PQs 11th – 14th February

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to educate children about proper road safety. [142387]

Elizabeth Truss: Road safety education can be covered as part of non-statutory personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Schools are free to decide what to include in their PSHE programmes and should tailor the content of PSHE lessons to take account of the needs of their pupils.

Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab): Targets to reduce the number of people being killed and seriously injured on our roads served the country very well for over 30 years. In 2010, the then Transport Secretary abolished targets. The new Secretary of State has introduced forecasts. May we have a debate on road safety in general, in which we might clarify the difference between targets and forecasts—or, indeed, if there is any difference at all?

Mr Lansley: The hon. Gentleman is very knowledgeable about these matters, and I will ask my colleagues at the Department for Transport to respond to his question. What I will say, however, is that we are looking for outcomes, and what really matters is finding the mechanisms that enable us to improve road safety.

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have been given multiple custodial sentences for dangerous driving while (a) under the influence of alcohol and (b) not under the influence of alcohol since 2000; [139816]

(2) how many people with a previous conviction for dangerous driving while (a) under the influence of alcohol and (b) not under the influence of alcohol have been later charged with dangerous driving while (i) under the influence and (ii) not under the influence of alcohol in each of the last 10 years; [139818]

(3) how many people who have previously served a custodial sentence for dangerous driving while (a) under the influence of alcohol and (b) not under the influence of alcohol have been charged for the same offence within 10 years in each of the last 10 years. [139820]

Jeremy Wright: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

PQ 139816

(a) 1,872 offenders have been given multiple custodial sentences for dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol since 2000.

(b) 2,870 offenders have been given multiple custodial sentences for dangerous driving while not under the influence of alcohol since 2000

PO 139818

Table 1A shows the number of offenders with a previous conviction for dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol who have been later convicted for dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol and not under the influence of alcohol in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales.

Table 1A : Number of offenders with a previous conviction for dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol who have been later convicted for dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol and not under the influence of alcohol in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales
12 months ending June	Under the influence of alcohol	Not under the influence of alcohol
2002	12,211	1,314
2003	14,472	1,560
2004	15,964	1,598
2005	16,647	1,516
2006	16,755	1,410
2007	16,864	1,443
2008	16,923	1,364
2009	15,646	1,238
2010	14,425	1,152
2011	13,036	1,024
2012	12,871	1,045
Source: Ministry of Justice

Table 1B shows the number of offenders with a previous conviction for dangerous driving ‘not’ under the influence of alcohol who have been later convicted for dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol and not under the influence of alcohol in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales.

Table 1B: Number of offenders with a previous conviction for dangerous driving not under the influence of alcohol who have been later convicted for dangerous driving while under the influence and not under the influence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales, England and Wales
12 months ending June	Under the influence of alcohol	Not under the influence of alcohol
2002	2,745	1,791
2003	3,111	1,970
2004	3,289	1,934
2005	3,199	1,778
2006	3,193	1,559
2007	3,014	1,551
2008	2,986	1,442
2009	2,715	1,257
2010	2,625	1,049
2011	2,331	959

2012	2,326	1,035
Source: Ministry of Justice

Table 2: Number of offenders who previously served a custodial sentence for dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol and not under the influence of alcohol who have been charged for the same offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales.

Table 2: Number of offenders who previously served a custodial sentence for dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol and not under the influence of alcohol who have been charged for the same offence in each year, 12 months ending June 2002 to 12 months ending June 2012, England and Wales.
12 months ending June	Under the influence of alcohol	Not under the influence of alcohol
2002	2,657	1,252
2003	3,067	1,408
2004	3,130	1,432
2005	3,077	1,271
2006	2,854	1,122
2007	2,548	1,060
2008	2,411	983
2009	2,138	835
2010	1,910	719
2011	1,709	622
2012	1,599	685
Source: Ministry of Justice

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which external stakeholders the Government’s recently established expert panel on drug driving has (a) had meetings with and (b) received information from; and if he will make a statement. [142747]

Stephen Hammond: The following list details those organisations that the expert panel made reference to or held conversations with:

The International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety

The Driving Vehicle and Licensing Agency (DVLA)

The Royal College of General Practitioners

Clockwork Research Ltd

Napp Pharmaceutical Group

British Pain Society

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

In addition, teleconferences or meetings were held with experts from the University of Groningen, University of Ghent, University of Surrey and Kings College London. The panel also made use of published research papers, articles and guidelines already in the public domain. We will be publishing the panel’s report shortly.

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on removing the hard shoulder of motorways to create an extra lane. [142477]

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has received a number of representations from local highways authorities, emergency services and other affected parties in relation to managed motorway schemes planned for the M25, M1, M3, M6, M60 and M62.

In all cases the Agency continues to have active and productive dialogue with all interested parties.

In South and West Yorkshire emergency responders and the Agency are setting up a group to agree the operational procedures for these schemes.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned on the relationship between (a) HGV density of traffic flows, (b) speed of those traffic flows and (c) accident levels. [143215]

Stephen Hammond: The Department commissioned an evaluation of a potential increase in the speed limit of heavy goods vehicles (over 7.5 tonnes) on single carriageway roads, from the current limit of 40 mph.

The report was published in November 2012 and is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heavy-goods-vehicle-speed-limit-increase-evaluation-final-report

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on research into the potential effect on road safety of the replacement of motorway hard shoulders by refuges; and whether he has made an assessment of such research. [142557]

Stephen Hammond: The Highways Agency has completed an assessment of the safety risk for the managed motorways layout all lane running, which includes the permanent conversion of the hard shoulder to a running lane and the inclusion of refuge areas.

This assessment showed a 15% reduction in safety risk when compared to a dual three lane motorway with hard shoulder. This assessment is contained in the Highways Agency’s report ‘Managed Motorways All Lanes Running—Demonstration of Meeting Safety Objective Report’ that is available on the agency website and I have also placed a copy in the Libraries of the House.

The safety risk analysis of all lanes running has learnt from the three year safety performance of the active traffic management operation of dynamic hard shoulder running between junctions 3A and 7 of the M42. An assessment of this performance showed that the average number of personal injury accidents reduced from 5.08 per month before the implementation of active traffic management to 2.25 per month following the introduction of hard shoulder running. This represents a 55.7% reduction in accidents.

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the use of speed control traffic lights which are activated to turn red by drivers going over the speed limit; and if he will make a statement. [143200]

Norman Baker: There have been no recent requests to use traffic lights to control speed by turning red when an approaching driver goes over the speed limit.

Rather than turning lights red to control speed, we advocate the use of ‘green waves’ – programming the signals across a network to turn green if traffic approaches at a given speed. As well as controlling speed, this can improve traffic flow and reduce delays.

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents involving drivers using mobile phones have been recorded in each of the last five years. [142664]

Stephen Hammond: The numbers of personal injury road accidents in Great Britain where the police officer attending the scene of the accident reported “Driver using mobile phone” as a contributory factor for last five years is:

From 1 January 2005, information on contributory factors to road accidents has been collected by a police officer at the scene of the accident. A police officer may choose between one and six different factors that they felt contributed to the accident. Not all reported road accidents are included in the contributory factor analysis, only those where a police officer attended the scene and at least one contributory factor was reported.

The contributory factors reflect the reporting officer’s opinion at the time of reporting and are not necessarily the result of extensive investigation. Moreover it is recognised that subsequent inquiries could lead to the reporting officer changing their opinion. It is important to note where some factors may have contributed to the cause of an accident it may be difficult for a police officer attending the scene after the accident has occurred to identify these factors.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information is held on (a) the number of drivers who pass their driving test first time, (b) the gender of and (c) the age group of driving test applicants. [142468]

Stephen Hammond: The Driving Standards Agency publishes driving test data at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/series/driving-tests-and-instructors-statistics

The number of drivers who passed their car practical driving test at the first attempt over the last two financial years is shown in the following table.

The breakdown of car practical driving test applicants by gender and age group for financial year 2010-11 and 2011-12 is shown in the following tables.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Air Accident Investigation Branch continues to require closure of the roads around the site of the recent helicopter crash in Vauxhall; when they expect the roads to be re-opened; and why they were not opened as expected on 4 February.[HL5287]

Earl Attlee: The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is no longer on site and do not require any road closures at Vauxhall as all the helicopter debris has now been recovered.

With the exception of trunk roads, under devolution roads in London are the responsibility of the local highway authority, either Transport for London (TfL) or the relevant London Borough.

However, TfL has advised that repairing a crane of this size and nature is a slow and intricate process and that severe weather can have a significant effect on progress. Due to recent high winds, some of which have reached in excess of 35 kilometres per hour, and heavy fog around the Vauxhall area, Brookfield Multiplex’s work to repair the 190-metre crane on St Georges Tower took longer than originally planned but was completed on 10 February 2013.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of 20 miles per hour speed limits on the safety of children, and what advice they give to local authorities on that subject. [HL5340]

Earl Attlee: In 1996 the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) published a report for the Department for Transport on 20 mph zones. The report showed that accidents fell by 60% and accidents to children fell by 67% where these zones had been introduced. (Review of Traffic Calming Schemes in 20mph Zones, TRL report 215)

The department has also researched the effects of the introduction of widespread 20 mph limits in Portsmouth and has published some preliminary findings. These can be found at: http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/speed-limits-portsmouth/speed-limits-portsmouth.pdf.

The interim report (Atkins, published 2009) found a 22% reduction in casualties (at all ages) where the national trend was a fall of 14%.

On 18 January 2012 the department published Setting Local Speed Limits (DfT Circular 01/2013), which revises guidance to local councils, which will help them implement more consistent speed limits on local roads. It incorporates recent changes that create more flexibility for authorities to implement 20 mph limits and zones. It says that traffic authorities can, over time, introduce 20 mph speed limits or zones on major streets where there are-or could be-significant numbers of journeys on foot, and/or where pedal cycle movements are an important consideration, and this outweighs the disadvantage of longer journey times for motorised traffic. This is in addition to encouraging 20 mph zones in residential streets in cities, towns and villages, particularly where the streets are being used by people on foot and on bicycles, there is community support and the characteristics of the street are suitable.