THERE have been 130 deaths on the roads in five years and Somerset County Council wants people to have their say on a new strategy which aims to improve safety.

A consultation has been launched after 22 people were killed in 20 crashes on the county’s roads in 2017.  This is the lowest number of fatal collisions ever recorded in Somerset and a decrease by three fatal casualties from the 2016 figure of 25.

The council is seeking the public’s views on a new draft road safety strategy called Safe Roads in Somerset.

This details how it plans to use a ‘safe systems’ approach to deliver its ambitious vision that no road user should be killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads.

Councillor John Woodman, Somerset County Council’s cabinet member for road safety, said “While it is pleasing to see the number of people killed on Somerset roads decreasing, even one death is one too many.

“This is why we are consulting on our new road safety strategy. We want to take positive action and continue to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Somerset roads. Every road user can play a part in improving road safety and we look forward to receiving feedback on our plans.”

Almost all road deaths and injuries are preventable. However, for a continued decline in road traffic collisions and serious injury there needs to be a shift in the way that road safety is delivered in local areas.

In a ‘safe system’ there is a shared responsibility for preventing injury, between road users, enforcers and those who design, build and manage roads or vehicles.

Of the 22 deaths last year, further analysis shows that 60 per cent involved cars, 19 per cent motorcycles, five per cent pedestrians, eleven per cent HGVs and five per cent agricultural vehicles. Of the casualties, 68 per cent were drivers, 23 per cent passengers and nine per cent pedestrians. This shows that all road users can play a part in improving safety on our roads.

Road deaths year by year:

  • 2013: 28 collisions, 28 casualties
  • 2014: 32 collisions, 33 casualties
  • 2015: 22 collisions, 22 casualties
  • 2016: 23 collisions, 25 casualties
  • 2017: 20 collisions, 22 casualties

Visit the council's website to take part in the consultation by March 8.