|
Week
Commencing 13 May 2002
RoSPA
calls for limit on company car driver miles
Three
new codes to cut the number of accidents involving company car and
van drivers will be launched by the RoSPA at a seminar next month.
RoSPA wants professional and trade associations, unions, local authorities,
insurers, police and safety groups to sign up to the guidelines
covering speed, driver fatigue and driver competence.
Recommendations to employers include: safe journey planning, with
limits on the number of miles drivers are allowed to cover in a
day; possibly introducing ‘black box’ technology to check
on speeds; not letting people drive powerful cars unless they have
proved they have the correct skills and attitude; taking action
against persistent speeders; and assessing drivers to see if they
need training.
About 1,000 of Britain’s annual road deaths involve people
who are on the road while at work - making it the country’s
biggest occupational safety problem. Company car and van drivers
have been shown to have a poor accident record when compared with
other drivers.
The three ten-point safety codes will be launched at a seminar on
the practical aspects of managing occupational road risk at Volvo
Truck and Bus, Warwick, on June 18.
"Employers can no longer afford to avoid this vital safety
issue," said Mike McDonnell, RoSPA Road Safety Manager for
Scotland. "The Government’s task force on work-related
road safety has shown there is a massive consensus for action. It
is in the interests of every company and their employees to sign
up to our new codes."
More @ http://www.rospa.co.uk
‘Missing a call won’t kill you’, urges
Government
A new
publicity campaign aimed at warning drivers of the dangers of using
a mobile phone while driving is being launched by the DTLR.
The campaign draws on a research study that demonstrates that if you
drive and use a mobile phone you are four times more likely to have
an accident. The campaign has the strapline: ‘Think! Switch it
off before you drive’.
Radio ads, posters and a TV filler convey how difficult it is to concentrate
on two things at the same time. Being distracted by a phone will impair
a driver’s concentration, which will increase the chances of
an accident.
"More and more people own mobile phones and research has shown
that using them while driving greatly increases the risk of an accident,"
said road safety minister David Jamieson. "Even the most careful
of drivers will be distracted by a phone call or text message, and
that will affect their concentration and anticipation. Our advice
is to use a voicemail or message service or to stop in a safe place
to use the phone. Missing a call won’t kill you – an accident
quite possibly could."
More @ http://www.press.dtlr.gov.uk
Road
safety bus begins six month tour of Scotland
The
Children’s Traffic Club in Scotland has set off on a six-month
tour of the country, offering free road safety training to all three
and four year olds.
Launching the tour bus Lewis Macdonald, deputy minister for enterprise,
transport and lifelong learning said: "It is extremely important
that children learn about traffic dangers from a very early age.
Road safety education is vital to reduce the number of children
and young people who die on Scotland’s roads each year. I am
committed to halving the number of child road deaths and serious
injuries by 2010."
For the next six months the tour bus will visit areas of Scotland
where there has been a low uptake of the Children’s Traffic
Club and it is hoped that parents and children will jump aboard
and learn how to keep safe on Scotland’s roads.
The Children’s Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS) was launched
by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign in 1995. Research published
in 1999 showed that although the initiative was having a positive
effect on many children and their parents, the uptake of the scheme
was significantly less among those in lower income groups.
More @ http://www.srsc.org.uk
Kent
and Dorset join ‘netting off’ initiative
Another
two areas of the UK have joined the National Safety Camera initiative,
known as the ‘netting off’ scheme. The two new partnerships,
which will commence activities in July 2002, are Kent and Dorset.
This brings the number of areas in the UK participating in the initiative
to 28.
Netting off enables participating partnerships to retain some of the
revenue from speeding fines to reinvest in camera enforcement and
greater education and awareness of the issues surrounding excessive
or inappropriate speed.
Speaking of the netting of scheme on behalf of the DTLR, Lord Filkin
told the House of Lords recently that there is to be a ‘substantial
expansion’ in the number of speed cameras operating in the UK.
"We are in the very early days of this revolution," he told
the Lords during a debate on speed. "We expect within 18 months
that virtually all the police forces in the country will have (entered)
netting off partnerships.’
Medical
journal investigates pedestrian and cyclist safety
The
British Medical Journal (BMJ) is conducting a research study looking
at how road safety for pedestrians and cyclists can best be promoted.
The study is being carried out via the BMJ website.
"I think it is important that as many road safety officers
as possible should complete the questionnaire in order that our
voice be heard," said Anne James of Buckinghamshire County
Council in an email to LARSAO secretary, Brian Hogarth.
The questionnaire is extremely simple and takes no more than a couple
of minutes to complete. It can be found at http://bmj.com/pedsafesurvey
CAPT
offers seminar looking at training in injury prevention
The third
in the series of seminars launched by CAPT in 2001 will look at training
and professional education in injury prevention. It will consider
what opportunities exist for general professional education in this
subject, and the training and professional development of road and
home safety officers. Discussion is expected to centre around whether
employers do – or should – require staff to have particular
qualifications, and whether policy makers are placing enough onus
on employers to compel them to do so, in order to make injury prevention
more effective.
The seminar is being held at the St Albans Centre, Holborn, London
on 2 July 2002 from 2.00pm until 4.30pm. A small charge of £10
per delegate is being made to cover the costs of putting on the seminar.
Further information can be obtained from Dr Michael Hayes, projects
director at CAPT, on 020 7689 4536 or by email at mh@capt.org.uk
DSA
considers driving test fee increases
The
Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is consulting with groups within
the driving industry over increasing its fees for practical car
and motorcycle tests. DSA is proposing to increase fees in August
2002 for practical car driving tests from £38.00 to £39.00
and for practical motorcycle tests from £46.50 to £48.00.
DSA's fees have to cover all its costs as it has no general access
to tax revenue. DSA claims it will need the proposed increase in
fees to cover continuing improvements in customer service - including
making internet booking of driving tests available - as well as
normal inflation in operating costs.
Fees were last increased in August 2001 for car, lorry, bus and
motorcycle practical tests.
More @ http://www.dsa.gov.uk
|
