Drivers feel UK roads are more dangerous now than they were five years ago, according to a new study.
The report, by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line, based on a survey of more than 1,037 drivers, revealed that seven in 10 felt that roads were more dangerous now than they were in 2014 and many believed speeding drivers and mobile phone use behind the wheel had increased while police car presence had declined.
Road safety campaigners are now calling for an increased police presence on the roads to deter people from breaking the law.
“Drivers’ perceptions tell us a lot about the safety of our roads and so it’s deeply concerning to find that drivers feel the roads are more dangerous than they were five years ago,” said Joshua Harris, Director of Campaigns for Brake. “With roads policing suffering severe cutbacks, and drivers noticing the decreased police presence on our roads, perhaps this shouldn’t come as such a surprise. We have to act to address the stagnation in British road safety by increasing police numbers, to deter and enforce against dangerous driving.”
The report also revealed eight in 10 drivers believed a visible police presence deterred people from breaking the law and a further eight in 10 thought that there should be more police patrol cars on the road.
