Fatalities plunge on county roads

The number of people killed on roads in Lincolnshire has dropped steeply so far this year compared with 2003.

Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership said 66 people died in accidents between January and November in 2004 compared with 94 in the previous year.

It follows a number of campaigns across the county aimed at cutting the number of road deaths.

The Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership has warned the figures are still too high.

Spokesman Steve Batchelor said: "We had a decrease when the partnership started in the first year and I think everybody was quick to believe we'd fixed the problem and everything is improving.

"I would tend to think you have to have several years of this reduction occurring before you can say: 'Yes, we are making this big difference and things are improving'."

Lincolnshire Police have previously said the three most consistent factors in road fatalities in the county are excessive speed, lack of seat belts and unroadworthy cars.

They said most of the road fatalities in the county were local people.