Issue - meetings

Report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport

6.1       The Assistant Director, Communities introduced the report. The total number of road accidents where someone was killed or seriously injured (KSI) has increased over the last reporting period. However, the number of fatalities has decreased. An analysis of the cause of these accidents shows that 90% are due to driver behaviour. This factor drives the rationale behind the work programmes that have been put in place by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) to reduce the number of accidents.

6.2       The Road Safety Team receives around four thousand enquiries a year and is made up of three sub teams, whose functions are described in appendix 3 of the report. The three sub teams are:

·        Road Safety Engineering Team

·        Road Safety Education Team

·        Local Traffic and Safety Team

6.3       The Road Safety Team is currently consulting with the Sussex Police on the priorities to spend an additional £125,000 provided by Public Health for speed limit reductions. This continues the work of a wider countywide review of speed limits. A further allocation of £1 million has been made available from the Public Health budget to develop a programme aimed at reducing road accidents and KSIs through education and developing a better evidence base.

KSI Definition and Reporting

6.4       The Department for Transport (DfT) definition is used for KSI reporting and this includes fractures, burns and hospitalisations as a result of a road accident. Sussex Police are working to make reporting more consistent by introducing accident classifications which are input via a tablet device. This removes the reliance on the reporting officer to accurately describe or classify the type of injury.

6.5       It is accepted that there is a degree of under reporting of accidents where people may report an injury later when they visit a hospital or GP. If a person does not report an injury to the Police, it will not be included in the statistics. The Public Health team are aware of this issue, but this is the same nationally. The DfT are looking at the issue of under reporting of road accidents as they believe only 80% of serious injuries and 75% of slight injuries are being reported. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the UK has one of the most robust accident reporting systems in the world.

Impact of the Ageing Population on KSIs

6.6       The number of elderly residents in the County and the number of pedestrian injuries is not a significant factor in the increase of KSI figures, which are in line with national trends. The SSRP does not have precise figures on the number of elderly drivers, but it is thought that the proportion of elderly drivers is not the reason for the increase in KSI figures. However, as the population demographic changes and the number of elderly drivers increases, it may become a growing issue.

6.7       At present elderly drivers over the age of 70 have to self-certify that they are fit to drive every three years. Doctors will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6