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Week
Commencing 17 June 2002
Casualties
down but road deaths up in 2001
Figures
published last week by the Department for Transport (DfT) show the
number of people seriously injured in accidents on Britain's roads
fell by 3 per cent - from 38,155 in 2000 to 37,094 - in 2001, but
road deaths increased by 1 per cent (from 3,409 to 3,443) in the
same period.
The number of children seriously injured was 5 per cent down on
2000 (from 5,011 to 4,768), but the number of child road deaths
rose by 14 per cent (from 191 to 218). The number of child pedestrian
deaths was 107 for the third year in a row, but the number of children
who died while travelling in cars went up from 49 to 75.
Over the past decade road deaths have fallen significantly - from
4,568 in 1991 to 3,443 in 2001. The number of car user deaths has
fallen over that period from 2,053 to 1,744, pedal cyclists deaths
from 242 to 138, and pedestrian deaths from 1496 to 823.
"Annual road casualty statistics are never good news because,
even when they are going down, they still represent an unbearable
toll of pain and grief," said road safety minister David Jamieson.
"This year, despite our firm commitment to improving road safety,
it is sadder still to see an increase in the number of road deaths
when both serious and slight injuries have continued to fall.
"We will be looking to see if there are identifiable reasons
for this - particularly in relation to children travelling in cars.
We have made some good progress since we launched our road safety
strategy, but there is still much to do and we remain fully committed
to meeting or beating our targets. Deaths and injuries on the roads
in 2001 are much lower than they were a decade ago, but they are
still too high. We will continue to fight to lower casualties on
the roads and bring down the number of needless deaths and injuries."
More
@ www.dft.gov.uk/news
For DTLR now read DfT
As many
readers will already know, following the resignation of Stephen Byers
the Department for Transport (DfT) has been formed to focus solely
on transport issues. The Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, is the new Secretary
of State for the DfT. Previously he was Secretary of State for the
Department of Work and Pensions.
The DfT can be accessed at: www.dft.gov.uk
Walk
to School scoops international environmental award
The International Walk To School project has won a major environmental
award, which was presented in Stockholm last week. The award was presented
to Robert Smith, Dorset County Council’s head of road safety,
by the King of Sweden on 6 June. This story will be covered in more
detail in the July edition of LARSOA members’ news.
More @ www.partnerships.stockholm.se/news_index.html
Road
safety groups threaten legal action over cameras
The
Slower Speeds Initiative and Transport 2000 have challenged the DfT
to justify new rules on the visibility and siting of speed cameras
(Surveyor 13 June).
The two organisations have taken legal advice on new guidance issued
to councils and police forces involved in the ‘netting off’
scheme, which allows some fine revenue to be ploughed back into further
enforcement. Legal firm Leigh, Day & Co has laid out the grounds
for a possible legal challenge in a letter to transport minister John
Spellar.
RoSPA’S
new man focuses on fleet safety
Charles
Davis has been appointed head of RoSPA’s driver and fleet solutions
department. He joins RoSPA at a crucial time for the fleet industry
with the issue of work-related road accidents now firmly on the political
agenda.
Charles Davis is keen to expand the Society’s work on Managing
Occupational Road Risk (MORR). "RoSPA has made everyone in the
fleet industry aware of MORR through its pioneering work in this field,"
he said. "My aim is to help employers embrace the concept without
fear so that they realise it not only prevents accidents but also
benefits their business."
Davis has nearly 20 years experience as a police traffic officer.
More recently he ran his own motorcycle training business and formed
the National Association of Advanced Motorcycle Instructors last year.
Previously regional senior examiner with RoSPA, he has instructed
and examined for the Society’s car and motorcycle diploma courses.
He also has responsibility for RoADA groups – RoSPA’s network
of advanced driver and rider groups throughout the country.
More @
www.rospa.co.uk
Authorities
‘abandon’ Government cycle targets
Authorities
in the West Midlands conurbation are claiming that the Government’s
target for cycling growth ‘does not reflect the circumstances
of the area’ (Local Transport Today, 6 June). As such, the authorities
say they have abandoned attempts to meet the target.
Cycling currently accounts for two per cent of trips in the conurbation
and the authorities plan to adopt a revised target of four per cent
of trips by 2011. The Government’s 10 year plan pledged to triple
levels of cycle use in 2000 by 2010.
Bike
Week events top 2,000 mark
Bike
Week and Bike2Work - the UK's ‘nationwide celebration of cycling’
– features over 2,000 events this year, designed to appeal to
all types of cycle owners. The event runs 15-23 June and has Cancer
Research UK as its charity partner.
Bike Week and Bike2Work is co-ordinated nationally for the Bike Week
Liaison Group, whose target is for locally organised events during
the week to attract more than 200,000 participants.
All registered events are currently listed on the Bike Week website,
www.bikeweek.org.uk.
Carplus
urges Government to support car-sharing
Carplus,
the not-for-profit organisation promoting community car sharing schemes,
is calling on the Government to fund a network of demonstration projects
to give car sharing a boost (Local Transport Today, 6 June). It is
urging the Government to fund 12 projects to the tune of £100,000
each as part of a three year initiative.
Free
walking seminars on offer across England
Transport
2000 is delivering a series of free seminars entitled ‘Walking,
the Way Ahead’. One section of each seminar is dedicated to
walking to school and will show case examples of good practice.
Seminars will take place in each of the nine English government
regions, with the first taking place in Norwich on 19 June. Details
of seminar venues can be found on the Transport 2000 website at
www.transport2000.org.uk
and places can be booked by email at events@transport2000.org.uk.
Car-free
day gathering momentum, organisers’ claim
Local
authorities are showing more interest in this year’s national
car free day than they did in 2001, according to the event co-ordinator,
Richard Evans (Local Transport Today, 6 June). Last September’s
event involved the Greater London Authority, ten London boroughs,
and ten local authorities. Richard Evans claims that this year the
GLA, nine London boroughs and 15 councils from elsewhere in the UK
are all planning to implement road closures on Sunday 22 September.
New
CD encourages positive attitude towards school buses
A
new CD-ROM, 'Travelling Safely on the School Bus', has been produced
by Inform Interactive to encourage a positive attitude towards bus
travel to school. The CD features a variety of media including text,
voiceover, photographs and video clips. At the end of the training
presentation there is a quiz for participants and if all the questions
are answered correctly a certificate can be printed with the name
of the child and his/her school.
More details about the CD can be obtained from Margaret McGinnis or
Patricia McFarlane on 01324 822 880 or via the Inform Interactive
website at www.inform-interactive.co.uk/bussafety.
20mph
zones introduced in Scotland
A
scheme to introduce new advisory 20mph zones across 1,000 sites in
every residential area of North Lanarkshire has been completed (Surveyor,
13 June). The Scottish Executive produced legislation to allow the
zones to be introduced, and the work to complete gateway signing and
lining features at every site was carried out in just four months.
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