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Editorials

Reducing road traffic

BMJ 1998; 316 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.316.7127.242 (Published 24 January 1998) Cite this as: BMJ 1998;316:242

Would improve quality of life as well as preventing injury

  1. Ian Roberts, Director (Ian.Roberts@ich.ucl.ac.uk)a
  1. a Child Health Monitoring Unit, Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH

    On a balmy summer afternoon in London in 1896 Bridget Driscoll stepped off the kerb and into history as the first person to be killed by a car in Britain. At her inquest the coroner said he hoped such a thing would never happen again. Over the next 100 years, 475 000 people would die on Britain's roads, with 30 times as many seriously injured.1 So many deaths could not go unnoticed, but the effect of motorisation on walking very nearly has.

    The Road Traffic Reduction (UK Targets) Bill has its second reading next week. If it is enacted the Secretary of State will be required to implement policies to reduce road traffic by 5% by 2005, and by 10% by 2010. The bill is supported by a host of health, welfare, and environmental groups, including the BMA, Barnardos, the …

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