Improving Road Safety
10.24 Kent's road safety targets present a real challenge to the County's road safety strategies and will require a sustained reduction in casualty rates over the next five years if they are to be achieved. KCC is committed to reducing casualties in Kent and, in its APR 2005, Kent took the decision to bring forward the delivery of its national KSI target to 2007, a full three years earlier than the national target year of 2010. Furthermore, Kent has established a further three local road safety targets, KLTP 7, 8 and 9. These particular targets all contribute towards BVPI 99, Kent's overarching road safety target, but also measure the County Council's key road safety initiatives of tackling inappropriate vehicle speeds, promoting seat belt use and reducing the disproportionate number of casualties that occur in socially deprived areas. Whilst BVPI 99 will remain the key road safety target for Kent throughout the Plan, a detailed understanding of Kent's progress towards its local road safety targets will provide a valuable insight into the effectiveness of its key road safety initiatives. It will also underline the added value that these initiatives bring to making Kent's roads safer. Kent's approach to improving road safety is outlined in its Road Safety Plan 2004/06, which is presented in Appendix 7.
10.25 Kent's Road Safety Targets comprise:
- BVPI 99 Casualty Reduction - This indicator comprises three components relating to road safety, which are set against a base year of 2000. They are: -
- BVPI 99x. To reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Kent's roads by 40% by 2007 (based on 2007/08 data).
- BVPI 99y. To reduce the number of children killed or seriously injured on Kent's roads by 50% by 2010 (based on 2010/11 data).
- BVPI 99z. To reduce the number of slight injury crashes on Kent's roads by 10% by 2010 (based on 2010/11 data).
- KLTP7. Vehicle Speeds - To reduce the number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit on Kent's roads by 10% between 2005/06 and 2010/11.
- KLTP8. Seat Belt Use - To increase the proportion of vehicle occupants wearing a seat belt by 5% between 2005/06 and 2010/11.
- KLTP9. Socially Deprived Areas - To reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in socially deprived areas by 35% between 2005/06 and 2010/11.