£25-£35 billion to be saved as damning report by RAC calls for change
Car crashes are draining not only the UK economy but robbing public services too, according to the RAC Foundation’s recent report: ‘Saving Lives, Saving Money: the costs and benefits of achieving safer roads’.
The 83 page dossier details findings on the domino effect of crashes and how they bleed dry local governments and public authorities such as the NHS and emergency services.
Using publicised research, the RAC have investigated all areas of road safety in a bid to clamp down on costs and reduce the misery caused by fatalities and serious injuries.
Similarly, Astucia are keen to enhance road safety by reducing fatalities and serious injuries. Their innovative SolarLite road studs have already reduced accident rates by 70% - particularly significant since roughly 2/3 of accidents occur after dark. The studs are already well-known in the industry and an obvious saviour in all conditions and around the clock, and their demand is sure to grow with the government's new aspirations for road safety outlined in the RAC report.
The plan is to implement a new programme aiming to save 6,000 lives in the next 10 years at just a fraction of the cost.
Technically, we’re behind schedule – other countries have already introduced new systems such as the Swedish ‘Vision Zero’ and Dutch ‘Sustainable safety’.
But all this is set to change as the report provides the necessary data to get us up to speed, assisting the government in the preparation and implementation of the new strategic framework for road safety.
Shocking statistics are laid bare in the report. Road accidents have killed 30,000 people over the last 10 years, injured 300,000 and still kill 6 people a day. Road crashes also remain the leading cause of death amongst young adults.
Those figures could be history thanks to Astucia SolarLite road studs which emit intensely bright light guiding the motorist with 10 x greater visbility than conventional cats eyes.
The Department for Transport estimated that in 2009, all road crashes in the UK cost the economy £15.8 billion (DfT, 2010)
New methods of measuring crashes help with the precision of the report. It’s now possible to assess the safety rating of a stretch of road from its physical characteristics and compare that rating against an expected standard.
Instead of the traditional method of concentrating on accident ‘black spots’ where tragedies have already occurred, Risk-Mapping and Star-Ratings have been summoned to gain a more accurate insight.
The Star-Rating which measures infrastructure safety by inspecting and scoring the physical features of road design and layout that are known to have an impact on the likelihood of a crash and its severity, has been fundamental to the plan.
The elimination of 1-star and 2-star roads over the next decade is set to save £25-£35 billion alone.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation commented:
“Given that Britons are more likely to die on the roads than in any other daily activity, this report should make us first angry, and then determined to act to see more lives saved – at littler or no extra cost.”
“We will never prevent all road accidents but we can do a considerable amount to reduce their effects”
It’s this same ethos that Astucia pride themselves on. With the invention of their SolarLite road studs, they’ve already cut accident rates by a staggering 70%.
Installations can be seen across the globe from Ireland to Oman with the studs themselves emitting ultra-bright light to guide motorists with 10 x greater visibility.