9:10am Monday 15th March 2010
SERIOUS road casualties across the county have fallen, figures from Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership have revealed.
The 2009 statistics show a decline of 31 per cent in fatal collisions, with 42 people being killed compared with 61 in 2008.
Seriously injured casualties have also fallen by 16 per cent to 557, a cut of 106 on the previous year.
Thirty-one per cent less young people, under the age of 25, were killed or seriously injured on the roads last year.
And motorbike casualties fell by 13 per cent.
Poor driving/riding, bad judgement and alcohol impairment found to be the main causes of incidents.
Lee Murphy, partnership manager, said the figures were encouraging and reflected the hard work of the staff but the figures showed one casualty too many.
He said: “We will work even harder to ensure that we continue to exceed the Government’s target figures and make Cheshire’s roads safer. We cannot afford to become complacent and road users must remember the importance of safe and responsible driving, and think about the consequences of their actions.”
The reductions follow investment and time in safety education, engineering and enforcement initiatives across Cheshire according to the partnership.
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