Buckinghamshire County Council’s proposed road safety budget cuts could result in ending further education for drivers, which, according to Audrey Wixon of Wycombe Driving School, could cost people’s lives.

The council is seeking ways to save money and is now consulting on scrapping further training for risk drivers, which according to Wixon will lead to more accidents on Buckinghamshire roads.

The road safety team has done a lot of work over the past years to provide additional training for high-risk drivers, and slashing the funding will certainly increase the number of accidents, she said.

There are currently courses which offer training for motorcyclists, young drivers, elderly people, assessments for company cars, winter driving training and driver instructor assessments, but some of these could be scrapped under the proposal.

The council’s website highlights that young motorists account for 27% of those injured or involved in fatal accidents on our roads. In 2012, there were 1,169 crashes in the county, resulting in 21 fatalities, 197 serious injuries and 1,395 minor injuries.

The council said that road safety is a priority and in order to achieve further reduction of road accidents, greater efforts and a coordinated approach is required to engage with motorists.

The council is trying to save up to £192,000 per year, but just one fatal accident can generate costs of approximately £1.8 million, says Wixon. Also, members of the road safety team will be affected by the council’s efforts to save budget money, which does not make any sense and will cost people’s lives, she concluded.