The Welsh Assembly Government has announced continued support for GoSafe - the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership with funding of £4m. This will enable the partnership to maintain all current services to reduce casualties and increase public satisfaction through improved road safety.
GoSafe is the largest safety camera enforcement partnership in the UK and is made up of 28 equal partners comprising the Welsh Assembly Government, 22 unitary authorities in Wales, the four police forces and Her Majesty’s Court Service. It also works very closely with the four Regional Transport Consortia and road safety groups in Wales. All the partners work together to bring about an integrated approach to improving road safety with a continued aim to reduce casualties on Welsh roads.
GoSafe has had significant achievements in reducing casualties and saving lives at safety camera sites across Wales with an average KSI (killed or seriously injured) casualty reduction rate of 62.7 per cent against the original baseline for fixed and mobile sites.
This considerable reduction at safety camera sites has meant:
- there were 12 fewer people killed or seriously injured from collisions involving motorcycles in Wales with 37 in 2008 compared to 25 in 2009.
- casualties from collisions involving professional drivers in Wales dropped from 359 in 2008 to 327 in 2009.
- there were 23 fewer casualties from collisions involving young drivers with a decrease from 561 in 2008 to 538 in 2009.
GoSafe manages and promotes driver education campaigns such as Deadly Mates, which educates Young Drivers (www.deadlymates.com) and is publicised throughout McDonalds restaurants in Wales. The Wales by Bike campaign (www.walesbybike.com) provides motorcyclists with advice on how to be safe on roads together with the common causes of accidents and how to avoid them. This campaign is supported by Hollywood Actor Michael Sheen and Government agencies in Wales. GoSafe will continue to work alongside the Welsh Assembly Government and partners to promote education in order to change driver behaviour through compliance with speed limits in order to reduce accidents on Welsh roads.
Ieuan Wyn Jones, Deputy First Minister & Minister for Economy and Transport, said: “I am very pleased to be announcing this continued funding, especially as we have been dealt a particularly tough funding settlement by the UK Government. I fully recognise that enforcement plays a large part in reducing casualties on our roads and acknowledge that the use of safety camera technology has contributed significantly to the success that has been achieved in road casualty reduction over the past decade.
“This money will allow the partnership to continue its good work in contributing towards improved road safety throughout Wales and reducing accident numbers on Welsh roads to record lows.”
Assistant Chief Constable Nick Croft, South Wales Police, said: “The four police forces and our partners are proud of the significant progress we have made across Wales in relation to reducing casualties through speed enforcement and other supporting road safety campaigns. The Welsh Assembly Government has recognised this contribution and I am very grateful for their continued support which will contribute to keeping the roads in Wales some of the safest in Europe.”
Jim Moore, manager of GoSafe, added: “The decision from the Welsh Assembly Government to continue to fund safety cameras and our education programme is proof of the significant success that has been achieved in road casualty reductions over the past decade. Without education and enforcement there will no doubt be a deterioration of driver behaviour and increased casualties on the roads in Wales. This funding allows us to maintain all of our current services without compromising on the effectiveness of our operations.”
ENDS