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Week
Commencing 10 June 2002
Child
seat ‘lottery’, concludes new study
A new
study by What Car? has concluded that buying a child seat can be
a safety lottery. The
survey of 20 seats found that levels of protection vary enormously.
The top seat in tests was Mothercare's new MX Sport, with Britax
also scoring highly across the board. However, not all seats performed
so well - Maxi Cosi's infant carrier broke during one test and the
Graco Stella/Mothercare Paul Vogel Beep Beep failed to give adequate
protection in another.
More
@ http://www.rac.co.uk/news
More must be done for crash victims, minister claims
Road
traffic victims and their families must not be the poor relations
within the Criminal Justice System, Home Office minister Lord Falconer
said at last week’s RoadPeace International Conference.
Speaking at the conference, Lord Falconer outlined progress in the
provision of support services for road traffic victims and their families.
"I have immense sympathy for those who have tragically lost members
of their families in road traffic incidents," he said. "Appropriate
recognition of the immense trauma often experienced is important and
we need to ensure that adequate support services are in place throughout
the country.
"It is clear that agencies need to work effectively in partnership
with each other to ensure that the response best meets the needs of
victims. We have common goals and working collaboratively and in partnership
is the way forward to best achieve them," Lord Falconer continued.
"Significant developments that have improved the services offered
to victims include the massive training exercise to ensure that police
family liaison officers are better equipped to meet families’
needs. To enhance our knowledge of what works well we are looking
closely at some examples of local practice, including the support
services RoadPeace provides in areas of London and Liverpool."
More @ http://www.info4local.gov.uk/newsreleases
Caravan
reminder for holiday motorists
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has reminded drivers who passed
their driving test on or after 1 January 1997 that they may be driving
without a licence if they tow a caravan or trailer – and that
their unlicensed status may render their motor insurance invalid.
As the holiday season approaches, DSA is urging drivers to seek advice
before taking any trailers out on the road.
Since 1997 all new drivers have been given a category B (car) driving
licence only, which limits the weight of vehicle they can drive and
trailer they can tow. To add to the weight entitlement in order to
tow large trailers such as twin axle caravans and horse or boat trailers,
drivers must hold a full category B + E driving licence – given
automatically to drivers who obtained their licence before 1997.
"The law was changed in 1997 as part of a number of changes aimed
at enhancing driver safety through the harmonisation of licensing
procedures across the European Union," said Colin Maddock of
DSA’s customer service unit. "We are advising drivers to
check they have the correct licence entitlements before heading off
on the roads. It's likely that most drivers will have combined car
and trailer weights within the required limits but it's better to
be safe than sorry."
More @ http://www.dsa.gov.uk
Scottish
road safety education strategy published
A
leaflet giving details of a national strategy for road safety education
(RSE) for all schools in Scotland - including pre-school, primary,
secondary and special schools – has been published by the Scottish
Road Safety Council (SRSC). The leaflet is being widely distributed
to schools, educationalists and road safety professionals. To obtain
a copy of the leaflet please contact the SRSC office on 0131 472 9200
or via its website, http://www.srsc.org.uk.
Children's
Traffic Club piloted in Denbighshire
A
Children's Traffic Club has been launched in Wales. The club is being
piloted by Denbighshire County Council in the first instance and other
authorities will become involved on a gradual basis. The registration
form and core reading books are available in Welsh and other materials
will follow in due course. For more information about the Children's
Traffic Club go to www.trafficclub.org.
GEM
makes reaction cards available to RSOs
The Guild
of Experienced Motorists (GEM) has produced a reaction timer card
in a bid to make drivers think about their driving skills. It is making
the card available free of charge to RSOs, driving instructors and
others involved with driver education - and also to clubs, societies
and public houses.
Teams of two can use the simple test to indicate how quick their reactions
are. "The card is a light hearted way to measure a person’s
reactions," says David Williams, GEM’s chief executive.
"Driving is a complex procedure requiring great skill and it
is vital to leave at least a two second gap between vehicles on roads
carrying fast traffic. This gap should be more than doubled on wet
roads and increased still further in icy conditions."
To obtain free copies (max 25) of the GEM reaction timer card write
with a self addressed stamped envelope (C4 size envelope/54pence stamp)
to GEM, Station Road, Forest Row, East Sussex, RH18 5EN, marked ‘Reaction
Card’.
DTLR
publishes child road safety fact sheet
A
fact sheet on child road safety has been prepared and distributed
to national media by DTLR's press agency. The fact sheet has been
produced to encourage coverage for road safety issues throughout the
year.
The fact sheet contains a list of hints and tips for parents - primarily
intended for use with the media - covering a range of different road
safety scenarios. RSOs will be very familiar with much of the material
in the fact sheet but they may still find the format and some of the
information of use.
The fact sheet can be obtained from Lorna Gozzard, Anna Hilton or
Liz Hawker on 020 7839 4321 or via the following web address: http://www.fishburn-hedges.com.
Celtic
Road Safety Conference scheduled for September
The
Celtic Road Safety Conference will be held at Aberystwyth University
from 10-12 September 2003. The conference will examine progress towards
casualty targets in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Eire.
For further information contact the RoSCoW secretariat.
More
@ http://www.roscow.org.uk/news
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