A lot is happening in the field of transport safety and at PACTS. We bring you a few highlights. National news
- Launch of the GB Road Safety Performance Index and report A new Safer Roads Index compares the performance of different local authorities and police authorities across Great Britain, identifying changes in casualties over the last decade. The data presented will help community leaders and activists to understand the scale of the United Nations #50by30 global target and how this can be delivered. It was produced by Agilysis for Towards Zero Foundation and PACTS.
- Reducing the drink driving limit?Lord Brooke has tabled an amendment to the Police, Crime, etc Bill to reduce the drink driving BAC limit from 80mg to 50mg in England and Wales. The Lords approved the reduction in 2016. If they do so again, it will go to the Commons. PACTS has been providing briefings and Peers cited our research reports. PACTS is also part of coalition led by Cycling UK seeking amendments to Part 5 to make enforcement more effective and address road justice concerns.
- Government consultationsThe Department for Transport has recently consulted on modernising vehicle safety standards and establishing a Road Collison Investigation Branch. PACTS views these as very important and we have responded.
PACTS news
- PACTS autumn conferenceOur autumn conference “Zero carbon and zero road deaths – does less traffic mean safer traffic?” was held online in October. It was a good discussion of strategies to reduce road casualties within the context of transport decarbonisation. See the recording, slides and summary here. It was supported by National Highways and Electra Commercial Vehicles.
- Private e-scooter safety research Our interim report, published in October, presented information on safety from many sources, including trauma surgeons. We have urged the government not to rush legislation and to base on evidence about private use which we believe is significant different to rental schemes. We have also called on the minister, in the run-up to Christmas, to remind retailers and the public that using a private e-scooter is illegal in the UK. This project is supported by the Road Safety Trust.
- New Advocacy OfficerWe welcome Kumar Niketan, our new Advocacy Officer. Kumar has a post-graduate degree in International Law and Diplomacy and international experience working towards sustainable development through social entrepreneurship, public policies, and political advocacy. The new post is funded by the Road Safety Trust.
- PACTS MembersWe are delighted to welcome new members to PACTS:– Gloucestershire County Council: we look forward to contributing to their road safety strategy workshop later this month.– Rideables.org, a newly formed not for profit organisation representing users of micromobility devices. PACTS has over 100 member organisations from the private, public and voluntary sectors. See all our current members here.We hope you like this screenshot of the PACTS Council of Members meeting in November (apologies to those not in the photo – too many!). A special thanks to our speakers and contributors.
- PACTS anniversary2022 will be PACTS 40th anniversary. We are planning a bumper year of events, a mix of online and in-person. We look forward to celebrating this landmark with you after two difficult years. We will announce more details in the New Year.
