Cycleways
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the provision of cycle lanes following the publication of guidelines on cycling from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. [131434]
Norman Baker: I have regular discussions with the Minister for Public Health, the Hon Member for Broxtowe, (Anna Soubry) to consider how we can best support people who wish to travel actively, including by bike. On the day the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published its guidance, Anna Soubry and I addressed a conference of local transport and health professionals on the subject of active travel. I announced £20m of new investment in cycling, adding to the £45m for cycle safety and linking communities unveiled earlier this year and the broader £600m Local Sustainable Transport Fund. The NICE guidance will make an important contribution to getting best value from this investment and encouraging more people to cycle, more safely, more often.
M1: Accidents
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the time taken to resolve the closure of the M1 between junctions 5 and 4 southbound on 3 December 2012; and if he will make a statement. [131825]
Stephen Hammond: The incident on the M1 between junctions 5 and 4 on 3 December 2012 was a police led incident as it involved fatalities and potential criminal behaviour. I have asked for a full debrief to take place into the incident. This will include the Highways Agency, the police and the other emergency services involved. The investigation will assess all the aspects of the incident including the time taken to re-open the carriageway.
Motorcycles: Driving Tests
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have taken the Direct Access motorbike test in each of the last five years. [131980]
Stephen Hammond: The Direct Access Scheme (DAS) is a training route which allows riders of 21 years or over to train under the supervision of a certified instructor before taking the category A practical motorcycle test. The Driving Standards Agency does not collect data on the route people follow when taking a category A test, although it is likely that the majority of people do follow the Direct Access route.
The number of people who have taken a category A practical motorcycle test in each of the last five financial years and in the current year to 31 October 2012 are:
| Number of people that have taken a category A practical motorcycle test | |
|
2007-08 |
50,920 |
|
2008-09 |
59,144 |
|
2009-10 |
28,019 |
|
2010-11 |
28,694 |
|
2011-12 |
32,565 |
|
1 April 2012 to 31 October 2012 |
23,664 |
Roads: Accidents
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have involved both a vehicle and wildlife in each of the last five years. [132014]
Stephen Hammond: The Department only collects information relating to personal injury road accidents, and therefore does not include damage-only accidents in its statistics.
The number of accidents where animals (including wildlife, livestock and pets but excluding ridden horses) were a hazard in the carriageway for last five years are given in following table:
| Number of reported personal injury road accidents where an animal was carriageway hazard, GB: 2007-11 | ||||
| Number of accidents | ||||
| Fatal | Serious | Slight | Total | |
|
2007 |
7 |
123 |
870 |
1,000 |
|
2008 |
7 |
127 |
735 |
869 |
|
2009 |
6 |
128 |
700 |
834 |
|
2010 |
1 |
126 |
737 |
864 |
|
2011 |
8 |
126 |
717 |
851 |
It is not possible to say whether the animal was struck by a vehicle in the accident or caused the accident.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor accidents there have been involving (a) coaches, (b) rickshaws and (c) quad bikes in each of the last five years. [132022]
Stephen Hammond: The Department is unable to identify rickshaws and quad bikes separately as there are no specific codes for these vehicle types in our accident data. They are included in the “other vehicle” category which also includes vehicles such as motor caravans, fire engines, ambulances and mobile cranes among others.
The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving buses/coaches for the last five years is given in table RAS20001, published in annual report entitled “Reported road casualties in Great Britain: annual report 2011”. The table is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/10136/ras20001.xls
A copy of the report is also deposited in the Libraries of the House.
