Comparing local road safety performance in the North West

Comparing local road safety performance in the North West

People in the North West will be able to compare their local council's road safety performance with those in other parts of the country, thanks to a new website launched by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond today (21 March).

The new Road Safety Comparison Site – http://road-collisions.dft.gov.uk – sets out collision and casualty figures against population, traffic levels, road length and authority spending to show how local authorities have performed over the last seven years.

As well as putting casualty figures into context, the site provides a mapping facility so that people can see how many cyclists or children have been involved in collisions on a particular road. This is part of wider government moves to improve transparency and accountability by providing people with easy-to-access information on how services are being delivered.

In addition, the Department for Transport is launching a new research website – The Road Safety Observatory – giving road safety professionals access to research on a variety of relevant topics.

Stephen Hammond said: “This new comparison website will give local residents in the North West a more accurate picture of their council's performance in reducing road casualties and will allow councils to make more meaningful assessments of the work they are doing to improve road safety.

“If a council is performing particularly well then I want to see them sharing best practice with others so that they can improve and people across the country can benefit.

“In addition, the Road Safety Observatory will be a valuable resource for all those with an interest in road safety by providing a one-stop shop for road safety research.”

The Road Safety Observatory – www.roadsafetyobservatory.com – provides a tool for professionals and practitioners, summarising research in plain English.