Huge drop in road casualties

The number of people killed or injured on the borough's roads has fallen dramatically, a council report has said.
A road crash in WiganA road crash in Wigan
A road crash in Wigan

Town hall figures show a 56 per cent reduction in casualties in the space of six years, with the number of children dying or receiving serious injuries falling by 76 per cent.

The drop in minor injuries is even larger with a reduction of 85 per cent between 2010 and 2016, the figures shown to councillors on a scrutiny committee reveal.

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Deaths and serious injuries have dropped from 147 in 2010 to 64 in 2o16, with child casualties being reduced 37 in 2010 to just nine last year.

Wigan Council said it was delighted the roads were becoming safer but stressed it was keen to do more as dozens of people are still being killed or sustaining major injuries each year.

Mark Tilley (pictured), Wigan Council’s assistant director for infrastructure, said: "Keeping the people of the borough as safe as possible while using our road network is a key priority for Wigan Council and its partners.

"We are pleased that our casualty reduction strategy is working and that the number of casualties and overall trend is reducing. We must, however, continue to improve road safety and reduce casualty figures.

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"Our new road safety strategy sets out how we will raise the profile of road safety across the borough through improved engineering, education, training, awareness raising and where appropriate enforcement.

"We will use information on a ward-by-ward basis to create effective interventions to reduce casualties even further."

The Confident Places scrutiny committee heard particular work will take place to protect vulnerable road users, classed as children aged up to 15, pedestrians, cyclists, motorbike riders and inexperienced drivers aged between 17 and 25.

The local authority will carry out safety audits in each ward, working out where accident blackspots are and where journeys can be made safely.

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A profile will be created by comparing local casualty information with other data about the ward, covering local residents’ health, income, car ownership and housing as well as other factors.

The council’s strategy also involves raising awareness of road safety by working with the Greater Manchester Casualty Reduction Partnership.

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