“Road safety is only high on an individual's agenda when they are directly affected by an incident involving a member of their family”

Such demands support RAC driver research for the report which suggested that motorists acknowledge that a harsh clampdown is required on some of the motoring misdemeanours to which they confess – particularly speeding and drink and drug driving.

“There is a high level of tolerance amongst drivers for treatments that might be expected to cause adverse reaction,” says the report. “They are prepared to support a number of draconian measures in return for protection from other motorists and to discourage themselves from continuing to bend the rules.” Such measures include the introduction of compulsory dashboard alcolocks to stamp out drink-driving, robust tests for drug drivers, more traffic-calming initiatives, non-punitive speed checks and punitive technology-led enforcement, suggesting that urgent government action is needed to build public confidence in the current speed enforcement regime.

The report says: “The UK’s motorists treat speeding as a serious road safety issue, but the current enforcement regime is discredited in their eyes. Given the government’s apparent wish to continue with its punitive speed camera regime, it needs to take steps to emphasise the road safety rationale for its approach.” Research for the report concludes that young drivers followed by company car drivers are the least law-abiding groups of drivers.

Almost a third of drivers of company and luxury cars (32%), confessed in report research to drink-driving with motorists clocking up more than 13,000 miles a year next most likely to stray (30%). There has also been a threefold increase in the number of people killed with a cocktail of illegal stimulants in their system. Many motorists have confessed to committing motoring offences safe in the knowledge that they will not be caught as the number of traffic police officers continues to decline. Meanwhile, despite public information campaigns encouraging motorists to use their seatbelts and not to drive while tired, evidence suggests that they have had minimal impact, says the report.

Driver education, appropriate penalties, fair enforcement and a visible deterrent in traffic police are key to making Britain’s roads safer, concludes the RAC report, which calls for road casualty figures and advice on “improve your driving” to be sent to all drivers who commit motoring offences.

Department for Transport 2005 casualty figures also reveal:

• Road traffic levels remained at about the same level as in 2004 and consequently the provisional estimate is that the overall casualty rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres was 3% lower than in 2004
• The number of children killed or seriously injured was 3,472, down 11% on 2004. Of those, 2,134 were pedestrians, 9% down on 2004. A total of 141 children died on the roads, 15% fewer than in 2004
• Pedestrian casualties were 33,281, 5% lower than in 2004. There were 671 pedestrians killed, the same as in 2004, while serious injuries fell 5% to 6,458
• The number of cyclists killed increased 10% to 148 last year and the number of cyclists seriously injured increased by 2% – both increases were blamed on more commuters opting to beat traffic jams by switching from cars to bicycles
• There were 28,824 motorcycle casualties, 3% less than in 2004. The number of seriously injured decreased by 2% to 5,939 and the number killed decreased by 3% to 569
• The number of deaths among car users last year was 1,675, four more than in 2004 – despite improvements in car design and advances in medical science. The number of seriously injured fell by 11% to 12,942. Total casualties among car users were 178,302, 3% lower than 12 months previously
• There were 198,735 road accidents involving personal injury in 2005, 4% fewer than in 2004. Of these, 27,942 accidents involved death or serious injury

“There were still almost 3,500 children killed or seriously injured in 2005 on the country's roads. If that number was away from school due to flu, the government would be held to ransom”

Commenting on the number of children involved in road crashes, Mr Walsh says: “The number of children killed or seriously injured fell 11% last year compared to 2004, but that means there were still almost 3,500 children killed or seriously injured in 2005 on the country’s roads. That is terrible. If that number of children were away from school due to flu the government would be held to ransom.”

Meanwhile, RoSPA said it was deeply concerned that deaths among pedal cyclists had risen again. In 2000, the government announced a road safety strategy which included new road casualty reduction targets to be achieved by 2010 compared with the average for 1994-98. The targets were: a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road crashes; a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured; and a 10% reduction in slight casualties.

Last year, the number of people killed or seriously injured was 33% below the 1994-98 average; the number of children killed or seriously injured was 49% below the 1994-98 average; and provisional estimates show the slight casualty rate was 22% below the 1994-98 average.