February 2012 PACTS Newsletter

Event Date: 9:30 am March 23, 2012

Location: One Drummond Gate, Victoria, London SW1V 2QQ

Member Price: £150.00

Non-member Price: £200.00

This conference will look at the challenges for road safety over the coming years if we are to seek to achieve a British version of Vision Zero. Although the current environment for casualty reduction may seem daunting, we need to look beyond this to sketch out what more we can achieve and what research evidence we have to make progress. This conference will begin to map out the direction we need to take.

Link: http://bit.ly/zEoUif

The Office of Rail Regulation has published guidance on managing fatigue on the railways. The report argues strongly for the development of fatigue management systems and has a section about the key ingredients of a safety culture that are relevant not just to rail but to road as well.

Link: http://bit.ly/wreGoB

The Office of Rail Regulation has today published a breakdown of the financial position of railways in Great Britain. The report looks at the amount of income (fares, government support and other income) and expenditure in the railways, broken down between Network Rail and passenger operators. The report aims to help develop a better understanding of the economics of the rail network.

Link: http://bit.ly/AhbfPz

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has launched the first edition of its new, bi-monthly newsletter, the ORR Bulletin. The ORR Bulletin highlights ORR’s views on key issues from across the rail industry, and provides updates on future activities and priorities for the regulator.

Link: http://bit.ly/AmsM20

Britain will have a national high speed rail network providing vital new capacity and faster journeys across the country from 2026, Transport Secretary Justine Greening has announced.

HS2 will be a Y-shaped rail network with stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and the East Midlands linked by high speed trains conveying up to 26,000 people each hour at speeds of up to 250mph.

Link: http://bit.ly/Anfek3

The DfT announced that a total of 142 road transport regulations will be scrapped or improved as a result of the Road Transport Red Tape Challenge.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has published the following reports:

RSSB’s Half-Year Safety Performance Report is an update of the main ASPR. It provides data on the same key areas for the period April to September 2011

The Quarter 3 SPAD Cat A and TPWS Report for 2011/12 (overview)

All current safety performance reports can be found on the RSSB website.

Link: http://bit.ly/xSyUox

Andrew Evans, Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London and Chair of PACTS Rail Safety Working Party, has published his annual update on fatal train accidents on Britain’s railways.

Link: http://bit.ly/y8Cxpi

A new report titled: Driving for Work Managing Speed is published as part of the ETSC (European Transport Safety Council) PRAISE project, Preventing Road Accidents and Injuries for the Safety of Employees.

As well as encouraging and supporting the sharing of Britain’s expertise and knowledge, PACTS is committed to using the Decade of Action as an opportunity to build on existing European and international contacts and learn from experience from outside the UK. Therefore each month a publication from a different country will be featured on the Decade of Action page on the PACTS website.

January and February 2012: To further improve road safety, it is necessary to have a better understanding of the real number of road traffic casualties, including serious injuries. This is made possible by linking different sources of accident data, including police and hospital data. The International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (IRTAD) has reviewed how serious injuries are defined in IRTAD countries in this report Reporting on Serious Road Traffic Casualties, and identified and assessed methodologies for linking different sources of crash data.

BILLS AND ACTS

Link: http://bit.ly/9tXf6D

Rebecca Harris’ Private Member’s Bill to conduct a review of the evidence surrounding the benefits of daylight saving completed its Committee Stage in the House of Commons, but ran out of time at the report stage on the 20th January due to the number of amendments tabled. The Bill will not be taken further, however this is the furthest that such a Bill has gone in recent years, and due to the strong support it gained it is hoped that the government may take this proposal up. PACTS is a strong supporter of the Bill since daylight saving would lead to fewer deaths and injuries on our roads.

SELECT COMMITTEE

Link: http://bit.ly/xYmtaE

The Transport Committee have now held two oral evidence sessions, the most recent of which included Robert Gifford, Executive Director of PACTS, as a witness. It is possible to listen to the session online.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Date: January 25, 2012

Link: http://bit.ly/AmG5Mz

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning)

Date: December 15, 2011

Link: http://bit.ly/zc5WA5

The Secretary of State for Transport (Justine Greening)

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

“Parliamentary questions are tools that can be used by Members of Parliament to seek information or to press for action. They oblige Ministers to explain and defend the work, policy decisions and actions of their Departments.”

All transport safety parliamentary questions and PACTS comments can be viewed here.

These questions were asked on week beginning 23rd Jan:

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations she has received on the application of traffic regulations to pedicabs since June 2010; [90894]

(2) what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Mayor of London and (b) Transport for London on the safety of pedicabs; [90915]

(3) what discussions she has had with (a) the police and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Department on parking and traffic offences committed by riders of pedicabs or rickshaws. [90916]

Mrs Villiers: Pedicabs outside London are already regarded in law as “hackney carriages” (taxis) and local licensing authorities have the power to license them under the existing legislation which applies to hackney carriages. However, in London, pedicabs do not fall within the legal classification of a hackney carriage and are therefore not subject to formal licensing controls.

In London, pedicabs are the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Transport for London. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not received any applications of traffic regulations to pedicabs since 2010.

Enforcement of traffic regulations in London is the responsibility of Transport for London, London borough councils, the Metropolitan Police and ultimately the Home Office.

We have no record of these matters being discussed recently.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment her Department has made of the (a) safety and (b) roadworthiness of pedicabs. [90964]

Mike Penning: The Department has made no assessment of the safety and roadworthiness of pedicabs, however, they must comply with the requirements of the Pedal Bicycle (Safety) Regulations 2010, the Pedal Cycle (Construction & Use) Regulations 1983, the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989, and if they are electrically assisted, the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983.

If an electrically assisted pedicab is over 60 kg unladen weight, then it must also comply with the requirements of the Road Vehicles (Construction & Use Regulations) 1986 (as amended) as it is classed as a motor vehicle and would therefore need to be registered, insured and be issued with the appropriate road fund licence. The rider would also need to hold the correct licence.

Enforcement of these requirements would be a matter for the police.

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