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'Rag-bag'
road safety Bill, says PACTS
The Government's forthcoming road safety Bill has been described
as 'rag-bag' by PACTS.
Measures contained within the Bill will include: a power to give
grants to local authorities for undertaking innovative road safety
work; increased penalties for dangerous or careless driving; a power
for the police to conduct evidential roadside breath testing; driver
retraining courses for speeding, careless driving and other offences;
and the creation of motorway rest areas.
While welcoming the fact that there is to be a road safety Bill,
PACTS has strongly criticised the content. "This is something
of a rag-bag set of measures that tinkers with the existing structure
rather than the more comprehensive package of measures needed to
cut drinking and driving or to reduce serious motor offending,"
said PACTS executive director, Robert
Gifford.
PACTS also expressed concern about the proposals to change the penalty
points system for speeding offences to a sliding scale of two to
six points. In an open letter to Alistair
Darling, PACTS policy and campaigns
officer Jonathan Gaventa warned that ‘reducing
the penalties for speeding by margins of 5-10 mph in 30 mph zones
sends the wrong message to drivers about the safety and acceptability
of driving at this speed’.
To read the memorandum outlining the proposed Bill in more detail
.
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