2nd February
3rd February
Roads: Accidents
Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on the number of accidents of road speed limits in built up areas.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Authorities have been introducing more 20 mph limit and zone schemes across the country, including some which cover very large areas (such as Portsmouth). As the number of zones increase we would expect the number of accidents on 20 mph-limited roads to increase, simply as a consequence of the zones becoming more prevalent. This is not an indication that the 20 mph-limited roads are becoming more dangerous, but rather a reallocation of accidents from 30 mph-limited roads to 20 mph-limited roads. Atkins, and AECOM and Professor Mike Maher from UCL, have been commissioned to carry out research into the effectiveness of 20mph limits. The study will cover many aspects including effects on speed, collisions, casualties and modal shift. The research will also consider best practice, road users’ perceptions and effects on the quality of the environment.
The attached tables show the reported accidents by speed limit, road class and severity in GB for 2010 to 2013.
4th February
Invalid Vehicles: Accidents
Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield, South East): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have been killed or seriously injured in accidents involving mobility scooters in each of the last five years; and how many of the people so killed or seriously injured were driving the scooter.
Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department does not hold comprehensive data on personal injury road accidents involving motorised mobility scooters. Data on this issue was first collected (on a non-mandatory basis) in 2011, with 1 out of 51 Police forces in Great Britain supplying data in 2011; 12 in 2012; and 24 in 2013. Across these forces, the number of reported personal injury road accidents involving mobility scooters and the number of drivers of these vehicles who were injured is given in table. The data for earlier years are not available.
The Department is working to obtain data on this issue from all forces by 2016.
| Number of casualties in reported accidents involving mobility scooters | |||||||||
| in Great Britain: 2011-2013 | |||||||||
| Severity | 2011(1) | 2012(2) | 2013(3) | ||||||
| Killed | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
| Serious | 6 | 17 | 26 | ||||||
| Slight | 4 | 69 | 133 | ||||||
| All severities | 10 | 87 | 164 | ||||||
| (1) Data from only 1 police force | |||||||||
| (2) Data from 12 police forces | |||||||||
| (3) Data from 24 police forces | |||||||||
| Number of mobility scooter drivers injured in reported accidents in Great Britain: 2011 -2013 | |||||||||
| Severity | 2011(1) | 2012(2) | 2013(3) | ||||||
| Killed | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
| Serious | 4 | 11 | 17 | ||||||
| Slight | 1 | 42 | 102 | ||||||
| All severities | 5 | 54 | 124 | ||||||
| (1) Data from only 1 police force | |||||||||
| (2) Data from 12 police forces | |||||||||
| (3) Data from 24 police forces | |||||||||
The increases in the numbers of casualties and drivers is related to the increase in the number of police forces providing the data. Until all forces provide data, the Department will not have any meaningful trend data.
5th February
Speed Limits
Sir Greg Knight (East Yorkshire): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage local authorities to make greater use of part-time 20mph zones that are in force during times of greater need and not on a 24 hour basis; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robert Goodwill: Traffic authorities have powers to introduce 20 mph zones or speed limits that apply only at certain times of day. The Department issued revised guidance in January 2013 aimed mainly at local traffic authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads. It has been designed to help explain to everyone why and how local speed limits are determined. This guidance was revised following full public consultation in Summer 2012. The guidance is available online on GOV.UK
9th February
More information on written questions is available here on the parliamentary website.
