Deaths In Road Traffic Accidents 2006

Inquest held into hanging in Ware

A WARE bus driver hanged himself after suffering depression following a road crash, an inquest heard.

Gary Saint, of Lower Bourne Gardens, was found by his wife Lesley on Thursday March 31, Hertfordshire coroner Edward Thomas heard on Tuesday.

The inquest heard that Mr Saint, 54, was involved in a road traffic accident while at work in 2006, which led to him being placed on anti-depressants by his GP, Dr Benning.

Dr Benning said he had placed Mr Saint on anti-depressants following the accident and saw him frequently.

He said: "He suffered from depression since the accident and it seemed to be what started it but the depression will run a course of its own outside of circumstantial reasons."

Mr Saint was also in the middle of selling the family home and a final separation from his wife.

At the time of his death, Mr Saint had just been released from the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City following a paracetamol overdose.

The night before his death, Mr Saint had gone out with his wife and had gone to bed early.

Steven Payton, a psychiatric consultation liaison nurse at the QEII, said Mr Saint regretted the overdose and was showing signs of motivation, including taking up ballroom dancing.

He referred Mr Saint to a psychiatric specialist to discuss his mental health.

Mr Thomas told the family: "He took his own life while depressed. He would not have done this if it had not been a reaction to circumstances."

The cause of death was given as asphyxiation after suspension because of depression.

Mr Saint’s daughters, Terri and Kelly, told Mr Thomas their father was a well-respected man.

United Kingdom road traffic accidents » Cars and Insurance

In England the government is sees road safety as a very important area and as such spends a large amount each year on trying to decrease the number of road traffic accidents which occur. Compared to other European countries England has one of the best records for road safety and it is also much better than America, Australia and marginally better than Japan.

The UK has seen a steep and consistent decline of road traffic accidents over the last 50 years as road safety techniques have improved too. At the same time deaths on the road have also fallen by a huge amount despite a rise in the UK’s population and number of vehicles on the road. In the last five years the decline has slowed slightly as the state and policing of UK roads has not altered much.

Road traffic accidents are made up of all road users whether it is cars, cyclists, pedestrians or other. The majority of accidents are where two or more cars collide with each other however there are a lot of car and pedestrian instances too. In 2007 the number of fatalities as a result of road traffic accidents was 2,946. 49 per cent of these fatalities were car drivers and passengers, 22 per cent were pedestrians, 20 per cent were motor cyclists, five per cent were cyclists and the remaining percentage was made up of other vehicles such as buses and coaches.

In 2006 the number of fatalities was seven per cent higher whilst general injuries from road accidents were four per cent higher. Amazingly in 2002 only eight per cent of all road accidents took place on the motorway despite them making up 30 per cent of all traffic. Then there is urban A roads which only make up 26.3 per cent of all traffic yet can lay claim to 58.5 per cent of all accidents.

Staggeringly 97.2 per cent of all road traffic accidents in London happened on urban A roads where speeds are much lower. The closest number to this outside of London was a much lower 64.9 per cent in the North West. This high percentage for inner London demonstrates somewhat that speeding isn’t necessarily the cause of accidents.

Get more information on road traffic accident claims .

Road casualties Great Britain 2006

Health at a Glance 2009, OECD Indicators

Enhancing urban safety and security, global report on human settlements 2007

The Transport Manager's and Operator's Handbook 2006

Road traffic accident deaths in South Africa, 2001-2006, evidence from death notification