The figure is 43% less than it was ten years ago with 240 fatal accidents recorded in 2014, almost half the amount of deaths than in 2005.
The
FTA say that operators and HGV drivers must stay vigilant to minimising harm on the UK road network.
Christopher Snelling, FTA’s Head of National & Regional Policy and Public Affairs, said: “The logistics industry is committed to improving its performance on road safety through new innovations in vehicle design and better driver education. Whilst this has been a challenging year for road safety, these figures illustrate that our industry’s approach is making progress.’’
‘’We want to keep going as an industry to play our part in making road transport as safe as it can be. Improved HGV vehicle designs and safety features, as well as improved driver training and management, will be part of this.’'
“Beyond this, FTA calls for more targeted enforcement of existing HGV driver and vehicle regulation against seriously non-compliant operators who undermine the efforts of the vast majority; continued spending on improving and maintain road infrastructure; and for all users of our roads to learn as much as they can about how to share the roads safely.”
Recent times have seen a clamp down of the regulations with regards to the safety of HGVs. September saw the introduction of the new Safer Lorry Scheme in the London area.
Other safety ideas coming from the capital this month include the
Cannot Turn Left idea which has been ridiculed by HGV drivers across the country.
The reduction in fatal road accidents involving HGVs comes as the overall reported number of fatal accidents increased to 1,775, an increase of 4% when compared to 2013.
In total, 194,477 people were killed or injured in reported road incidents, this is the first increase in overall casualties’ numbers since 1997. The most common factor contributing to accidents last year was drivers failing to look properly.
Traffic levels last year were 2.4% higher than 2013, which is one of the reasons the government insist that the increase in fatalities is not statistically significant.
Nick Lloyd, road safety manager at
RoSPA, said: "As our economy improves, we can expect traffic levels to continue to increase, so we must do everything we can to make sure this does not lead to even more increases in road crashes and casualties."
"The reductions in road death and injury in recent years will not automatically be sustained, without a continued commitment to road safety. We must remain focused on making our roads safer for everyone, and especially for people travelling on foot and by two wheels.’’
"The number of pedestrian fatalities involving those over 60 has increased by 16% together with a 7% increase in car occupants. With an ageing population we must renew our efforts to reverse this phenomenon."
Neil Greig,
IAM’s director of policy and research, said: "These figures are very worrying, especially the fact that driver behaviour remains the top cause of crashes.’’
"We are clear on what needs to be done here. We call again for road safety targets to be reintroduced. There also must be a greater focus on driver and rider quality and incentives for companies and individuals to continuously develop their skills.’’
"There also needs to be a focus on tackling pedestrian deaths, an area which is often ignored. We believe that car technology and design should now shift from occupant protection to protecting the vulnerable outside cars.’’
"We need better pedestrian facilities to segregate traffic and vulnerable users where speeds are high, and campaigns to educate pedestrians themselves as they are most often at fault in crashes."