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Avril Wellstead, 1951 - 2006

Avril Wellstead, county road safety officer, Flintshire County Council, sadly passed away on 19 March, just a few weeks before her pending retirement.

Avril was born and brought up in Buckley, near Mold in North Wales and was educated at the local primary and secondary schools. She left Elfed High School to work for the original Flintshire County Council and in June 1983 was appointed assistant road safety officer for Clwyd County Council.

In April 1996, Avril became the county road safety officer for the new Flintshire unitary authority, where she headed one of the largest road safety units in Wales. She was a strong and valued contributor to the North Wales Road Safety Group and to the Road Safety Wales partnership.

Her main hobby was golf. She was a very accomplished player and represented her county on many occasions. She also enjoyed reading and loved taking holidays abroad.

Avril was a very popular, friendly, loving and kind person, full of fun and laughter. She had not enjoyed the best of health recently and her condition deteriorated quite suddenly in early March. She passed away on the morning of 19 March, just a few weeks short of her 55th birthday and her pending retirement.

She will be very sadly missed by her wide circle of friends and colleagues.

Breath test stats 'ridiculous', says Brake
Mary Williams, chief executive of the road safety charity Brake, has described the 'discrepancy' in the regional breath-testing statistics as 'ridiculous'.

Her comment came as the Home Office released annual statistics relating to motoring offences and breath tests for England and Wales in 2004.   

"Police in some areas of the country are taking drink-driving seriously and others are failing in their responsibility to make the streets safe," she said.

"Every force needs to be given the funding and resources to make breath-testing a priority - to catch the potential road killers who have been drinking or taking drugs before they get behind the wheel."

According to Brake the report also shows that 94% of convictions for death by dangerous driving were against men.

"Research shows that male drivers who take risks are much more likely to take high risks, such as overtaking on a blind bend, that can kill," Mrs Williams added. "The Government needs to run campaigns specifically targeted at men, particularly young men."

For further comment/information contact Dianne Ferreira at Brake on 01484 559909.

Click here to download the full Home Office report. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0506.pdf .

Bill restores jail for drivers who kill
MPs moved last week to empower courts to imprison motorists who cause death by careless or inconsiderate driving (Surveyor, 30 March).

At the bidding of road safety minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman, MPs this week reinstated to the Road Safety Bill the power - removed by peers - to allow the lower courts to jail offenders.

Labour MPs also rejected a Conservative amendment to remove the power of Crown courts to hand out jail terms of five years, despite a plea from the shadow transport minister, Owen Paterson, that 'it cannot be right to imprison someone for a moment of carelessness'.

Dr Ladyman also rejected a call from the Liberal Democrats to delay acting until the Law Commission had carried out a review.

Flashing chevrons aim to cut accidents
A system of flashing warning lights has been unveiled in a bid to slash accidents on one of Leicestershire's most dangerous roads (Surveyor, 30 March).

The linked flashing chevron signs, which are triggered by speeding vehicles, have been placed on a series of bends on the A6006 by Leicestershire County Council. Sign designer Westcotec says this is the first installation of this type in the UK.

The normal, reflective chevron signs transform into a pulsing LED display when speeding drivers are detected by radar units at each bend, to warn them of the severity of the corner.

Belt laws explained at briefing
The new law making it compulsory for children to use child car seats or booster seats was explained at a special RoSPA briefing session in London last Friday.

The seminar also covered new regulations requiring all coach, bus and minibus passengers over three-years-old to wear seatbelts where fitted.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA head of road safety, said: "The new laws will affect individuals and groups. They will mean significant changes for many people.

"We need to promote what is happening as widely as possible so that parents are not caught out. In the past, most children in cars have only had to be in an appropriate child restraint 'if available'.   That loophole will disappear in September, and children will not be able to wear an ordinary seatbelt in a car until they are over 4ft 5in, with very few exceptions.

"Parents need to be thinking now if they will need to buy new car seats for their children."

For more information go to: http://www.rospa.com and http://www.dft.gov.uk.

Under-funded roads 'risk drivers'

About four in five local authorities in England believe driver safety is being put at risk because road maintenance is under funded, a survey suggests.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) said London's road maintenance shortfall is £60m - for the rest of England it is £1.64bn and for Wales it is £151m.

It says planned investment is needed to end the 'cycle of under-investment'.

The government says it has given local authorities £3bn in the past five years to halt the deterioration of roads.

Given adequate funds, it would take English local authorities - excluding those in London - 10.9 years to clear their maintenance backlog, the AIA said.

For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Driving test fees increase
Driving test fees are to rise from 1 April by 50p for the theory test, taking it from £21 to £21.50, and £3 for the car practical test, taking it from £45.50 to £48.50. The motorcycle practical test will rise by £3 to £58.00 and lorry and bus practical tests will rise by £4 to £89.

DSA, which administers the tests, is a self-funding organisation and receives no revenue from taxation. All of its costs must therefore be covered through driving test fees. DSA says the increase will allow it to continue improving both the quality and efficiency of the services it provides to drivers.

For further information contact DSA on 0115 901 5874/5.

Minister accused of 'misleading' Parliament
Road safety minister Dr Stephen Ladyman has been accused of misleading Parliament after vetoing moves to force heavy goods lorries to display retro-reflective markings in order to save lives (Surveyor, 30 March).

He told MPs that if the Government acted, it would bring it into conflict with Brussels. Instead, he said, the UK had to wait for Europe-wide laws, which are not expected until 2011.

But Tory shadow transport minister, Owen Paterson, and Labour MP, Dr Brian Iddon, have protested after discovering that Italy introduced similar laws in 2003 - and that the EC had taken no action.

"It is utter nonsense," Paterson told Surveyor magazine. "The minister said it was illegal."

Students perform play for school children
Students from the Royal Forest of Dean College have performed a play aimed at getting schoolchildren to think about road safety.

The students wrote a series of short stories entitled 'Why?' after seeing a presentation from the Forest and Wye Valley Driving Association. Topics discussed include drink-driving, speeding and driving using a mobile.

It is hoped the stories will get children thinking about the dangers of driving before they start to learn.

For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk

End of an era for SCP

A school crossing patrol who started work in the year that floppy discs were the latest technology and Paul McCartney left the Beatles has hung up her lollipop sign for the last time.

Dorothy Solesbury has been seeing pupils safely across a road in Brigstock in Northamptonshire since 1970. Last week she retired at the age of 74, after more than 35 years service.

Pupils and staff from Brigstock Latham's Primary school and managers from the county council's school crossing patrol team made a special presentation ahead of Dotsy's final patrol on 30th March.

For further information contact Claire Mason on 01604 237324.

Officers find pony in Mini

Police patrol officers who stopped a Mini Metro believed to have been involved in a road accident found a Shetland pony on the back seat.

Officers found the miniature pony after stopping the vehicle in the county during a routine patrol.

The incident was among details of traffic offences listed by Norfolk Police as part of a new road safety campaign.

The campaign aims to help educate drivers in an effort to reduce the number of accidents in the county.

For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk