Bigger than expected cut in road safety budgets

Statistics released by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) show that cuts in road safety budgets throughout the country are over twice as high as reductions for other council services.

The IAM figures come from replies by 81 English councils and show road safety budgets cut by an average of 15% compared to just a 6% drop in funding for other council services. The figures will affect training and information for younger drivers, school crossing patrols and rehabilitation courses for motoring offenders. Though the average was 15% there were wide variations exemplified by neighbouring councils in London; while Camden was slashing its road safety budget by 70%, Islington actually increased its, by £134,000.

The IAM said that though these are difficult times, councils can make a difference by being more innovative in what they do spend their money on. However, it admitted that there were concerns that these cuts only represented the first year of savings and further, more savage cuts, could be around the corner. Chief executive Simon Best made the comparison of the average road fatality costing £1.6m while the wage of a lollipop lady is around £3,000 a year, so there are significant returns to be made on investments.