Week Commencing 8 April 2002

Trunk road speed increases heralded ‘good news’ by government minister

A report published by DTLR last week shows average traffic speeds on the English trunk road network in 2001 have increased since the survey was last conducted in 1998.

The report shows that the average speed of traffic on trunk roads in England in 2001 was 48.8 mph in the morning peak, 51.3mph in the evening peak and 53.1 mph during the intervening off-peak period. Average speeds were lowest in London and highest in the south-west.

For all types of road the average speed rose between 1998 and 2001 in the two peak periods - by 2.6 mph in the morning peak period and 2.2 mph in the evening peak period. The largest increases were on motorways, where average peak period speeds rose by about 3 mph.

Speaking on behalf of the government, minister John Spellar welcomed the report. ‘The trunk road network is crucial to the economic health of the nation and I am pleased to see that overall peak speeds have increased,’ he said.
More @ www.roads.dtlr.gov.uk

RoSPA says that research indicates that using a mobile phone on the move - whether hand-held or hands-free - increases the likelihood of a driver having an accident, and believes a specific offence is needed to make it crystal clear to motorists that they should not use a mobile while driving.

‘Many countries in Europe and around the world have introduced a ban in the interests of road safety, and we hope the UK follows Ireland’s example very soon,’ said Kevin Clinton, RoSPA’s head of road safety.’

RoSPA claims to know of at least 17 deaths on Britain’s roads where mobile phones have been implicated, but believes there may have been many more. The Society fears thousands of accidents have taken place because of mobiles, but they do not appear in official statistics.
More @ www.rospa.co.uk

Organisations and drivers who participated in the scheme backed the initiative, which enables drivers charged with minor driving offences (careless and inconsiderate driving) to attend DIS rather than face prosecution.
The research was commissioned to evaluate the West Lothian pilot and how well it integrated with the Scottish criminal justice and legal system - in order to make recommendations for any future schemes across Scotland as a whole. Driver Improvement Schemes have been operating in England and Wales for over 10 years.

Commenting on the research Lewis Macdonald, deputy transport minister said, ‘This study suggests that driver improvement schemes in Scotland are both practical and desirable. Attendance at a driver improvement course can help drivers to re-evaluate their driving behaviour, to gain appreciation of their faults and to eliminate undesirable behaviour. This is not a soft option - it provides intensive remedial training for each offender. I believe this is a more positive and constructive approach than simply prosecuting drivers for minor driving offences without addressing the underlying causes of their offence.’
More @ www.srsc.org.uk

Government research shows that falling asleep while driving could be a factor in 10 per cent of all road accidents and up to 20 per cent of collisions on motorways and similar roads. From today, the Highways Agency will be using their variable message signs on the motorway network to display the message THINK DON’T DRIVE TIRED.
‘This is a powerful advertisement, aimed at highlighting the potentially tragic consequences of falling asleep at the wheel,’ said the minister. ‘Exact figures are difficult to quantify, but our research suggests that drivers falling asleep could be a factor in one in ten of fatal and injury accidents on our roads – resulting in some 300 deaths and many thousands of injuries each year.’
More @ www.press.dtlr.gov.uk