Proposals for seizing uninsured vehicles unveiled

New Government proposals have been set out to allow the police to seize and destroy uninsured vehicles.

About one in 20 motorists in the UK drive an uninsured vehicle and honest drivers end up paying an estimated £30 each to cover the cost of claims made against the uninsured.

The consultation 'Seizure of vehicles being driven uninsured' seeks views on giving the police the power to seize a vehicle being used without insurance. The vehicle will be released after the driver has paid a fine and produced the correct documentation. Any not collected will be destroyed.

"Getting these vehicles off the road will improve road safety for everyone and reduce the nuisance people experience when they try to make a claim off someone who's uninsured," said David Jamieson , road safety minister. "We're already making progress in reducing the number of people who drive uninsured, but these measures will bring that number down further."

Further information is available at www.dft.gov.uk.

Hong Kong visitor impressed with Birmingham's road safety

Mr KK So from the Road Safety & Standards Division of the Transportation Department (Hong Kong) paid a visit to the road safety team in Birmingham in September.

Mr So was interested in learning about the road safety work his overseas counterparts were achieving and to share his own experiences. He spoke to road safety officers about the projects they were involved in before going on a site visit to North Moseley to see the traffic calming measures in place in the area. He also discussed the benefits of the computer software 'Young Transnet', a tool that initiates schools to write a school travel plan.

Contact Andrea Johnson, assistant road safety manager, andrea_johnson@birmingham.gov.uk for more information.

BikeSafe tackles casualty challenge

2003 was the worst year in terms of motorcycle related collisions recorded in the last 10 years and the cause of most of these fatalities was rider error. The BikeSafe initiative, which is offered by 31 police forces across the UK, is attempting to tackle this serious issue.

A BikeSafe workshop provides an opportunity for motorcycle riders to interact with police motorcyclists. The officers provide on-road assessments and theory sessions covering numerous aspects of riding including hazard awareness, correct positioning, road reading and cornering.

GEM warns of dangers inside the car

GEM Motoring Assist warns that measures to protect drivers and passengers can be negated by dangerous objects carried in cars.

When a car breaks hard in an emergency, has a crash or swerves sharply, luggage like laptops, mobile phones, baby buggies, golf clubs, hardback map books and bottles move at speed.

"Newton's law of motion says that an unsecured item will carry on under its own inertia in a straight line until external forces compel it to stop," said Alan Baker , technical journalist for GEM magazine Good Motoring . "Of course the heavier the object the more chance of being seriously hurt but anything free to move is a danger and even errant golf balls have caused surprising injuries."

Fold down rear seats on hatchbacks and MPVs are less resistant than fixed ones, removing the parcel shelf and piling items high all increase the risk of flying objects.

Guide puts together jigsaw of living streets

Designing Living Streets offers the latest best practice on how to design vibrant streets for the 21st century.

The guide, produced by national charity Living Streets, covers street hierarchies, matching the street to its purpose, pavements, crossings, accessibility and safety. Each section states the design principle, explains why it's important and how it can be achieved, sets out best practice, current legislation and policy guidance.

TRL hosts school crossing patrol seminar

TRL is hosting a risk assessment seminar/workshop for school crossing patrol sites at the Assembly Rooms, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on 2 December.

The seminar focuses on the principals of risk assessment and is aimed at those responsible for the day-to-day safety of all school crossing patrols.

The cost is £175 per delegate which includes course materials, lunch and refreshments and the booking deadline is Thursday 4 November.

E mail Darren Divall for further details: ddivall@trl.co.uk.

Driver attitude is key to road safety

Oxfordshire's review of road safety will focus on attitude change among drivers, the implementation of stricter traffic laws and a reduction in speed ( Surveyor , 14 Oct).

At a conference last week, members of the county's core review group (CRG) agreed issues they viewed as important within road safety and which they could influence, according to Geoff Barrell , Oxfordshire's principal engineer road safety. Attitude changes within road users would make a big difference to road safety. Firmer law enforcement could also be focused on although Barrell acknowledged that would be difficult to influence.

The CRG voted on making sure accident data analysis was accurate and being used to the best advantage and also called for the improvement of co-ordination between road safety and other departments.