Figures published by the Department for Transport (DfT) show that 1,850 people were killed in reported road accidents in Great Britain during 2010, a reduction of 372 (17%) on the previous year’s figure. A further 22,660 people were seriously injured (a reduction of 8%) and 184,138 people were slightly injured (a reduction of 6%).

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “In 2010, road deaths on Great Britain’s roads fell well below 2,000 for the first time.

“This was a fantastic achievement. However, there is still more to be done; if all the reported road accidents in 2010 had been prevented, this would have saved almost £15billion - crucial given the current economic climate.”

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “The government should think about the real value of road safety initiatives when it considers its expenditure plans.

“As more and more driver aids are introduced we need to re-think the way we approach safe driving. Vehicle technology requires new thinking and an even greater emphasis on the driver as the decision-maker. The challenge now is for us all to treat driving as a skill for life and embrace post-test training.”

Julie Townsend, campaigns director, said: “Road deaths and serious injuries are preventable, and as such we must work in the long term towards eliminating them.

“Brake is desperately worried that this trend of falling casualties is under threat, and in coming years we could see more lives destroyed as a result of cuts to road safety work and a lack of decisive action from the government on key issues, such as young drivers, speed and drink driving.

“Cuts to road safety work are a false economy because deaths and serious injuries exert a huge financial burden on our fragile economy.”