Why are road deaths at a record low?

Car safety has improved hugely since the introduction of the Euro-NCAP star-rating system in 1997. ABS brakes were a luxury item then but are now standard. A 1997 car typically had one airbag. Many cars now have six. More drivers are being breath-tested and police are cracking down on drivers who use hand-held mobile phones at the wheel (the penalty for this was increased to £60 and 3 licence points in February last year).

Is it all good news?

No. Serious injuries among cyclists rose by 6 per cent . This is attributed partly to the big increase in cycling, which has almost doubled in Greater London in the past seven years. Child deaths are down 28 per cent, but this is partly because fewer children are allowed to walk or cycle on their own to school and other activities.

What role do speed cameras play in this?

Cameras have contributed to a change in driving culture under which it has become much less socially acceptable to break the speed limit. Average speeds in free-flowing conditions have fallen and most motorists now comply with the 30mph limit in residential areas. Camera fines reached a peak of two million a year three years ago but have fallen since, partly because drivers have become more cautious and law-abiding.

What should we expect next from the Government?

Jim Fitzpatrick, the road safety minister, told The Times last month that he was interested in developing tough new road safety targets, including a specific target to reduce deaths (the existing one is to reduce deaths and serious injuries and the latter can be a matter of interpretation). Road safety groups want the new target to reduce deaths below 2,000 a year by 2020. Mr Fitzpatrick is also considering lowering the drink-drive limit to bring Britain into line with most of the rest of Europe. However, he remains to be convinced that this would deliver significant benefits despite a UCL study which indicated that it would save 65 lives a year.

How do we compare internationally?

2007 figures are not yet available for other countries, but a Department for Transport report last year put Britain in fourth place in the world on road deaths per 100,000 population, behind the Netherlands, Sweden and Malta.

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