News
19 Apr 07Casualties On Poole Roads - Lowest Since 1987
Work done by Borough of Poole and its partners has contributed to casualty figures for road traffic accidents being at their lowest level for almost 20 years.
Statistics for 2006 show a significant reduction in the number of accident casualties on Poole roads.
The figures released by Dorset Police 
show:
- A total of 529 casualties were recorded in Poole in 2006 - the lowest total recorded since the current Police recording system began in 1987. This compares with a total of 696 in 2005 - a reduction of 24%.
- The number of serious casualties fell from 67 to 43 over the same period, again the lowest figures on record.
- There were no fatal accidents in Poole in 2006.
Steve Tite, Acting Head of Transportation Services, said: "Road safety is a high priority for the Borough and figures are very encouraging. As well as the personal tragedy to those involved, a fatal accident costs the community nearly £1.6 million and a serious one £180,000. Any reduction in the terrible cost both in personal and financial terms that traffic accidents bring to the local community is welcomed."
Borough of Poole has introduced a number of road safety measures such as introducing 20mph zones around schools and improving safety at junctions by introducing traffic signals.
To combat speeding, the Borough of Poole has been working in close partnership with other agencies involved in casualty reduction such as the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership .
Assistant Chief Constable, Adrian Whiting, Chair of the Steering Group, Dorset Safety Camera Partnership (DSCP), said "This is a great result for the Borough of Poole and clearly shows that a partnership approach is the successful route to tackle road safety and to lead to reductions in casualties on our counties roads. However we are not complacent, there have still been 43 people seriously injured during the year and we will continue to monitor operations very closely to establish what else can be done to further reduce these figures".
Borough of Poole, in conjunction with Dorset Police and the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, is committed to meeting the national casualty reduction target of a 40% decrease in fatal and serious injuries by the year 2010.
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