The number killed in road traffic collisions up to December 11 this year was 37 and the county council's director of planning and transportation Mike Jackson says 2008 is on target to be “the year with the fewest ever people killed on Norfolk roads in modern times".

His report containing the figures for the numbers of killed and seriously injured on Norfolk's roads up to the end of November will be considered by the county council and Norfolk Police Authority’s joint casualty reduction group tomorrow.

Mr Jackson says Norfolk is continuing to meet Government targets for casualty reduction with 396 casualties in the past year, representing a 54.1 per cent reduction from the 1994-98 baseline figure.

“Progress through 2007 and 2008 has been excellent and the current trend line sits below the killed and seriously injured target of 425 by 2010," he says.

“However, due to the cyclic nature of the casualty trends, with marked peaks and troughs, there is no room for complacency.”

Mr Jackson also points out that the county is making strides towards reaching a secondary target of achieving a 20 per cent reduction in the numbers of motorcyclists killed and seriously injured.

“Our progress to date is a reduction of 18.3 per cent from the 1994-98 baseline, which is well ahead of the national average and is a good start in achieving the target,” he says.

The number of children killed or seriously injured stands at 32, a 64.5 per cent reduction on the baseline years and an 8.6 per cent cut on the November 2007 figure.

And the slight casualty figure is 2,435, 22.3 per cent below the baseline and an almost 17 per cent decrease on November last year.

“Recent progress in the reduction of slight casualties will now place Norfolk at or around the national average whereas the number of slight casualties in the county has historically been above the national average,” Mr Jackson says.