Road deaths fall again but they still get far too little attention

This week the revised traffic accident figures for 2007 were published. They confirmed the previous good news about a sharp fall in the number of deaths in road accidents:

1994-8   3,578 (average)
1999       3,423
2000       3,409
2001       3,450
2002       3,431
2003       3,508
2004       3,221
2005       3,201
2006       3,172
2007       2,946*

What always strikes me about these numbers (even after the very welcome fall in 2007) is just how high they are compared to other forms of death which the national media reports far more frequently.

If the national media were to report all the road deaths, that would be eight a day, every day of the week, every week of the year – and you can imagine the public and political pressures for further action on road safety that would flow from this wall-to-wall coverage.

This is what has happened in the past when the media collectively decides to highlight certain forms of death, and can sometimes bring very welcome results. The media’s behaviour in concentrating on deaths caused by fumes from furniture quite a few years ago resulted in action finally being taken to improve safety standards for furniture. That was a very welcome move, which has saved many lives. But it happened when it did (rather than much later or not at all) because the media collectively had in effect decided, “ok, these sorts of deaths are now newsworthy”.

As with deaths from suicides, deaths on the roads just don’t get the political attention their frequency deserve.

* Figures for injuries have also come down sharply, though they are more prone to issues of under-reporting as when a death is not involved there is more chance the police may not get to know about the incident.