The government has cut spending on road safety campaigns from £19million in 2008-09 to £4million in 2011-12, a reduction of nearly 80 per cent.
The information was revealed following a Freedom of Information enquiry made by road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).
According to the enquiry, the Department for Transport is planning on spending £3.57m on road safety during the 2012-13 financial year, including £1.689m on drink-drive campaigns, £1.275m on motorcycle campaigns, £78,000 in child and teenager road safety, £53,000 on cyclist safety and £50,000 on research into young drivers.
But with every fatal road accident costing the UK £1.7m, the total cost of road accidents is £3.2bn per year.
IAM director of policy Neil Greig, commenting on the findings, said: "Right across the public sector road safety is being cut too hard and too quickly, despite the huge returns on investment. One life saved, saves the economy £1.7 million. £53,000 is a derisory amount to spend on national cycle safety campaigns.
"Until we have the right roads infrastructure in place, publicity and education campaigns are one of the few tools we have to help us save cyclists lives. £78,000 for children's safety campaigns is virtually insignificant.
"If the government is serious about safety for these groups, these amounts must be increased."
