road safety news - week commencing 25 November

BMF condemns ‘text driving madness’
The British Motorcyclists' Federation (BMF) has condemned the practice of drivers texting on the move as ‘absolute madness’.

New web-based systems allow vehicle owners to register their vehicle registration and mobile telephone numbers, then contact one another via their mobile phones using their vehicle’s number plate as the contact number. Drivers can then communicate using either SMS text or e-mail.

The BMF sees this as totally irresponsible use of technology and as creating potential for yet another driver distraction.

The BMF has contacted Oftel, (The Office of Telecommunications), the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and RoSPA, drawing their attention to this latest practice. It has also written to transport minister David Jamieson, raising the matter with him as part of the current consultation process on mobile phone use.

"Driving and riding are hazardous enough already. Introducing yet another distraction to add to hand-held ‘phones is the last thing we need," said BMF spokesman Jeff Stone. "It might be clever, it might be fun, but a driver’s eyes should be on the road and their hands on the wheel, not on a key pad."
More @ http://www.bmf.co.uk

Road safety exam courses make the grade
Two courses that provide school children with the opportunity to study motor vehicle road safety at exam level have won a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.

90-One Education, which delivers the Motor Vehicle and Road Users Studies courses up to GCSE level in England, has won the award for developing courses that train young people to become responsible riders and drivers.

The courses were launched in January 2000 and have steadily grown in popularity. In September 2002, 400 Year 10 and 11 students took up the courses, which include an element of driving or motorcycle riding, with a strong focus on driver and rider attitude and behaviour, and road safety.

Since the courses were launched not a single student has failed the Certificate of Educational Achievement with all attaining either a Distinction or a Merit. The results are similar for GCSE students with another 100 per cent pass rate and 49 per cent achieving C grade or above.

"I am absolutely delighted with the award," said 90-One Education’s Trevor Lord, who introduced the courses to England from Northern Ireland in 2000. "I have recently set up 90-One Education to expand the courses and deliver them to students outside the Midlands area where they are currently available. Our aim is to provide young people all over the country with the opportunity to develop their driving and riding skills."
More @ http://www.roadsafe.com

DfT funds motorcycle survey
A nationwide survey of motorcycle use is underway to discover why so many people have switched from cars to powered two-wheelers and whether this should be encouraged (Surveyor, 21 November).

Funded by DfT, the survey is the biggest of its kind in the UK, with 15,000 questionnaires distributed through motorcycle shops, clubs and training schools and a website for online submissions.

Transport consultant Alan Tilly, who is conducting the research, said the aim is to discover how motorcycling could best be used to alleviate congestion, cut carbon dioxide emissions and improve access to jobs, healthcare and education.

The survey includes questions on why people choose to ride motorcycles, why they might stop, what mode they used previously and what might be done to help motorcycling.
More @ www.motorcyclesurvey.org

Norfolk’s speed cameras come under attack from marksman…
A sniper last week put two speed cameras on one of Norfolk's main roads out of action.

One of the cameras - on the A146 just south of Norwich - was so badly damaged by a number of gunshots that it was out of commission until it was replaced. The second camera was also shot several times and, though still operational, also needed replacing. A police spokeswoman said it was ‘most likely’ that the two incidents were linked.

The incidents coincided with news that five newly installed speed cameras were to go live at other known accident blackspots in Norfolk. The cost of replacing both cameras is estimated to be in excess of £60,000 – which should be covered by insurance.

Earlier this year vandals targeted another Norfolk Partnership camera - on this occasion on the A149 at Heacham - by setting it alight. The arsonists failed to damage the equipment contained inside but the exterior paintwork was scorched.

More @ www.edp24.co.uk

…and a new Norfolk camera catches 2500 speeders in first two days
Almost 2500 drivers were caught speeding on one of Norwich’s busiest roads within two days of a safety camera being set up (Eastern Daily Press, 20 November). The new fixed camera on the city’s Dereham Road ran out of film on its first day after recording 400 drivers travelling at more than 35mph in the 30mph zone.

It then went on to monitor another 2000 offenders – at least one of whom was driving at 60mph. The shocking tally is more than double the average number of tickets sent out each month by the Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership.

Figures show 45 people have been killed or seriously injured in accidents on Dereham Road over the past three years, but even the Partnership has been astonished at the sheer number of motorists caught speeding in the camera’s first 48 hours.

Partnership spokesman Bryan Edwards was shocked that signs alerting motorists to a ‘conspicuous camera’ had been ignored. "This means that more than 2000 are totally ignoring the dangers around them and all the advice and education we give them," said Mr Edwards. "We have advertised the camera, we have publicised the fact it is a dangerous road - it has a bus lane, houses on both sides, garages, children crossing to go to school and elderly people around. We have even put in brand new 30mph repeater signs showing a speed camera. What chance do they have if this many people are completely ignoring the speed limit?".

Wiltshire removes lane markings to cut speeds
Wiltshire County Council has decided not to replace white lines in the middle of some resurfaced roads in an effort to cut driver speed and reduce casualties (LTT, 21 November).

"When a stretch of road is resurfaced we investigate if it is appropriate not to repaint the central lines," explained Andrew Wyatt, the council’s traffic and road safety manager. "This has been done at three or four sites across the county on stretches of road with a 30mph limit."

The removal of lines is thought to create a feeling of uncertainty in drivers so that they drive more cautiously. "We are monitoring accident figures and this seems to have worked at the few sites where it has been implemented." Wyatt added.

Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transport Safety (PACTS), welcomed the initiative. "In principle new initiatives such as this should be encouraged," he said. "We need to look at all ways to reduce speeds and accidents in rural areas. If the monitoring proves it to be a success, it should be trialled elsewhere.’

Fire strike shows speed limits are ‘inappropriate’, say campaigners
The Slower Speeds Initiative said last week that the Government’s warning to motorists to slow down during the fire strike shows that current speed limits are inappropriate.
The DfT issued guidance to drivers during industrial action by fire fighters, instructing them to ‘take extra care to help reduce the number of road accidents during the fire-fighters dispute’.

The DfT said that because it would take longer for fire and rescue teams to be despatched to accidents, drivers should keep within speed limits ‘and drive slower still when conditions are less than perfect, since it will help to avoid a lot of accidents.’

"It seems from this advice that it’s OK for me to crash and be trapped in my vehicle if there are firemen there to cut me out," said Paige Mitchell, co-ordinator of the Slower Speeds Initiative. "Don’t we want appropriate speeds to be ones where the likelihood of a crash in the first place is reduced? The Government should be talking about prevention."

She claimed that the intervention revealed the Government’s lack of a coherent and systematic national strategy for tackling inappropriate and excessive speeds.

LGV proposals spell danger for young drivers, according to Learn and Live
Learn and Live, the parents’ campaign group for safe driving tuition, is deeply concerned by Government proposals to allow 20 year olds to drive heavier and larger lorries.

"We see this as a sop to the road haulage industry, which is experiencing a shortage of drivers," said Vicki Stone, founder of Learn and Live. "Commercial interests have their place in policy development but the proposal to allow younger and less experienced drivers to be in sole charge of LGV lorries in Europe is asking for trouble.

"We already have a high crash rate among young and inexperienced car drivers," Mrs Stone added. "We can just imagine the mayhem if we allow them access to such vehicles on our own roads - let alone foreign roads where they would have to cope with different road signs and driving on the right."

This story will be covered more fully in the December issue of members’ news, published 1 December.
More @: www.learnandlive.org.uk

Could you ditch your car for a week?
BBC News Online wants to hear from anyone in the UK who is prepared to give up commuting by car for five days and try travelling by bike, bus, train, Tube or walking.

It is looking for volunteers from all around the country - of all ages and from both urban and rural communities - to explore the Government’s claim that people should use cars less and other types of transport more.

BBC News Online wants to see if this is feasible, safe and comfortable. Volunteers’ experiences will be recorded and will form a central part of a BBC News Online special report on transport in the UK.

If you are interested in taking part or want to know more about the experiment go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

Who dares stand up to the motorists?
A piece written in the Guardian last week (and still available online) praises Gwyneth Dunwoody, chairman of the Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and the Regions, for having the courage to stand up to the motorist.

Her stance, particularly with regard to speed and cameras, has won her few friends in Government or the media, the article says. Undeterred, Ms Dunwoody likened the practice of making cameras highly visible to householders placing notices reading, 'If you burgle here you will be in a certain amount of difficulty'.

Last month, with the Government still sticking up for the distinctly avoidable camera, Dunwoody pointed out the curious way in which deaths on the road seem to strike the public as less significant than other kinds of transport fatalities - the 32 deaths on the railways last year, for example.

"It is," she said, "as if the great hand of God has fallen on them to bring down some well-deserved punishment... "

Whereas, as any half-way sporting motorist could tell you, it's just that the best man won, the article concludes.

To read the full article to go: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Seminars focus on fleet safety
There are still a few places available on RoSPA’s latest seminar on Managing Occupational Road Risk (MORR). The seminar will be held at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes, on 2 December.

"We are delighted to see how seriously the fleet industry is now treating this subject," says Roger Bibbings, RoSPA occupational safety adviser. "Occupational road risk needs to be managed as a key business performance issue. These seminars can provide the impetus needed to put organisations on the right track."

In response to demand, RoSPA is also staging an additional MORR seminar at the Beardmore Conference Hotel, Clydebank, on 22 January 2003.

Companies and organisations wanting more information should ring 0121 248 2120 or go to www.rospa.com/morrd

Vacancies exist on imminent TMS courses
There are a number of vacancies on courses offered by TMS in December 2002 and January 2003. The courses are:

Introduction to Traffic Management 10-12 December, 2002
Transport Assessments 8-9 January 2003
Introduction to Traffic Signals & Pedestrian Cycle Crossing 14-16 January 2003
Phase 2 Road Safety Officers' Training 19-24 January 2003
Introduction to Roundabout Design 21-22 January 2003
Introduction to Road Safety Audit 28-30 January 2003

If you would like more information about any of the above courses or would like to reserve a place please contact gbrooks@tmsconsultancy.co.uk