Efforts to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on roads across East Sussex have been given a £1 million boost as East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has decided to use one-off funding from the public health grant for a campaign to inspire behaviour change among road users.
The money has been made available because the number of people killed and seriously injured on the county’s roads has been higher than the England average for many years.
With driver error accounting for nine out of every 10 accidents resulting in death or serious injury, the ESCC’s two-year campaign will focus on working with and educating road users.
“One person killed or seriously injured on our roads is one too many,” said Cllr Chris Dowling, the ESCC lead member for community services.
“The vast majority of sites where low cost solutions are most effective have now been treated and we feel that a real difference can be made by working with road users to educate and bring about a change in their behaviour.”
While the number of people killed or seriously injured on East Sussex roads has fallen over the past 15 years, the reduction in the number of casualties has not been steady and the figure is still higher than the national average.
Those road users most at risk in East Sussex, according to research carried out by the council’s road safety team and the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, include
- Pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooter users
- 16 – 24 year old road users
- Moped and motorbike riders
- Those using the road as part of their job
- Speeding motorists
“Although we have yet to finalise the details of the campaign, which we expect to launch later this year, we will be focussing our attention on those road users who we have identified as being most at risk,” Cllr Dowling added.
“Education and knowledge is key to getting the public to travel around the county safely and we will be working with as many groups and organisations as possible to make sure the campaign helps to save lives.”
Full details of the county council campaign will be announced later this year.
(Source: ESCC)
Photo: RAC