The Government today announced that it has met its target to reduce road casualties in disadvantaged areas.
Since the target was set, road casualties in the 88 most deprived districts in England have fallen by 19% beside a fall of 15% for England as a whole. The target was introduced in 2002 as part of the Government's response following research which showed that children from the poorest communities are up to five times more likely to be involved in road accidents than some of their better off peers.
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:
"We are committed to making our roads even safer for everyone, no matter where they live.
These results are testament to the work of local councils up and down the country who have risen to the challenge of improving safety for people in disadvantaged communities.
But the risks to people in the most disadvantaged groups are still high, so there is no room for complacency and we will continue to work to reduce casualties even further."
The Departments Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative has awarded grants totalling £17m to local authorities over 3 years to develop and demonstrate strategies for tackling the special road safety problems in disadvantaged communities. Examples of funding include:
* Schemes to provide safer places for children to play and to provide safer access to existing play areas.
* Engineering schemes, for example to improve pedestrian movement and access through new crossing facilities in deprived areas.
* Education projects such as Our Walk to School, an after school project for year 5 pupils in one of the most deprives areas of Liverpool, aims at increasing awareness of road safety issues such as danger recognition and safer routes to school.
* A Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative central team for the 15 local authorities involved, tasked with developing and delivering innovative collaborative projects across the areas of regeneration and renewal, marketing and publicity , and education and training.
Since the target was set, road casualties in the 88 most deprived districts in England have fallen by 19% beside a fall of 15% for England as a whole. The target was introduced in 2002 as part of the Government's response following research which showed that children from the poorest communities are up to five times more likely to be involved in road accidents than some of their better off peers.
Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said:
"We are committed to making our roads even safer for everyone, no matter where they live.
These results are testament to the work of local councils up and down the country who have risen to the challenge of improving safety for people in disadvantaged communities.
But the risks to people in the most disadvantaged groups are still high, so there is no room for complacency and we will continue to work to reduce casualties even further."
The Departments Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative has awarded grants totalling £17m to local authorities over 3 years to develop and demonstrate strategies for tackling the special road safety problems in disadvantaged communities. Examples of funding include:
* Schemes to provide safer places for children to play and to provide safer access to existing play areas.
* Engineering schemes, for example to improve pedestrian movement and access through new crossing facilities in deprived areas.
* Education projects such as Our Walk to School, an after school project for year 5 pupils in one of the most deprives areas of Liverpool, aims at increasing awareness of road safety issues such as danger recognition and safer routes to school.
* A Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative central team for the 15 local authorities involved, tasked with developing and delivering innovative collaborative projects across the areas of regeneration and renewal, marketing and publicity , and education and training.
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