Monday 27 November 2017

Why are Devon’s highways so dangerous?

"Devon is most dangerous county to drive in according to this new online tool", reports DevonLive, revealing how Devon is the worst performing county in the south west for road safety.

In fact, Devon's record on road safety "is falling behind Britain as a whole", according to The Road Safety Foundation - "a UK charity advocating road casualty reduction through simultaneous action on all three components of the safe road system: roads, vehicles and behaviour".

250,000 people have been killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads in the past 10 years. More than 70 people every day.
More than £36 billion is lost in road crashes annually. That’s nearly 2% of GDP - more than we spend on primary schools and GP services combined. The lifetime care of a single victim can cost more than £20m.
But we no longer need to accept road deaths. Research shows that for every £1 spent on road safety engineering treatments the economy is typically saved more than £3.
The Road Safety Foundation has ranked the UK's most improved roads, and has praised Gloucestershire County Council.

The Road Safety Foundation has also ranked all 78 counties by road safety improvement since 2010. So, how’s Devon doing?


Why is Devon doing so poorly?

Perhaps DCC’s relaxed attitude to Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate Farm plans to put up to 200 HGVs a day onto a dangerous B road, for an onward 46-mile round trip, gives you a clue?