According to the Department for Transport (DfT) more drivers are obeying urban speed limits and pedestrian fatalities are falling.
In free-flowing traffic, 46% of cars exceeded the 30mph limit in 2010 - down from 69% in 1998. Compared with 2003 figures the number of drivers travelling at 40mph or more in 30mph zones has halved.
Over the last six years pedestrian casualties - 96% of which happened on urban roads - dropped from 671 to 405.
The DfT added that improved safety in towns is good news, but that rural roads need more attention to reduce casualties. The majority of drivers are killed outside urban areas (between two thirds and three quarters of fatalities according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists).
Commenting on the figures the IAM welcomed the news that more people are respecting urban speed limits and that it appears to be reducing deaths. A lack of driver training was blamed by the IAM for the large proportion of fatalities on country roads.
In the words of the organisation's director of policy: "Most young drivers get plenty of exposure to urban hazards but often their first experience of a rural road comes after the test when they are on their own. This is unacceptable."
John Lambert - 25 Jul 2011