13 These calculations suggest the potential for a further reduction of 692 casualties, including 100 killed or seriously injured and 114 pedestrians each year (assuming current casualty rates).
The commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has emphasized the reduction of civilian casualties as a crucial goal of the war effort.
"Our grief depends first on the personal impact, if we knew someone, and second to the sense of loss that pervades everyone psychologically because of the loss of innocence and the realization of our vulnerability, and none of those things are affected by the reduction in the number of casualties".
The system was then modelled using software provided by the Department for Transport, which demonstrated that the implementation of such a scheme would provide vast accident savings, a reduction in the number of casualties on the road, and a monetary saving as a result of the lower casualty rate.
"It is arguably progress in the mine risk education that has led to the sharp reduction in the number of casualties over recent years, with a drop of 40 per cent from 2009 to 2010," he said.
Mine action programmes and the anti-personnel mine-ban treaty or "Ottawa Convention," contributed to a reduction in the annual number of casualties from an estimated 26,000 10 years ago to between 15,000 and 20,000 today.
The introduction of the 20 mph zones was associated with a reduction in casualties and collisions of around 40%.
Thus, in broad terms, the additional effect of the 20 mph zones was that of a step reduction in casualties and collisions by an amount that has taken over 20 years to achieve on roads without 20 mph zones.
Why can't the DfT conduct a British Road Safety survey which would ask similar questions, widening the focus towards danger reduction and risk perception rather than the narrow measure of casualty reduction?
The ability to locate people quickly and accurately in buildings is critical to the success of building fire emergency response operations, and can potentially contribute to the reduction of various building fire-caused casualties and injuries.
