Design roads for human behaviour report says

Roads and streets should be designed around people and human behaviour, a new report for the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) says.

PACTS executive director, David Davies, is concerned that Stepping Out report results show little progress at reducing the number of casualties over the past four years has been made. He says: “All road users have responsibilities but temporary lapses of attention should not be punished by death or serious injury.”

When it comes to looking for solutions, adults and children should be treated differently, the report advises.

Both age groups have different ‘collision characteristics’ and are injured for different reasons.

Findings show that 68 per cent of those hit by cars are adults, with weekend evenings after consuming alcohol being a major danger area.

For children, the highest risk  is 12 years of age, with 40 per cent of child pedestrian casualties coming from areas of high deprivation.

Children are also more likely to be injured during school times, less so for commuter adults. Overall, the majority of accidents occur on roads with just 30mph speed limits.

The Road Safety Analysis (RSA) compiled the report for PACTS.

RSA director Richard Owen says: which compiled the report for PACTS says: “The UK has an excellent track record of delivering targeted pedestrian training to primary aged children, however, the evidence is compelling that engaging with higher risk groups is a clear priority if we are going to reduce casualty numbers. All too often pedestrians are putting themselves in harm’s way through inattention and poor choices; this is also something that motorists need to be mindful of and not assume that pedestrians will make the safest choices when crossing the road.”