..presenting road safety across the UK


ROAD SAFETY NEWS - WEEK COMMENCING 27 OCTOBER

RoSPA calls for time trial to save lives
RoSPA has called on the Government to bring an end to the current system for changing clocks and replace it with a two-year trial for a plan that would give lighter evenings all-year-round. The Society claims the new method could save 450 deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s road each year.

The RoSPA plan is for Single/Double Summertime. Rather than reverting to Greenwich Mean Time in October, the clocks would stay one hour ahead until spring when they would be put forward another hour in March. This would result in darker mornings, but an extra hour of evening daylight throughout the year. Once the initial adjustments had been made the clocks would still be moved backwards and forwards by an hour in autumn and spring, but would always stay ahead of GMT.

"Studies show that vulnerable road users such as children and the elderly are more at risk during dark evenings than in the morning," said Kevin Clinton, RoSPA’s head of road safety. "For instance, children will go directly to school in the mornings, whereas after lessons they tend to hang around or go to visit relatives or the shops, leaving them at risk on the road for longer periods.

"A trial of at least two years using modern evaluation methods and data collection will give us accurate figures on the benefits in terms of reducing road accidents. It would also help to crystallise opinion on the other issues surrounding changing clocks, including bringing us in line with Europe."

A trial of having GMT plus one hour all year was held from 1968 to 1971, which showed a saving of about 2,500 deaths and serious injuries for each year of the experiment. Despite this, MPs voted against change.

RoSPA’s report on Single/Double British Summertime can be found in the road safety section of www.rospa.com - see road safety general information.
More cycling makes cycling safer, says CTC
The national cycling organisation, CTC, has linked the decreasing number of pedal cyclist casualties to the increasing numbers of cyclists on the roads.

Basing its figures on DfT statistics, CTC estimates that cycle use in the UK has increased by 10 per cent since 1993, and that the rate of reported pedal casualties has decreased by more than 34 per cent over the same period.

"The Health Development Agency’s news last week that 18 per cent of 15-year-olds are now obese serves as a blunt reminder that we all need to take more exercise," says Roger Geffen, CTC campaigns & policy manager. "But unfortunately people are being put off cycling by a perception that the roads are too dangerous. These new figures should help dispel this myth and encourage more of us to enjoy the benefits of regular cycling.

"These figures show that the relationship between increased cycle use and reduced cycle casualties found in mainland Europe also holds for Britain - the more people that cycle, the safer it is to cycle," he added.

More @ www.pacts.org.uk
Digital signs trialled on streetlights
Digital message signs capable of displaying near-video quality advertisements, as well as traffic information, are to be trialled next month in the latest move to generate revenue from street furniture (Surveyor, 16 October).

Two prototype road signs will be installed in London and the northwest for a six-month trial before the product is put on the market at the end of 2004.

Measuring more than 2m square, the variable message signs will be fixed 3m from the ground on adapted lighting columns and enclosed in vandal-proof displays. The LED screens will be capable of displaying full-colour moving and static images as well as text and could have a range of uses - including warning drivers of speed limits, providing real-time information on traffic diversions, and signing routes to local events or venues.

Streetbroadcast, the company developing the signs, expects to market them for £7,000-£10,000 with a lease financing package to spread the cost..
Westminster opposes motorcyclists using bus lanes
Westminster City Council officers have set themselves against controversial proposals to allow motorcyclists to use bus lanes in London (Surveyor, 16 October).

Transport for London has been piloting the ‘opening up’ of bus lanes on three busy roads and plans to report on the trial’s findings - and whether allowing use of bus lanes by powered two-wheelers would enhance or compromise safety - by the end of the year.

Officers at Westminster advised the authority’s transportation and infrastructure committee this week that ‘motorcyclists do not need the protection of bus lanes as cyclists do, since they are able to keep up with traffic’. They warned that the proposal would make roads more unsafe by encouraging motorbike lane changing – riders would use the bus lane when it offers an advantage, but would swerve out of it when a bus or taxi stops at the kerbside.
Tories pledge to focus on dangerous drivers
Conservative shadow transport secretary Tim Collins has pledged to focus on 'unlicensed and dangerous drivers' rather than those speeding (Surveyor, 16 October). Speaking at the recent Conservative Party conference, Mr Collins called for the permanent confiscation of cars from those convicted of driving without a licence or insurance.

Reiterating his pledge to cut the number of speed cameras, he told delegates that ‘greater safety also comes from new roads. We’ll cut both the costs and the time of building roads.’

A Conservative government would ‘be creative’ about transport schemes for big cities, exploring entirely private sector means of delivering Crossrail and supporting Birmingham Conservatives proposals for a privately-funded new tube, he told conference delegates. He added that the Conservatives plan to make the DfT’s main focus reducing journey times.
RoSPA names UK’s best young drivers
The UK’s best young driver has been named as Craig Shaw, aged 18, from Hereford. Others honoured for their skills include competitors from Spilsby in Lincolnshire, Hamilton in Scotland, Taunton, Crewe, Warrington and Newtonabbey in Northern Ireland.

The Catherine Kenyon Trust Young Driver of the Year Final on Sunday 12 October was hosted by Silverstone Circuits. RoSPA’s Advanced Drivers Association organised eight regional heats to find the 40 finalists. The competition was aimed at motorists up to 24 years old – the group most at risk on our roads. The finalists underwent a one-hour road test, skid training, a manoeuvrability exercise and a Highway Code test.

Winner Craig Shaw’s prizes were a trophy, entry and training to race in the Uniroyal Team Challenge at a major UK circuit, £500 CIS car insurance and Green Flag membership.

More @ www.rospa.com.
Hampshire motorist makes the headlines again
A Hampshire motorist who failed to identify the driver of his vehicle was found guilty at Aldershot Magistrates’ Court last week. Idris Francis was convicted of failing to identify the driver of his Jaguar car, which was caught on camera being driven at 41 mph in a 30mph limit in March 2003. He was fined £60 with £364 costs and given three penalty points for the offence.

Mr Francis previously made the national press when he was convicted at Guildford Magistrates’ Court. He was fined £750 and given three penalty points but took his case to the European Court, claiming that the camera laws breached his rights to silence under the Human Rights Convention.

When Mr Francis was asked to name the driver in the latest offence he returned the response form but did not sign it. He was prosecuted for failing, as the owner of the vehicle, to give driver identification. The maximum penalty for this is a £1000 fine and three penalty points, and discretionary disqualification.

Julian Hewitt, spokesperson for the Safety Camera Partnership for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight said: "This case sends out a strong message to drivers who think they can get out of their speeding fines by not signing their response forms.

"There is no excuse for exceeding the speed limit and if road users drive as they were taught to on their driving lessons they have no reason to fear being fined. The last thing we want to do is to give people a speeding ticket. We only want to slow them down to reduce casualties."

But Mr Francis remains unrepentant. "My conviction settles nothing because the verdict will be appealed to the High Court," he said in an email statement. "Several police forces have confirmed in writing that S172 does not, in law, require a signature - the point at issue in my case.

"My European Court of Human Rights application over the right to silence, supported by Liberty and the Association of British Drivers, is still in process, with a verdict due by 2006. We are confident of winning," he added.