More people killed on East Cambridgeshire roads last year than Cambridge and Peterborough combined - new report shows
- Credit: Archant
East Cambridgeshire roads were a death trap for motorists in 2013, with more people killed on the district’s roads than anywhere else in the county – according to a new report.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Road Safety Partnership recorded 11 road deaths in East Cambs last year, accounting for almost one in three people killed in Cambridgeshire.
And, according to Government estimates, the fatalities cost more than £18millon in medical costs, lost output and in the cost of grief and suffering.
There were more than three times as many people killed here than in neighbouring Fenland, where three people died, and more than in Cambridge and Peterborough combined.
The report also highlighted the high number of serious incidents on roads in East Cambridgeshire, with 54 recorded in 2013, more than both Fenland (34) and Cambridge City (40).
Serious incidents include any injury requiring hospital treatment, including fractures, burns or crush injuries.
And it was young drivers who bore the brunt of the damage last year, with 10 out of the 11 people killed on the roads aged between 16-35 and 30 out of 54 people involved in serious incidents aged from 0-35.
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The shocking figures have been lamented by South East Cambridgeshire MP, Sir Jim Paice, who is calling for more to be done to clamp down on dangerous driving.
He said: “Although East Cambridgeshire has the lowest total number of road casualties in the county, I am concerned by the high proportion of fatalities and serious injuries, particularly amongst younger drivers.
“Clearly there is work to be done in clamping down on dangerous driving, targeting trouble spots and making our roads safer.”
The partnership, made up of the county’s councils and emergency services, said in its report that reducing serious incidents among young drivers in East Cambridgeshire would be one of its priorities for the upcoming year.
It said: “The key themes for 2014 will be targeted through partnership working, incorporating all organisations included in the partnership.
“In April 2014, work commenced to allow closer working between the partnership and medical professionals, including trauma specialists at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. “This work will continue into 2014 and beyond as a joint approach to road casualty prevention in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.”
County-wide, there were 36 people killed on the roads last year, while 357 people suffered serious injuries. Combined, the total was up three per cent on 2012.
