MPs must put aside their party differences and vote for safer roads for all, according to the RAC Foundation, supporting the swift passage of the Road Safety Bill through Parliament last week.

In March 2000, the Prime Minister launched the Road Safety Strategy, which included a target of a 40 per cent reduction in those killed and seriously injured by 2010.

The Road Safety Bill is an important opportunity to help ensure these targets are met, but the foundation is warning that the Bill's provisions may not be effectively enforced unless there is a firm Government and Police commitment to ensuring a high priority for traffic policing.

However, the main concern surrounding the Bill is one of implementation.

In recent years, the Government has shifted police priority away from traffic policing.

With an 11 per cent reduction in traffic police between 1997 and 2001, the foundation is concerned that a lack of visible police presence on the roads is going to hamper the enforcement of the provisions of the Road Safety Bill.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "We need to communicate the message to motorists that motoring laws are in place to reduce accidents and to save lives, and that they should be taken seriously. This could be aided by a more visible police presence on the roads."