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Written Answers — Transport: Cycling: Safety

[Spoken by Paul Clark on 15/03/2010]

holding answer 12 March 2010

The Department for Transport's proposals for policies to improve road safety for all road users, including cyclists, were set out in our consultation paper "A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World", which was published in April 2009.

The Government want to see more people cycling, while at the same time minimising the risks of cycling. There are a number of initiatives under way at present, aimed at improving cycle safety. These include:

promoting bikeability cycle training for children;

using the Highway Code and the Think! road safety campaign to provide advice to child and adult cyclists on safe road use, including use of protective equipment such as high visibility clothing and cycle helmets;

providing more safe cycle routes to schools and other locations;

providing guidance to local authorities on the design of safer road infrastructure, including effective cycle-specific measures, as well as more general measures that benefit all road users, such as 20 mph zones;

improving motor vehicle driver testing and training;

enacting new measures on lorry mirrors to improve the visibility of cyclists and pedestrians.

There are no plans to arrange a press conference in respect of the report commissioned by this Department on the potential for cycle helmets to prevent injury. The Department publishes numerous reports throughout the year and it is not usual practice to facilitate a press conference for each report's publication.

The total cost of the research programme on Road Safety and Cycling is £527,719 excluding VAT. The report on cycle helmets was published by TRL on 15 December 2009 alongside a report providing an understanding of the key causes of collisions involving cyclists. Research findings for both reports are available to download from the Department for Transport website and direct links to the full reports, which are free to download from TRL's website, are provided.

Pre-publication copies of the reports were sent to the road safety and cycling research project's advisory group a week before publication. This group is made up of a wide range of road safety, health, and cycling interest groups. An e-mail link was sent to the advisory group and a wider group of stakeholders on the day of publication.

TRL's research confirms conclusions from earlier work showing that cycle helmets can help to protect cyclists in the event of a collision. That is why the Department for Transport encourages cyclists-especially children-to wear helmets when cycling.

However, the Department has no plans to introduce legislation to make cycle helmets compulsory for children or for adults. Taking into account the practicalities of enforcing such an offence-particularly among children-as well as the possible impact on levels of cycling and the potential loss of wider health benefits, the Department is not persuaded that making helmets mandatory is the right option.

TRL's research project estimated that between 10 and 16 per cent. of cyclist fatalities with a certain type of head injury could have been prevented if they had worn an appropriate cycle helmet. This estimate is based on an assessment of cyclist fatality reports and includes both adults and children. It is not possible to use this to estimate specific casualty savings for children.

The Department for Transport's statistics show that a total of 12 cyclists aged 15 or under were killed in road accidents in Great Britain in 2008. The statistics do not show how many of these were due to head injuries, or how many were, or were not, wearing cycle helmets.

TRL's research also found that of the on-road serious cyclist casualties admitted to hospital in England, 10 per cent. suffered injuries of a type and to a part of the head that a cycle helmet may have mitigated or prevented. 405 child cyclists aged 0 to 15 were recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in Great Britain in 2008, although this definition of serious injury includes a much wider range of injuries that were not sufficiently serious to lead to admission to hospital.

The report also found that a further 20 per cent. of cyclists admitted to hospital suffered 'open wounds to the head', some of which are likely to have been to a part of the head that a cycle helmet may have mitigated or prevented.

Written Answers — Transport: Roads: Accidents

[Spoken by Paul Clark on 03/02/2010]

The information requested is shown in the following table. These figures include all killed and seriously injured casualties in these accidents, not just occupants of the specified vehicles.

The Department for Transport consulted in 2009 on a new road safety strategy for the next two decades, A Safer Way: Consultation on making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World. This consultation identified protecting motorcyclists as one of a number of key road safety challenges and proposed specific measures, as well as initiatives to tackle safety on rural roads, where motorcyclists are at particular risk. The new road safety strategy will be published following the completion of the North Review into drug and drink driving law.

The Government's Motorcycling Strategy sets out a range of measures to improve the safety of all powered two-wheel users. It was published in February 2005 and a revised action plan was issued in June 2008. This includes THINK! publicity for powered two wheeler and other road users, improvements to rider training, a safer road environment and safer vehicles and equipment. We are currently working with stakeholders on revising the Motorcycle Strategy.

Written Answers — Transport: Speed Limits: Schools

[Spoken by Paul Clark on 09/07/2009]

Local highways authorities already have powers to introduce variable 20 mph speed limits on roads outside schools if they believe it appropriate to do so.

The Department for Transport guidance on setting local speed limits recommends local highways authorities consider introducing 20 mph speed limits, variable 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones in residential areas. This view is reinforced in the document "A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World" published in April 2009.

However, there are cost implications related to signing variable speed limits in accordance with regulations.

The Department is working with several local highway authorities to trial more cost effective signing which, if successful, will enable all local highway authorities to more easily introduce variable 20 mph speed limits outside schools.

Department for Transport: Road Safety

[Spoken by Louise Ellman on 02/07/2009]

I am pleased to have the opportunity today to debate the important topic of road safety. This debate is taking place on estimates day, and it is very important indeed that essential spending on road safety measures be maintained.

Road safety is about the lives of individuals and their families, but it is even more than that: it is a major issue that affects all our society. The Transport Committee's report "Ending the Scandal of Complacency: Road Safety Beyond 2010" sees road safety as a public health issue, looks at a way forward and how the situation can be improved and makes important recommendations to the Government.

The road safety debate is ongoing. The Government produced an interim response followed by a fuller response, and that was linked to the Government's road safety strategy consultation called "A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World". The Committee's report commends the Government on reaching their targets on road safety, and the most recent figures record, for 2008, the lowest number of road casualties yet. However, if we look at the cold facts, we find that 2,538 people still died on our roads in 2008; that 26,029 were recorded as having been seriously injured; and that there were total casualties of 230,884. That means thousands of blighted lives, and it is worth noting that road accidents are the largest single cause of death in people aged between five and 35 years old. They are tragedies for the individuals and their families, but it is a national scandal that so many people die.

It is self-evident—indeed, it should make us think a little—that the scale of the carnage on our roads is not acceptable in any other mode of transport. We are talking about 2,500 people dead and more than 230,000 casualties, and, if those figures related to rail, sea or aviation, there would be national uproar. However, there is no uproar about them.

Written Answers — Transport: Speed Limits: Safety

[Spoken by Jim Fitzpatrick on 07/05/2009]

On 21 April, the Department for Transport published a consultation paper, 'A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World'.

This paper highlighted the high casualty rates on rural roads, which carry 40 per cent. of traffic, but account for 62 per cent. of road deaths. Of particular concern are rural single carriageways. In the document we propose to publish stronger guidance on these roads and to provide information annually to highway authorities about the most dangerous roads. It will be for individual highway authorities to consider reducing speed limits.

The consultation proposals and background research can be found at:

www.dft.gov.uk/roadsafetyconsultation

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