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Low income families at highest risk of road accidents
IF the government is to have any chance of restoring its reputation and reducing the number of people killed or injured on Britain's roads, it will need to focus as much on social factors as safety education, according to a new report by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.The report, Social Factors in Road Safety, looks at how issues such as where people live, their income and their family circumstances, can impact on the likelihood of being involved in a road accident.
Poverty is a major problem in many parts of Britain
The report explains how a lack of money can impact on road safety. However much advice is given on getting cars serviced regularly and replacing worn tyres, some people simply cannot afford to do so. Similarly, new vehicles with improved safety features can prove unaffordable to many.
Duncon Vernon, road safety manager at RoSPA, said there are a wide range of social factors that impact on road safety and efforts to reduce casualties.
"Building road safety into everyone's priorities and policies is an inescapable step to reduce the inequalities in injury," he explained. "Road safety is a public health issue and a greater integration between road safety and public health at all levels would help to create both safer and healthier environments."
Exposure to danger is a key factor which can vary significantly between socioeconomic groups. Children in poorer families, for example, cross 50 per cent more roads than those with the most income. They are more likely to play in the street due to a lack of garden space or parental concerns about the safety of public parks.
The report also shows the number of fatalities per 100,000 children whose parents were long-term unemployed or had never worked was 20 times higher for pedestrians, 5.5 times higher for car occupants and 27.5 times higher for cyclists when compared to the children of professional or managerial parents.
Mr Vernon suggested more sections of local government should be involved in assessing the safety of roads in their area.
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