Oxfordshire road injuries fall but deaths rise (From The Oxford Times)

Oxfordshire road injuries fall but deaths rise

7:56pm Wednesday 24th June 2009 in

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THE total number of people badly injured on Oxfordshire’s roads has fallen for the first time in three years.

In 2008 343 were killed or seriously hurt in crashes, compared to 374 the previous year and 372 in 2006, according to figures released today by the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership.

However, the number of people killed rose from 34 in 2007 to 42. Overall the number of people who suffered any sort of injury fell for the second consecutive year. In 2006 2,935 were hurt, 2,650 the following year and 2,419 last year.

Safer Roads Partnership chairman Steve Howell said: “We must not lose sight of the huge task that remains.

“Last year there were 343 people who lost their lives or suffered potentially life changing injuries because of a crash.

“We owe it to them to press ahead with more work to make the roads safer.”

Supt Gill Wootton, of roads policing, praised safety schemes for the reduction in injuries.

She added: “Safety camera sites continue to perform well, with the number of people killed or seriously injured in the last three years being 40 per cent lower than in the three years before sites were installed.”