New report reveals casualty rates in parts of Lincoilnshire are among worst in the country

A new report has revealed the road casualty rates on some of our county's roads are among the worst in the country.
Communications manager Lincs Road Safety Partnership John Siddle.Communications manager Lincs Road Safety Partnership John Siddle.
Communications manager Lincs Road Safety Partnership John Siddle.

But road safety campaigners have questioned the data, saying it doesn’t give an accurate representation.

The report published by Direct Line Car Insurance and PACTS (the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety) reveals the vulnerability of pedestrians, drivers and vehicle passengers who live in each parliamentary constituency.

According to the latest road casualty statistics, which includes those killed and injured on UK roads taken from police STATS19 records, the victim rate relative to population in the Boston and Skegness parliamentary constituency is 46 per cent higher than the national rate – the fourth highest in the country. Nearby Louth and Horncastle is sixth highest with a rate 44 per cent higher than the national average.

Last year 59 people lost their lives in road collisions across the county compared to 39 the previous year.

Gus Park, director of motor at Direct Line commented: “Casualty rates for residents of Boston and Skegness remain far too high. We need to invest resource in understanding the traffic control measures that can be put in place to help reduce road casualties. We would urge drivers and pedestrians to be cautious on the streets and ensure they take every possible safety precaution.”

However, John Siddle from the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, an organisation formed to reduce the casualty rate on our county’s roads, has questioned the findings.

He said: “Using STATS19, as we do, these figures will be six months behind any current incidents. That said, we have suffered an increase in fatals this year although the number of injury collisions has been on the decline for 15 years. The percentage rises are normally calculated on a five year average although the Department for Transport have used six years.

“Additionally, the motor insurance group are basing their calculations on where the driver/occupant/injured person lives rather than where the incident took place. Mixing the data in this way may not pinpoint where the problems lay, so stating Skegness and Boston constituents are suffering as road casualties may not be wholly accurate.

“In Lincolnshire the average (since 1999) number of road traffic deaths is 64.7 per year. Injury collisions have dropped over the past 15 years although we predict that number will rise, if not exceed previous years.”

The statistics show lower casualty rates can be seen throughout Scotland, the Welsh Borders into part of the South 
West, the South Midlands and parts of Manchester, the North-East and north Norfolk.

Many extremely urbanised areas have casualty rates well below average, but some less-dense urban towns and cities have rates significantly higher.

The analysis comes as Direct Line and PACTS publish the third edition of the Constituency Road Safety Dashboard. The dashboard calculates casualty rates for residents of each parliamentary constituency in Great Britain relative to the local population. The dashboard now includes, for the first time, data from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau on the number of crashes involving uninsured drivers.

David Davies, executive director of PACTS, said: “The Dashboard shows which constituencies have the most serious road safety challenges and which are making fastest progress. There is great variation across the country and we hope this will be catalyst for action.”

l The dashboard can be accessed at: http://www.pacts.org.uk/dashboard/