Campaign Aims to Cut Road Deaths in Dorset

15th January 2010

A scheme aimed at "significantly" cutting the number of people killed and seriously injured on Dorset's roads is being unveiled.

The £800,000 "No Excuse" campaign means extra policing, speed camera enforcement and of course a publicity campaign. From Monday, roads with the highest casualty rates will be being targeted daily.

The county council said the reduction in road casualties across Dorset had slowed in recent years and was now "well below" the national average.

In 2002, 54 people died on the county's roads. By 2006, this had been reduced to 36 deaths, but disapointingly the figure remained the same in 2007 and 2008. No figures were yet available for 2009.

The Dorset Road Safe scheme is run by afew agencies including Dorset Police, the fire service and Dorset County Council. Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, NHS Dorset, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the Highways Agency and Bournemouth and Poole borough councils are also all involved with the campaign.

Extra police patrols and mobile speed camera units will be out on roads from Monday cracking down on the types of "driving behaviour" known to result in fatal and serious injuries. these were sometimes known as the "fatal four" and included:

• Speeding
• Drink and drug-driving
• Not wearing a seatbelt
• Distractions such as changing a CD

"Collisions on our roads are among the major causes of death in the community," he said.

"Between 2002 and 2006, road death and serious injuries saw their greatest decline nationally. But in recent years in Dorset the reduction in road casualties has slowed and is now well below the national average. A major, combined effort is now needed to keep driving the figures down."