| LARSOA - ROAD SAFETY NEWS - 31 JULY 2006 |
Please close this window to return to the LARSOA news pages RSOs asked to support UN road safety initiative RoadSafe is asking RSOs to nominate schools in their area to participate in the inaugural United Nations Global Road Safety Week, which will be held 23-29 April 2007. During the week international, national and local events will take place across the world to raise awareness of road safety issues, and act as a call for action. To support the week, RoadSafe is joining forces with The FIA Foundation and The RAC Foundation to establish a network of schools across the world to exchange safety messages. To achieve this, Roadsafe needs RSOs to participate themselves, and suggest schools in their areas that would be willing to participate. For more information contact Adrian Walsh, awalsh@roadsafe.com , or go to www.who.int/roadsafety/projects/week/en/index.html Luton develops 'pledge' campaign Luton Borough Council has developed a campaign encouraging all road users to make a pledge to use roads safely. The Responsible Road User Initiative is a code of conduct for drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians and parents. Included in the code are treating other road users with respect, showing tolerance to mistakes made by others, setting a good example, and seeking to improve road user skills. The details are published in a leaflet, which has the pledge form on the back cover. For further information contact Alan Collins, Alan.Collins@luton.gov.uk. BUSK plans seatbelt campaign BUSK (Belt Up School Kids) is to run a belt up pubiicity campaign in September and October to highlight the new seat belt and child seat regulations that are coming into effect on 18 September. BUSK has also produced a poster for RSOs to personalise with their logo and contact details use. For details of prices or to order the poster, or for further information contact Pat Harris on 01633 274944, or Buskuk@aol.com. DSA updates theory test books New editions of The Official DSA Theory Test books and software titles for car drivers and motorcyclists were published last week. The new versions have been updated to reflect the new question bank that will be used for theory tests from 4 September 2006, and come at a time when many young learner drivers are using their holidays and long evenings to take their first lessons. The new edition of the best-selling theory test book includes all the questions that learner drivers could be asked, and explains what happens at the test centre. DSA driving books, CD-ROMs, DVDs and videos are available online at: http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/bookstore.asp?FO=1162833 Aberdeen introduces first blanket 20mph zone The council says the scheme will make the heart of the city 'safer and more pedestrian-friendly'. Other local authorities in Scotland have introduced 20mph limits in some areas, but not on this scale in a city centre environment. The blanket zone created by a traffic order was chosen as part of a programme of works aimed at pedestrianising parts of the city centre in the future. The new speed limit came into operation last week following work to install new road markings and signage. For the full story go to: http://www.surveyormagazine.com Brake offers media training The FedEx and Brake Road Safety Academy is running a series of half-day media training courses for road safety professionals and campaigning community members. The training is designed to help attendees develop relationships with local journalists, run successful media launches, write press releases and give interviews. Training will be held in Birmingham on 17 August, Liverpool on 12 September, and Leeds on 11 August. For further information contact Dianne Ferreira on 01484 531037, or dferreira@brake.org.uk. Minister calls halt to roadside ads The Government last week announced 'a clampdown' on distracting roadside adverts, by reissuing advertising regulations and encouraging councils to take action (Surveyor, 27 July). Planning minister, Yvette Cooper, said: "Too many of our motorways are strewn with illegal trailer adverts, which cause hazards for drivers - and are unsightly too. Just because the ads are parked on trailers doesn't mean they should be able to dodge proper planning rules." Ms Cooper has issued a draft circular setting out how local planning authorities should deal with unlawful adverts, including advice on what officers should do if the ownership of a site was unclear. For the full story go to: http://www.surveyormagazine.com Camera partnership praises motorists Enforcement of the limit began on April 29 - and between then and 19 June just 3669 speeding tickets were issued. This represents around 70 a day, with traffic flow on this stretch of road running at approximately 150,000 vehicles each day. RoSPA welcomes corporate manslaughter Bill RoSPA says that companies paying scant regard to managing health and safety are 'on notice' as the Government publishes its Bill to reform the law so corporations can be successfully prosecuted for manslaughter following work-related deaths. RoSPA has campaigned for the law to be changed, not just to secure justice for victims but to make it clear that the full weight of criminal law will be brought to bear on organisations that cause death by behaving recklessly. "This is not an agenda of vengeance," said Roger Bibbings, RoSPA's occupational safety adviser. "It is about drawing a line in the sand and strengthening the motivation of all organisations to assure themselves that they have effective health and safety risk management systems in place." While the new offence will target organisations and not their directors as individuals, director behaviour in relation to health and safety will now come under much greater scrutiny than ever before. Government cash for fleet safety site The website project is currently being developed and, once up and running, will enable companies to submit data and obtain an anonymous performance comparison against fellow fleet operators. The data will include crash data, costs, and the frequency of safety audits and risk assessments for drivers - which should ultimately lead to helping company drivers stay safe on the road. For more information on the Fleet Management Benchmarking website, and details of how to get involved in the pilot, contact Adam Casper at Brake on 01484 559909, or fleetsafetyforum@brake.org.uk Charities launch driver promise Both charities are dedicated to helping people who have been bereaved or injured by drivers breaking the law. The charities point to the 'worrying fact' that one in five of all newly qualified drivers will have a crash within the first 12 months. The SCARD/CADD driver promise is a contract to be signed by the driver and witnessed by someone who cares for them, which contains 10 key points to safe driving. By signing the form, the new driver is promising that they will always drive safely and within the law. As well as getting new drivers to sign the safe driving promise, SCARD and CADD are committed to getting every driver in the UK to sign the pledge by 2010. A copy of the safe driver promise contract can be downloaded from the SCARD and CADD websites at www.scard.org.uk, or www.cadd.org.uk. For further information ring 0845 123 5541, or info@scard.org.uk UK's most convicted driver jailed Britain's most convicted motorist has been jailed for driving while banned for the 48th time. Jamie Manderson, 33, from Swindon, has been disqualified from driving each year since 1988, when he was 15. The club bouncer's solicitor, Rob Ross, said that, in addition to being hooked on drugs, Manderson had a 'serious addiction to cars'. Manderson was jailed for five months last Wednesday by Swindon magistrates after admitting driving while disqualified. He also admitted driving without insurance in June this year, shortly after a spell in prison. For the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ New sign has 'all-in-one' look Highway authorities in England have been given permission to use a new type of speed limit sign to help them square the latest rules on safety cameras with signing regulations (Surveyor, 19 July). The new design combines the camera warning symbol and national speed limit roundel in a single sign. Changes to the rules for safety camera partnerships require signs showing the speed limit and those warning motorists about cameras to be co-located - so both are in the driver's view. The department's special authorisation for each authority to use the new sign - showing a camera symbol above the roundel on a blue background - gets around the problem that speed limit repeater signs are prohibited on unlit roads, subject to the default limit. For the full story go to: http://www.surveyormagazine.com Man caught speeding - in reverse A German man has been fined after being caught by a safety camera driving 35 mph in a 25 mph zone - while in reverse. Heinz Erlauf, 42, from Stuttgart was sent the £20 fine after police saw the photo of his Mercedes C Class zooming backwards down a residential street in Bludenz, Austria. A spokesman for the local police said: "That is the first time any of us have ever seen a driver get flashed while reversing." www.larsoa.org.uk
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