Road safety campaign budget slashed by 80 per cent
SPENDING on road safety campaigns has been slashed by 80 per cent, according to a leading charity.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) says the Government cut its road safety campaign budget from £19 million in 2008/09 to just £4 million in 2011/12.
The figure was revealed after a Freedom of Information enquiry by IAM.
The Institute said the Department of Transport (DfT) is planning to spend £3.7 million on road safety in the 2012/13 financial year which will see:
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£53,000 spent on cyclist safety
£78,000 on child and teenager road safety
£50,000 on research into young drivers
£1.275 million on motorcycle campaigns
£1.685 million on drink-drive campaigns.
But IAM director of policy Neil Greig said that road safety budgets in the public sector were being cut "too hard and too quickly, despite the huge returns on investment. £53,000 is a derisory amount to spend on national cycle safety campaigns.
"£78,000 for children's safety campaigns is virtually insignificant. If the Government is serious about safety for these groups, these amounts must be increased.
"The successful drink driving and biker campaigns have raised awareness of these issues and they both appear to be working. The Government needs to match that kind of expenditure and take the safety of children and cyclists seriously."
A DfT spokesman said that Government spend had been reduced since June 2010 "to help deliver efficiency savings". Only the "most essential" campaigns, including several THINK! road safety campaigns, are going ahead.
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