Fatalities on North Yorkshire’s roads have been slashed by 20%. The decrease includes a 38% fall in motorcyclist deaths.

“This is a big step in the right direction, but the job is by no means done,” said Road Policing Inspector Chris Charlton. “We are still finalising and analysing the figures, but it is already emerging that young drivers and passengers make up a disproportionate number of those killed. It is clear that the efforts of the Police and all the other agencies involved in road safety must continue to focus on these road-users.”

The most spectacular drop in fatalities is among motorcycle riders. 13 died last year, compared with 21 in 2005. This is the lowest total since 2001 and Insp Charlton attributes the success to North Yorkshire Police’s unique mixture of training, persuasion - and hard-line enforcement.

The force has kept up its Bike Safe campaign, offering advanced riding guidance, together with a publicity roadshow which has attended events and rider meeting places across the county. Insp Charlton said: “The main thrust, though, has come from a tough enforcement policy. Extra patrols and extra checks, all backed by a well-publicised fast-track policy that can see extreme speeders stripped of their licences within a week of being caught - these are the key ingredients.”

And, he said, a great part of this effort was made possible by financial support from North Yorkshire County Council. He said: “We have provided officers prepared, literally, to go the extra mile and do extra targeted patrols; NYCC have, in their turn, backed publicity with practical action and funded much of this extra effort.”

Two teenagers, one on a moped, the other riding a relatively small 125cc machine, were killed in 2006. All the other riders killed were adults on full-size machines, many of them powerful sports bikes.

NYP’s motorcycle safety strategy for 2007 will be formulated shortly in consultation with the County Council, but Insp Charlton expects it to be not too far removed from the previous policy of advice for riders who will listen and hard-line enforcement for those who will not.

Fatalities on the county’s 6,000 miles of roads fell from 85 in 2005 to 68 last year, including the motorcyclist deaths.

Insp Charlton says there are many factors behind this decrease, but team-work among a variety of North Yorkshire organisations is high on the list.

He said enforcement played a large part, and the force was becoming ever-more efficient at targeting those who threaten other road-users’ welfare. “Improving intelligence leads us to better targeting of, for example, drink-drivers, and advanced technology effortlessly pinpoints untaxed and uninsured drivers for us - and it is the experience of Road Policing officers that drivers who will risk going out without tax, insurance or MoT Certificates are very often drivers whose vehicles are not roadworthy and who may well be under the influence of drink or drugs. These dangerous failings go together.”

He said: “If it sounds as if I am blowing the trumpet of North Yorkshire’s officers, especially the members of Road Policing Group, then I am. Their efforts have saved lives, it’s as simple and straightforward as that.”

But the Police effort is only part of the story, he said.
Every year’s new cars are better designed for safety, and every year North Yorkshire’s roads are safer. “Traffic-calming measures are put in place, hazards are removed, marking and signs are improved and speed limits are constantly reviewed and better fitted to the job they must do,” he said.

There had been successful examples of team-work, notably under the aegis of the county’s 95 Alive campaign led by the County Council, which brings together a wide variety of organisations with an interest in cutting casualties. Fire and Rescue have operated eye-catching speed matrix signs across the county, reminding drivers of speed limits, together with their powerful support for the Drink-Drive campaign in the form of roadside information displays centred around the mangled wreckage of crashed cars.

In the same campaign NYCC had sponsored highly effective video vans touring the county showing graphic and hard-hitting videos hammering home the drink-drive message.

The Highways Agency’s Traffic Officers had also played a part, dealing with the aftermath of accidents and adding a high-visibility presence to the A1, freeing up Policing officers to concentrate on casualty reduction work. Similarly, the Government’s Vehicle and Operator Services Agency now runs its own vehicle safety stop-checks, again freeing officers for front-line work.

And, said Inspector Charlton, a major contribution had come from the Air Ambulance service, whose speed in getting badly-injured casualties to hospital had undoubtedly saved lives.

Having said all this, though, none of the agencies involved felt at all complacent. Insp Charlton said: “No-one is celebrating. No-one can forget that 68 families are missing a loved one, many more are coming to terms with a dreadful injury suffered by someone close to them. Lives have been lost and lives have been ruined and I fear this will continue as long as there are drivers and riders prepared to take risks and to drive in a way that outstrips their skill.”

County Councillor Peter Sowray, Executive Member for Environmental Services, said: “We will continue to work as hard as we can to reduce fatalities further, but ultimately responsibility for future casualty figures lies with one very specific group of people, road-users. We will play our part, with renewed energy, but I am asking everyone who uses this county’s roads - pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers - to work together to further cut this tragic toll.”