The total number of casualties has, however, not gone down, standing at 327,544. In our Manifesto, we said that we would make road safety a high priority, that cycling and walking must be made safer especially around schools. We will at the same time set out a strategy and programme of measures for achieving it. One of the main elements of the strategy will be to involve all these agencies in the achievement of the new target. We do not want to make roads safer by simply discouraging vulnerable groups from venturing on to roads.
Speed is thought to be a factor in about a third of all casualty accidents.
Drink-driving is still a major cause of deaths, and we have consulted recently on proposals for a package of measures to combat this continuing problem 24 . These included possible measures to improve enforcement and education and we sought views on whether the current legal blood alcohol limit of some 80mg per 100ml should be reduced to 50mg. In the light of the responses to the consultation, we hope to announce our conclusions later this year. Another major theme will be the scope for improving safety through the better enforcement of existing regulations. All the relevant Government departments are collaborating to ensure consistency of approach on this.