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DRIVERS LIVE IN FEAR Four out of five (81%) drivers say they consciously worry that the people they love will be killed on the road, according to a survey by Brake and Green Flag. One third (33%) of the 1,009 drivers interviewed admitted that having a loved one die on the road was one of their biggest fears. These fears are entirely justified: nine people die on UK roads every single day (Road Casualties Great Britain: 2004, Department for Transport) and we each have a one in 200 chance of dying on the road (The Highway Code, Driving Standards Agency, 2004). Brake believes public fear about road crashes is intensified by the lack of visible policing on the roads. In previous surveys by Brake and Green Flag nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said drivers would take more care if there were more police on the roads. The numbers of police officers on our roads has fallen by 20% in the last eight years (and even more in some forces) (Hansard, 10 January 2005). In 1996-97, there were 9,201 road policing officers in England and Wales, but by 2005, this had dropped 20% to just 7,636. Brake is calling on the Government to take urgent action to stop the daily carnage on our roads by urging police forces to make road safety a priority - and ensuring that they have adequate resources for their vital, life-saving role. Despite the public''s fears, road policing is not one of the four ''National Priorities'' that the Government set for police forces in its third National Policing Plan in 2005. Shockingly, tackling mobile phone theft was prioritised over preventing death and injury on the roads. After criticism from Brake and other road safety experts, the Government published a separate roads policing strategy in January 2005. Brake is calling on the Government to upgrade this strategy and make road policing one of the national priorities for police forces in the new National Policing Plan, due in 2009. Mary Williams OBE, chief executive of Brake, said: ''Not only do we have a horrifying daily toll of deaths and injuries on our roads, but widespread fear of losing a loved one on the road cannot be good for the health of the nation. Justifiable fears about road safety should be taken seriously by the Government and more resources should be made available to police for their essential, life-saving role''
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