A NEW approach is needed to try to cut the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on Cornwall’s roads.

The Cornwall Road Casualty Reduction Strategy is being reviewed with the number of people killed or seriously injured on Cornwall’s roads rising by 34% since the strategy was published in 2013.

Cornwall Council is working with partners including Highways England and the police to review the strategy and create a new action plan.

Since the strategy was published a number of road safety projects have been carried out across Cornwall.

But a report to councillors states: “However, while the total number of all collisions has decreased over this period there has been a sharp increase in the number of people who are seriously injured on our roads.”

The number of people killed or seriously injured on Cornwall’s roads was 295 in 2017.

National figures show that Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was 67 out of 78 counties – with one being the best – for the rate of reduction of fatal and serious injury crashes.

And a national survey of public satisfaction with roads found Cornwall in the bottom three out of 12 neighbouring councils.

The road casualty reduction strategy has a long-term “vision zero” ambition which is to eradicate deaths and serious injuries from Cornwall’s roads.

And the strategy is aiming to bring together all agencies to work together to achieve its goals.

A report which will go to the council’s neighbourhoods overview and scrutiny committee states that the police had recently published its response to road policing and appointed 20 additional officers across Devon and Cornwall.

The strategy is taking a Safe Systems approach which has already been adopted by the police and Highways England.

The report states: “This is a multi-disciplinary approach with a shared responsibility by everyone including all agencies and organisations  responsible for road safety to ensure that when mistakes happen, the impact is minimised. The Safe Systems approach advocates a shift away from trying to prevent all collisions to preventing death and mitigating serious injury.”

And the action plan includes projects such as road safety campaigns and work to look at individual roads and accident blackspots and what improvements can be made.

Highlighting the benefits of the strategy for residents the report adds: “Road safety is a matter of national importance, affecting both those who drive and those who don’t drive. Road traffic collisions destroy lives, families and communities; fear of road danger impacts on our quality of life and the freedom we allow our children. The public cost of a road traffic collision is significant.”

In the foreword to the strategy Cornwall Council Cabinet members Sue James and Geoff Brown state: “We cannot prevent all collisions from occurring, human error is inevitable but we can ensure that we design our roads to reduce the risk and dangers they pose so that when collisions do take place these do not result in serious harm.”

The neighbourhoods overview and scrutiny committee will consider the strategy when it meets on Tuesday (March 5).