Report points the way to massive drop in road deaths

Saving nearly £9bn in societal losses in the process. The report analyses the performance of road networks in England, Scotland and Wales, identifying investment opportunities based upon the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) that should be achievable on each road. The BCR is based on typical levels of casualty savings on treated routes, relative to the crashes that have happened over the last six years.

These savings are monetised and compared with typical costs per kilometre that have to be spent to reduce casualties by this much, giving an estimated BCR for each route. This methodology has identified 9,453kms of high-return roads, across 584 routes. Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation, said: “The opportunities to reduce death and serious injury are clear and the impact of such investment would mean not just casualty savings but also tangible relief for an overburdened NHS and social care system.

“There is little doubt that the numbers stack up for investment in infrastructure safety measures. For example, the initial estimated results from the Safer Roads Fund – and the early impact of completed schemes which is already visible in the crash data – demonstrate that investment in road safety infrastructure can reap positive returns on investment.

“The investment portfolio opportunities that we identify in this report have high indicative benefit-cost ratios, which is why we are calling for ambitious investment in strategic, major and local roads.

“We are also calling for systematic measurement and management of road risk, particularly on the Major Road Network (MRN) where crash density is so high.”

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