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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

Road safety improvements urged
04:50am 28th October 2005

Physiotherapists have called for road safety improvements, as they gear up to deal with more accident victims ahead of clocks going back.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy published a league table of the worst areas for accident casualties, which showed that Westminster in central London was the worst place in England.

Other areas with poor records included North Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Camden in north London.

The study showed that per 100,000 people in Westminster, 176 were killed or seriously injured on the roads during 2003/4 and 1,114 suffered slight injuries.

South Tyneside had the safest record, with 24 people killed or seriously injured and 326 slightly hurt, while Leicester, Knowsley, Oldham and Torbay also had safer roads.

The CSP called on local authorities to give road safety top priority. Chief Executive Phil Gray said: "It's no coincidence that physiotherapists see more people with whiplash, head injuries and nerve damage at this time of year. There is often a surge in accidents just after the clocks go back, as people adjust to driving home from work in the dark.

"We want to see a reduction in road traffic accidents. Local councils can do more to promote road safety - better lighting, traffic calming and good highway maintenance are all important in reducing the number of people injured or killed on the roads.

"Cyclists and pedestrians can also take steps to protect themselves by wearing reflective clothing so that they are more visible in poor light."

The 10 worst areas for accident casualties were Westminster, North Yorkshire, Camden, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Lambeth (London), East Riding of Yorkshire and Cumbria.

The best 10 regions were South Tyneside, Leicester City, Knowsley, Oldham, Torbay, Luton, Bury, Sefton, Stockport, Rotherham and Trafford.
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Oh dear. Let me think for one millisecond. Oh yes. No one lives in Westminster, yet every day the place is overflowing with people. What a surprise that it shows as risky per resident.

The fools behind this 'study' are at:

http://www.csp.org.uk/

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

OK Paul, the data behind these findings is at best dubious. Here's another possible spin:

North Yorkshire was the second worst area for accident casualties. North Yorkshire doesn't have speed cameras. Therefore speed cameras reduce accidents.

No I don't believe that either, but it just goes to show that you can read just about anything you like into statistics like these.

Brian

Rutland.....you have got to be kidding

However is is a very low population density and a major trunk road going through it.

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Speed camera policy Kills

Fairly rural around Rutland, ambulance response times are the subject of much comment from local MP, new Scania Fire Tenders based in Oakham are too big for some streets, and the older tender with specialised equipment looks likely to be taken out of service and not replaced locally ( Leicester has been mentioned - a good 30+ mins away ).

Often reports of accidents in paper where because of lack of traffic an accident has not been discovered for some time after it occured.

Any delays can make casualties more serious than may have been, doesn't mean the roads are more, or less, dangerous than Leicester - but they have higher concentration of resources able to reach the scene in a shorter time.