Transport Select Committee

On Wednesday 4 November the Transport Committee took evidence from Richard Alldritt, Head of Assessment and Board member of the UK Statistics Authority.  The Committee received a brief update and put questions on road safety to him. This follows recommendations in the Committee's 2008 report: Ending the Scandal of Complacency: Road Safety beyond 2010 and the July 2009 report from the UK Statistics Authority entitled Road Casualty Statistics.

Afterwards, the Committee questioned the Secretary of State on a number of topical areas of transport policy in what will hopefully become a regular session of topical Transport Questions. Committee Chairman, Louise Ellman MP said "When the Secretary of State sits in the House of Lords, we do not have the opportunity to question him in the House of Commons Chamber. It is important that MPs should have the opportunity to question the Secretary of State for a major spending Department such as Transport, and the Transport Committee has therefore decided to hold regular Transport Question sessions.”

The transcript will be on the Committee website soon.

The new European Motorcycle Test

On October 14, PACTS was invited to give oral evidence to the Transport Select Committee on recent changes to the motorcycle test. This was a one-off evidence session looking at both the introduction of a new off-road module into the motorcycling test and the relocation of test centres to enable the off-road element to be undertaken safely.

In our written evidence, we argued that the DSA had not over-interpreted the EU Directive implementing the changes. This was a key line of questioning during the oral session with members of the committee concerned about “gold-plating”. From the analysis undertaken by CIECA and circulated subsequently to the Committee by PACTS, it is clear that member states have taken different lines to the implementation. In Ireland, for example, the manoeuvres are undertaken on lightly trafficked roads with parked cars acting as the obstacle which the candidate is required to avoid. At the same time, it is clear that, while the British test is one of the more stringent versions, the DSA has not been significantly harsher in its interpretation. It will be interesting to see what conclusions the Committee draws.

Reported Road Casualties Great Britain

It was encouraging to note that both the headline drink-drive figures published in August and the more detailed Reported Road Casualties Great Britain published in September showed substantial falls in road deaths compared to 2007. The overall trend in road deaths is very encouraging as it has been maintained over 14 quarters and is more than a reflection of the economic circumstances. However, compared to other modes of travel, risk of death and injury on the road remains significantly higher. We still have plenty to do to drive that risk down compared to rail and air.

In that context, note that the European Commission is currently consulting over a new target for casualty reduction across the EU. The background to the consultation and the questionnaire can be accessed via

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/consultations/2009_11_20_ersap_2011_2020_en.htm

Children to be seen as well as heard this winter 

Children are being urged to ‘Be Bright, Be Seen’ this winter in a THINK! road safety campaign which was launched ahead of the clocks going back an hour on Sunday October 25.

In 2008, 712 children aged six to11 were killed or seriously injured while walking in Great Britain while 155 children of the same age were killed or seriously injured while cycling.

Road Safety Minister, Paul Clark said:
"Britain's roads are among the safest in the world and we have reduced the number of children killed while walking or cycling by 54% since the mid-1990s.  However, more than 850 child pedestrians and cyclists were killed or seriously injured on our roads last year and we are determined to do more to keep children as safe as possible”.

The Department for Transport's THINK! road safety campaign will be running its 'Girl who didn't Dress Bright in the Dark' advertisement in cinemas from Friday October 23. It will be aired on television and online from Monday October 26. 'The Boy Who Didn’t Find a Safe Place to Cross' advert will run online.

The adverts are a bold departure from previous campaigns using lifelike characters to show the consequences of different road safety behaviour.  The campaign is aimed at children aged six to 11 and was devised following extensive research with parents and children which showed that children today demand a more forthright approach to road safety messages.

ORR supports pledge to reduce the number work-related deaths

Anna Walker, chair of the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), has signed the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) pledge – an initiative which aims to bring organisations from all sectors together to commit to reduce the number of work-related deaths, injuries and ill-health.

ORR is now calling on others in the rail industry to make a similar commitment and demonstrate the importance they place on the health and safety of their workers, customers and any members of the public who may be affected by what they do.

Anna Walker said:
"We all have a responsibility to ensure that working environments are as safe as possible.
"Our role at the Office of Rail Regulation is to facilitate a safer railway. We have established a vision of zero workforce and industry caused passenger fatalities with an ever decreasing overall safety risk in the rail sector.

“That is why we support the Health and Safety Pledge which sets out to achieve a reduction in the number of work-related deaths by bringing organisations across all sectors together to commit to ensuring health and safety risks are minimised."

Judith Hackitt, Chair of HSE, said:
“We are delighted that ORR is signing the pledge and hope it encourages others in the rail industry to do the same.

“HSE and ORR have distinct areas of responsibility but as safety regulators we share what is most important - a commitment to reducing work-related deaths, injuries and ill-health. 

“Railways create unique, potentially very serious risks, but HSE and ORR work effectively together, sharing knowledge and developing consistent standards. This approach to health and safety is one that has HSE's new strategy at its very heart. It is one built around common sense and a drive to reduce the burdens on business.”

Rail industry safety performance ten years on from Ladbroke Grove

The rail industry’s safety performance has progressively advanced to a point where the likelihood of a passenger being involved in a train accident is now at an historical low. Statistics issued by RSSB firmly establish rail as the safest form of land transport in Britain whilst clearly identifying the remaining risk that needs to be managed. The figures demonstrate that the investment by industry and government in technology, training, research and their ongoing commitment to safety have paid off, and are continuing to pay off.

RSSB’s Chief Executive Len Porter said:
‘While we remember the events at Ladbroke Grove ten years ago, and their tragic impact on many passengers, rail staff, and their families, it is a pertinent moment to reflect on what has changed since then, and how the industry’s safety performance has significantly moved forward.

‘Nobody is complacent and the industry knows there are still risks to manage, but it has much greater knowledge and understanding of risk, increasingly smart technology and hardware, and the tools to monitor, research, analyse and manage those risks.’

Passenger safety – the risk to passengers from train accidents has reduced by more than 80% - from an estimated 2.45 fatalities per 10 billion passenger kilometres in 2000 to 0.45 fatalities per 10 billion passenger kilometres in 2008 .During the same period, passenger traffic has increased by about 25%. The risk from signals passed at danger (SPADs) has reduced by more than 85% since 2001. In the last four years there has been one train accident in which one passenger lost their life (the derailment at Grayrigg in February 2007).

The headline changes that have contributed to improved safety are:

• Improvements in rolling stock with superior crashworthiness which offer better protection to passengers in the rare event of an accident.

• Installation of the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) alongside other initiatives such as improved training and competence management, monitoring, and better briefing support for drivers. This has meant that there are fewer trains passing red signals, and that there is far less potential for serious consequences – altogether a more than 85 per cent reduction in SPAD risk. There have been no fatalities arising from a SPAD incident since Ladbroke Grove 10 years ago.

• More comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the human factors involved in train driving, signalling, and safety critical communication have been gained.

• Modern safety management systems (SMS) have introduced across the industry supported by an industry safety risk model and information management system. SMSs include a duty on companies to cooperate on safety.

RSSB’s Director of Policy, Research and Risk, Anson Jack said:

‘The last ten years have seen greater recognition and appreciation by the industry of a systems-approach to the railway. While RSSB provides the industry with data, risk modelling, analysis and research to support safe decisions, the real improvements have come through the commitment of individual companies to safety, combined with sustained investment in modern equipment and infrastructure made possible through the long term funding from government.’

Report on improvements in the safety of passengers and staff involved in train accidents

http://www.rssb.co.uk/pdf/reports/Report%20on%20improvements%20in%20safety%20in%20train%20accidents_October2009.pdf

Over the last 10 years, the rail industry has seen extensive changes, including institutional reorganisation, significant growth and further investment.

Sustained improvements in safety performance and risk have resulted from many of these changes, together with the efforts of railway managers and staff to continuously improve. Some improvements derive from the learning that is taken from operational experience and accidents, including the Ladbroke Grove accident of October 1999.

Beyond 2010: The Challenges Ahead: A PACTS Perspective

On March 1st 2000 the Department for Transport published the road safety strategy ‘Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone’. As the decade anniversary approaches, and we await the new strategy for beyond 2010, it is important to look at the accomplishments road safety has made in the last 10 years and at the challenges facing us now and in the future. For an analysis of road safety today from PACTS, please go to

http://pacts.org.uk/briefings-and-articles.php?id=74

Safety and CO2: Can we both tackle climate change and continue to make road transport safer?

Date: 23 November 2009
Time: 1pm to 6pm
Location: Council Room, IMechE, 1 Birdcage Walk, London
Website: http://www.imeche.org/events/s1491

Price: £125/99 (non-members/members)

This half-day event, jointly organised by the LowCVP, PACTS and the IMechE will look at the carbon reduction and safety agendas in the context of road transport. It will identify where policy measures and initiatives are complementary and how areas of tension between the two agendas can be most effectively resolved.

The event will cover both technical issues such as vehicle size, weight and design; the safety implications of vehicle electrification; and tyre selection; as well as behavioural issues including eco-safe driving and speed management. The LowCVP has written an article for GreenFleet Magazine about some of the issues to be discussed at the event.

There will be a drinks reception following the event, kindly sponsored by Michelin.

The full conference agenda is:

1.00 – arrival and tea/coffee

1.30pm – Chair’s introduction - Greg Archer, Managing Director, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership

1.35pm – Overview: Are safety and environmental aims for vehicles more compatible than conflicting? - MIRA speaker tbc

1.55pm – Can smaller, fuel efficient and lighter vehicles be as safe? - Julian Hill, Loughborough University Vehicle Safety Research Centre

2.15pm – Safety of hybrid and battery electric vehicles - Ricardo speaker, tbc

2.35-2.45 – Q&A session

2.45-3.05pm – Coffee break

3.05pm - Can new generation tyres be both ‘greener’ and safer? - Steve Dolby, Product Marketing Manager, Michelin

Behavioural approaches:

3.20-3.35pm: Safe and economical driving: Eco-Safe driving - Jason Airey, Managing Director, CMS Supatrak + customer case study

3.35-3.50pm – Lower speeds and intelligent speed adaptation - Oliver Carsten, Professor of Transport Safety, Leeds University

3.50-4.00: Reduction in CO2 Emissions with SPECS Average Speed Enforcement - Timo Thornton, SCS Speed Check Services 

4.00-4.20pm – Coffee break

4.20pm: Panel session

Chair: Robert Gifford, Executive Director, PACTS

Panel: Duncan Forrester, Volvo
Ian Yarnold, Deputy Head and Chief Engineer, Department for Transport
Oliver Carsten, Professor of Transport Safety, Leeds University

Overview speaker, as above

5.20pm: Chairs’ joint summing up - Robert Gifford and Greg Archer

5.30 (approx): Drinks reception sponsored by Michelin ends c6.15pm

PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE: HOW TO ENHANCE ROAD SAFETY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
20th Westminster Lecture on Transport Safety

FRED WEGMAN
MANAGING DIRECTOR, SWOV INSTITUTE FOR ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH

Tuesday 1st December 2009
6pm -10pm

ONE GREAT GEORGE STREET,
WESTMINSTER, LONDON,
SW1P 3AA

The United Kingdom has been a good example for improving road safety for decades and an inspiration for many with its reputation for evidence-based policies; good implementation; and the expertise and dedication of its safety professionals. However, progress has slowed, as in many high-motorised and well-performing countries, and there is a need for new approaches.

Two promising lines of development can be identified. The first is one of performing better with existing measures and, through optimization and quality assurance, achieving more positive effects from them. This requires sound and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation emphasising the 'dose-response' relationship. Based on monitoring results policy-makers recommend an increased level and/or higher quality implementation of existing interventions and expect further progress from this. However the result is unlikely to be a dramatic decline in deaths and injuries. Over the last decade this has been the approach favoured in the UK.

The second line is to develop strategies to reach very aspirational targets. Here we talk about adopting new visions, making them operational by using interim, empirical based targets. The UK seems to be hesitant to embark on this approach, unlike developments in Sweden and the Netherlands, and recently documented in the OECD study: 'Towards Zero. Ambitious road safety targets and the safe system approach'.

The lecture introduces this new way of thinking and discusses its 'achievability', consequences and implications. This new approach puts the human being at its focal point and attempts to “nudge” human behaviour in a safe direction by creating safe conditions. This will only be possible if all road authorities accept and follow this approach and offer road users predictable roads and credible legislation.  

COST £100.00 + VAT
To book, go to http://www.pacts.org.uk/events or email Gillian Reeves at admin@pacts.org.uk

Fast Forward: Can technology help the vulnerable road user?

Wednesday 10 March 2010
Lucas House, University of Birmingham Conference Park

We all know that our vehicles have become more technologically sophisticated in recent years. Anti-lock braking systems are now fitted as standard on all new models of car. They have been followed by other initiatives such as Electronic Stability Control, Driver Assistance Systems and Intelligent Speed Adaptation.

All of these have focused primarily on improving the safety of the vehicle occupant. Some of them have been extensively researched before fitment; others have been introduced quickly with less real-world evidence. Can any of them also help to reduce the risk of the vulnerable? This is a key question that the speakers at this conference will attempt to answer.

The programme takes a deliberately wide definition of vulnerable. In the context of the day, the vulnerable are those over-represented in crashes and injuries: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are obviously key groups. However, we should not overlook the elderly road user or young drivers, who are most at risk on our roads.

In this context, technology can have a key role to play in helping to maintain safe mobility and in reducing crash involvement. Greater use of event data recorders, for example, may enable better monitoring of unsafe behaviours by young and newly qualified drivers. In-vehicle technologies may also have a place in alerting drivers about potential crashes with pedestrians and in preventing these from happening.

The Department for Transport consultation on “A Safer Way” identified that technology offered some help in continuing to cut casualties on our roads. This conference will explore the extent of the contribution that it can make and help us to draw some conclusions. The line-up of speakers is as follows.

• Kris Beuret, SRA:
Transport Visions for the Future

• Charles Musselwhite, University of the West of England:
Driving into Old Age – how harnessing technology can prolong safe driving

• Richard Cuerden, TRL:
Reducing Pedestrian Casualties – the role of vehicle design and technology

• Oliver Carsten, Leeds University:
Are Driver Assistance Systems relevant for crashes with pedestrians?

• Colin Wilson, IBI Group:
Reputation Counts for Everything

• Simon Christmas, Simon Christmas Ltd.:
 Who are the Powered Two Wheeler Riders and what does risk mean to them?

• Alex Stedmon, Nottingham University:
Human-Motorcycle Interaction – the need to understand human factors

• Adrian Hide, Staffordshire County Council:
Helping Young Drivers through Embracing Technology

• Mark Fowkes, MIRA:
Foot-LITE – safer and greener driving

Accommodation is available for the night of 9 March. To book, contact the University Conference Park directly on Tel: 0121 415 8400, Fax: 0121 414 6339, Email: conferencepark@bham.ac.uk

Cost:
£200 + VAT (PACTS and ITS UK members)
£230.00 + VAT (Non-members)