

But it claims that roads rated only one-star and two-star in terms of safety could be improved within existing budgets in the next decade, with benefits worth £25bn to £35bn.

Achieving the savings would need road authority leaders being offered guidance to focus on the full costs and benefits of saving the most lives for the money available.

It said the cost of fatal and serious crashes on the Highways Agency’s network of England motorways and major A roads amounted to £1.2bn annually. The cost of serious crashes on English local authority A roads was £2bn.

A 10-year safety programme, costing less than 10 per cent of existing road budgets, could, however, bring main roads with safety flaws up to scratch, including tackling missing safety fencing and unsafe junctions. Among things called for in the report were technical improvements to the evaluation of crash costs and recording of serious crashes by police and hospitals.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: “We understand road risks well enough to know how to cut this grim toll of death and injury, yet we fail to implement cheap and effective measures to combat them.”

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said simple measures – such as good road markings and clear signing – could make a big difference. “I urge local authorities to consider these carefully as they continue to strive to reduce deaths and injuries on their roads.”