The number of people killed or seriously injured on roads in Caerphilly County Borough has halved according to figures released by the Welsh Assembly’s Department of Transport.
Caerphilly was ranked eighth in Wales for its reduction of 49% compared to average figures from between 1994 and 1998.
Monmouthshire tops the rankings with a 79% reduction, Newport came second with a drop of 63% and Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent were joint third with a reduction of 60%.
Overall, the number of people killed or seriously injured on Gwent roads has reduced by 65% – exceeding ahead of time, the Welsh Assembly’s ten year target of a 40% reduction by the end of 2010.
The number of road traffic collisions resulting in slight injury also dropped by 40%.
Gwent Police’s Roads Policing Chief Inspector John Pavett said: “These statistics reflect the hard work of the road safety partnerships operating in the area as well as the responsible attitudes of many of the motorists using local roads – it really is a team effort.
“The reduction can be attributed to a number of things including enforcement, through our police operations and our various road safety campaigns, education, improved road engineering and vehicle design.
“Although success has been achieved in these areas, just one fatality on our roads is one too many. Most of the initiatives undertaken in Gwent are designed to have long term results and together with diligence and support from the public, I hope that this downward trend is set to continue.”
Penny Thorpe, principal road safety officer with consultants Capita Symonds, said: “Every organisation represented on the Gwent Road Safety Forum uses its specialist expertise with full support from the others.
“Schemes such as Megadrive, Pass Plus Cymru and Operation Options could not run without input from all partners. This combined approach makes the most of limited resources and contributes significantly to casualty reduction.”
Jim Moore, Manager of Go Safe – the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, added: “These figures are extremely encouraging and show that road safety initiatives are working.”