Road accident deaths fall

Road deaths fell by 16% in 2010, according to government figures.

The Department for Transport revealed that fatalities fell from 2222 in 2009 to 1857 in 2010 the lowest figure since national records began in 1926.

Part of the fall is attributed to lower traffic levels 2% down on 2009 leading to an overall casualty rate of 677 casualties per billion vehicle miles, compared with 709 casualties per billion vehicle miles in 2009.

Road safety charity RoadSafe said that 'enormous strides' in car safety design had also played a role.

Its director, Adrian Walsh, said: 'It is not simply that cars are becoming safer when in a collision, but the fitment of e-safety technology such as stability control means that crashes can be avoided.'