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road
safety news - week commencing 24 february
British
children more at risk from busy roads, say researchers
Child pedestrian accidents in Great Britain are higher than in
France and the Netherlands because British children cross busier
roads more often and adopt riskier behaviour, according to research
carried out for the DfT (Local Transport Today, 20 February).
Consultant MVA and the Institute for Transport Studies at the
University of Leeds interviewed 1,000 children in each country
about their travel behaviour. They also examined a sample of the
walking routes that the children used. About 500 accident sites
were studied in each country.
The consultants found that there was very little difference in
the total amount of time that children spent near roads in the
three countries. British children were actually found to cross
roads less frequently than their French and Dutch counterparts.
However, about half of the difference in accident rates between
countries could be attributed to the roads to which children were
exposed.
"Children in Britain spend more time near, and undertake
more crossing activity on wider roads, roads with higher traffic
flows, and roads of higher speeds, than in France and the Netherlands,"
the report says.
The study also found behavioural differences between children
in the three countries. "British children are much more likely
to use unmarked crossings than those in France, and are more likely
to cross mid-block than those in either of the other countries.
Moreover, children in France are more likely to be accompanied
by an adult," the report added.
A summary of the comparative study of European child pedestrian
exposure and accidents is available at: WWW.roads.dft.gov.uk/roadsafety/roadresearch
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RoSPA
publishes agreement to keep young drivers safe
More than two thirds of the UK’s next generation of drivers
expect to do a deal with their parents so that they can use the
family car, according to a RoSPA survey. But mums and dads who say
‘yes’ often do so knowing that their children are in the
age group most likely to be involved in a crash.
Now, RoSPA has produced a draft agreement that families can use
to help them ensure that teenage drivers stay safe - and their car
does not come to harm.
The Society’s Safer Driving Agreement for Parents and Young
Drivers is now available on the internet and tackles issues such
as drink, drugs, mobile phones and limiting the number of passengers.
The son or daughter agrees to certain conditions such as no alcohol
when driving in return for using the family car. But parents also
agree to stick to similar rules when they are behind the wheel themselves.
RoSPA has drawn up the document with the backing of the DfT because
novice drivers make up the group most at risk on our roads. More
than 3,000 drivers under 25 are killed or seriously injured each
year. One in five drivers crash within their first year of driving.
An 18-year-old driver is more than three times as likely to be involved
in a crash as a 48-year-old driver.
RoSPA canvassed the view of more than 1,400 teenagers on pre-driver
education schemes to find out what they felt the agreement should
cover. It forms part of the leaflet Safer Driving – Parents
and Young Drivers, which is being distributed through road safety
officers and road safety organisations. It can be found on RoSPA’s
website at: www.rospa.com/road/young/youngdrivers.pdf. |
Congestion
charge roll out on the cards
Flushed by the successful launch of congestion charging in London
this week, mayor Ken Livingstone has promised to rapidly
roll out his city centre cordon to surrounding boroughs (Surveyor,
20 February).
The mayor declared last Tuesday – day two of charging –
that he would open talks with borough leaders in Westminster and
Kensington & Chelsea on an ‘extended coherent central zone’
by Easter, with detailed design of the extended scheme beginning
in the summer. |
CCTV
installed on M1 to speed up incident response times
Ten new digital CCTV cameras are to be installed on the M1 in Hertfordshire
to help the emergency services assess incidents and respond more
quickly, and thus reduce queues and congestion.
The scheme, which runs from the M1 interchange with the A406 North
Circular Road to Junction 6A near Watford, (the M25 interchange),
includes cable installations, mast planting and camera fitting.
The work starts this week and is due to be completed in July 2003.
"These 10 cameras will give the emergency services access to
the pictures of any incidents on this route," said Highways
Agency project manager, Francis Cluett. "They
will be better able to assess the situation straight away and respond
with the right number of vehicles to help motorists in trouble."
More @ http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/press_releases |
ICE
slams media bias against cameras
The Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) last week called for the
national press to be held to account for its unjustified opposition
to safety cameras, after recent Government figures showed that cameras
reduce fatal and serious injuries by more than a third (New Civil
Engineer, 20 February).
ICE said the results fully vindicate the effectiveness of speed
cameras as a road safety measure and criticised the national media
for its antagonistic approach. "The media have been hostile
to speed cameras and road safety measures in general," said
Association of Municipal Engineers spokesman, John Saunders.
"There is little doubt that this hostility has weakened road
safety policies and programmes and that as a consequence people
have been killed who might otherwise still be alive.
"It is time the media were called to account for editorial
policies aimed at courting public opinion to sell newspapers rather
that informing the public on appropriate behaviour as responsible
road users, expressing realistic expectations and providing good
news stories on real successes like speed cameras which improve
road safety and the environment as a whole," he added. |
Scotland
to tackle walking decline
Scotland is proposing national targets to reverse the decline in
walking and increase the number of trips people make on foot by
10 per cent over 10 years, in a move that will increase pressure
for similar steps in England and Wales (Surveyor, 20 February).
In a draft walking strategy drawn up with the Scottish Walking Forum,
the Scottish Executive says walking has a major role to play in
travel, leisure, health, social inclusion, the environment and the
local economy.
But in recent years pedestrians have increasingly taken to the car
or been discouraged by traffic-dominated streets. In 2001, 52 per
cent of pupils walked to school and 13 per cent of adults walked
to work. But between 1985-86 and 1998-2000 the average number of
walking trips per person fell by 28 per cent and the average distance
walked per person per year dropped by 30 per cent. |
Cycle
funding bidding window still open
The second bidding window for the Cycling Projects Fund closes on
31 March 31, with matched funding from £250 to £50,000
available.
Anyone with a project designed to promote and encourage cycling
can obtain further information by email, cyclingprojects.fund@dft.gsi.gov.uk. |
Using
shame to combat drunken driving
In Arizona, a group called Mothers Against
Drunk Drivers (MADD) is trying something new to combat drink driving:
shame.
The group is working with local judges on a plan to publish a list
of people convicted of drink driving: who they are, where they live
and work and just how drunk they were when they took to the streets.
If it works, MADD hopes to ask the Legislature to establish a statewide
program next year.
The idea came from Brad Withrow, a motorcycle policeman
who pulls over drunks every day. "What we are doing enforcement-wise
is a Band-Aid on a bullet wound," he said.
The plan is to get the courts to compile a list of everyone convicted
of DUI (Driving Under Influence) and make it available to newspapers.
If it works, MADD will ask the Legislature to impose a surcharge
on everyone convicted of DUI -money that would be used to pay for
periodic ads listing the latest drunks to take the road.
More @ http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona |
Ideas
wanted for Sunday Times road justice feature
Journalist James Luckhurst is
helping The Sunday Times with a feature about roadside justice,
and is looking for examples where schoolchildren have become involved
with road safety initiatives.
"For the BBC last year we went to a village in Wiltshire where
the police stopped speeders and gave them the choice of points and
a fine, or a question and answer session from a hall full of schoolchildren
– for example, ‘What would you say to my parents if you
had run me over?’, and ‘Do you know how many children
get knocked down by speeding cars every year?’" James
Luckhurst says. "It’s ideas like this that we want to
find.
"The basic theme is – we don’t learn anything from
paying a fine and getting points on our licence, even though in
some circumstances it’s clearly the right thing. So, what can
be gained – and what risks are there – in employing alternatives,"
James adds.
Anyone who knows of recent or forthcoming initiatives that might
be worth a few words - and maybe a picture - in the Sunday Times,
is encouraged to contact James, email:foxy@clara.net. |
IAM
makes minibus driving booklet available to all RSOs
The IAM has reprinted its Fleet Minibus Driving
booklet and is making a complimentary copy available to all RSOs
in the UK. According to the IAM, the booklet is proving popular
with its minibus clients and is a useful guide for drivers.
"I'm not entirely sure how schools/colleges currently manage
their defensive driving programme/occupational road risk, but IAM
Fleet would be willing to offer a discount to schools if they were
interested," said IAM’s business development manager,
Sue Pesch, in an email to LARSOA secretary Brian
Hogarth.
Sue Pesch can be contacted on 020 8996 9712 or by email Sue.Pesch@iamfleet.com |
Use
road space for walkers, Living Streets urges
Living Streets has urged Ken Livingstone
to reallocate road space freed-up by the capital’s congestion
charge to pedestrians (Surveyor, 20 February). ‘It’s important
that the freed-up space doesn’t simply fill with new traffic,"
Philip Connolly, the charity’s London manager,
said.
He urged the mayor to follow the lead of road space reallocation
schemes that have brought about average traffic reductions of 22
per cent. |
HA
completes missing link in cycle route
The Highways Agency is to complete the missing
link in a six-mile cycle route between Lincoln and the Nottinghamshire
village of Harby.
Work started last week to create the Skellingthorpe Cycleway, a
2.5 metre wide, 600 metre long track up and along the A46 northbound
embankment. It will connect the existing route along the Fossdyke
canal with the route along the railway path from Harby and Skellingthorpe.
The £350,000 section will form part of Route 64 on the Sustrans
National Cycle Network, which runs from Newark to Lincoln, and will
incorporate a series of ramps to take cyclists down a steep embankment
safely.
More @ http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/press_releases |
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