Road casualties down, traffic up, but children are still at risk

The number of children killed on UK roads has increased by 20% according to todays Road Casualtes Great Britain 2006 (DfT), a sad finding, set against a background of falling casualties across the board.

31,845 people are still being killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads. The results show a;

• 5% decrease in overall road casualties in comparison to 2005
• 1% decrease in killed and seriously injured in comparison to 2005
• 9% reduction in overall child casualties since 2005
• 1% increase in pedestrian deaths and a fall in pedestrian injuries.
• 1% reduction in cyclist deaths and a 4% increase in injuries
• 5% increase in motorcyclist fatalities
• 4% reduction in car user deaths 

There is still a long way to go to meet the 40% reduction for the number of killed and seriously injured (Currently at 33%) and much more work is needed to reduce child, cyclist, pedestrian and motorcyclist casualties.

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80 CLASSROOMS OF CHILDREN KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED LAST YEAR: NEW ROAD SAFETY GAME LAUNCHED

More action and more education are needed to reduce the number of child road deaths in the UK, the RAC Foundation said today (28) in response to the publication of the government’s latest road casualty figures.

Two thousand and twenty five child pedestrians – equivalent to 80 classrooms – were killed or seriously injured on the roads last year, according to the figures. In addition 8,106 child pedestrians were slightly injured. In total 169 children died on the roads which is 20% more than in 2005.

Teenagers and young people are particularly at risk. Road accidents are now the biggest killer of young people, accounting for more fatalities among the 10-24 age group than any other cause of death*.

The RAC Foundation is urging a comprehensive approach that covers improved road design and car safety, targets the most deprived areas of the country and looks again at educating drivers and pedestrians.

Road safety education and training must start while children are young – which is why the RAC Foundation and the Make Roads Safe campaign are launching a new educational tool for road safety aimed at 4 – 11 year olds.

The online game at www.zebracrossinggame.com reinforces key messages about staying safe on the road and provides useful advice about linking the game to the national curriculum. The aim is for children to learn about road safety in a fun way while adults are encouraged to sign the Make Roads Safe campaign’s petition calling for a UN Ministerial conference on road safety to keep children safe around the world.

In the run-up to UN Global Road Safety Week the Make Roads Safe campaign launched a competition to name the zebra character, which fronts the game, and to write a poem about keeping safe on the roads. Thousands set in their suggestions and the judges decided on Zimbar the Zebra.

The game has been designed by award winning educational consultancy dbda and details have been circulated to all primary schools in the UK.Commenting on the casualty figures, Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation and Make Roads Safe campaigner said:

“Overall child casualties have fallen by 9 per cent but there is put more we can and should do. Children are much more likely to die in a road accident than from drugs or violent crime. It’s shocking that In line with global trends, road accidents are the number one killer in the 10-24 age group in the UK.

“It’s essential that we start educating our children about road safety at an early age. Today’s school children are the young drivers of tomorrow. We need to educate them in ever more creative ways so that they can take safety messages to heart and drive responsibly in future.

“What we need is a comprehensive approach to this problem that covers improved road design and car safety, targets the most deprived areas of the country and looks again at educating drivers and pedestrians.”

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‘Green’ car crudentials are key to consumer concern

A cars green crudentials are now critical to the purchasing decision according to new research from the latest Concerned Consumer survey by Populus for The Times.

Only 34% of consumers believe that car manufacturers are doing enough and taking environmental issues seriously. There were also some clear brand leaders emerging, with those surveyed placing Honda, Volkswagen and Audi as leaders in company behaviour and image terms. Toyota, despite success with the hybrid Prius came in at fifth place. When asked who should take responsibility for the disposal of vehicles, 43% thought it should be down to the car manufacturer (versus the car owner – 34% and Government – 23%). Interestingly when people were asked what they would be driving in ten years time, 27% said that they probably wouldn’t have a car. 21% said a hybrid car was likely where as current petrol and diesel cars were still seen as a future possibility for 13% and 12% of those surveyed.

Toyota and Honda were the clear leaders (24% and 22% respectively) when individuals were asked about manufacturers that they thought were doing the most to minimise the environmental impact of driving and local authority initiatives to link parking charges to emissions appear to have gained widespread support with six in ten saying that they support the initiative.

This is certainly another very interesting piece of research that proves half the UK population to be concerned consumers. The fact that environmental initiatives now have significant consumer pulling power should be fully recognised by manufacturers. With brand support being sufficiently effected by environmental issues it will be interesting to see how car manufacturers react and how customer opinion develops in time.   

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More car pool lanes required in the US

More car pool lanes are needed in the US as the existing 1,350 miles of lanes are struggling to meet demand according to a new Caltrans study.

In California, plans to build nearly 1,000 miles additional car pool lanes are being considered as existing lanes are not meeting flow requirements. The study found that during the evening rush hour nearly one-third of all carpool lanes miles do not meet federal standards, which require speeds of 45mph or faster during rush hour. Over the past three decades additional car pool lanes to ease congestion have been the main reason for widening freeways.

How can this finding be applied to the UK? Well this research proves that the demand for travel is increasing year on year and that car pool lanes can only be part of the answer. Additional capacity is certainly required on certain points on the UK’s strategic road network (as aluded to by Eddington), but encouraging people to travel smarter (i.e. changing travel times, working from home etc) also has an important role to play in keeping traffic moving.

(Source: http://www.planetizen.com/node/25291)

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Half of motorists do not believe speed cameras improve road safety

Almost half of motorists do not think speed cameras improve road safety according to new survey results from whatcar.com.

However, 40% think that speed cameras can make a difference in certain locations, which leaves only 12% believing that cameras can improve road safety. The RAC Foundation believes that speed cameras have a useful roll to play in enforcing the rules of the road, especially in targeted suitable locations. However, automatic enforcement can and should not replace the role of dedicated road traffic cops and the Foundation continues to campaign for more ‘cops in cars’.

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Speeding fines in the UK up 1%

Speeding fines reached £115 million last year, a 1% increase on the previous year. Fewer penalties have been issued, but fewer appeals have been successful according to research from cartographer Philips.

There appears to be a significant discrepancy between the percentage of tickets issued and the fines collected, with surrey only managing to collect 47 per cent of tickets issued. The most money (£9.45 millions) was collected in Greater London, but this only equates to £1.26 per resident, which is significantly lower than other parts of the country. The greatest amount was collected in North Wales (average £5.82 per person) and the least per head was collected in Merseyside (80p). 

It is well known that postcode lotteries exist for many public services and the density of speed cameras is no exception to this rule. It is interesting to see what the likely payment is per resident per area, but this should also be considered alongside demographics and traffic densities. Having a greater traffic police presence in these areas, is one measure that could really have a tangible effect on speeding.

(Source: Mirror 27th June 2007 and www.autocar.co.uk)  

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£80 fine for an idling engine

Manchester city’s traffic wardens will have new powers to issue an £80 green fine to motorists who unnecessarily leave their engines running.

The news has been welcomed by many as a useful green approach, but concerns about how the fine will be fairly enforced have also been raised. The RAC Foundation has come across many an example of over-zealous, target driven traffic wardens who do not give motorists a ‘fair’ time to put right a traffic offence. Although this intiative is welcomed, clear guidance on acceptable waiting times should be drawn-up to ensure motorists are fairly treated by this new system.

(Source: Express 25th June 2007)

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Renewable fuel…Saviour?

Significant debate in recent weeks and months has surrounded the issue of renewable fuel. An article in the Business section of the Times today focused again on this issue with Royal Dutch Shell revealing that by 2050 the world will;

• Contain 9 billion people (2.5 billion more than today)
• Be 4-5 times richer than today, with most of the extra wealth coming from the rapidly industrialising countries
• Use two times as much energy
• Use 50% less energy than today to produce a dollar of wealth

Shell argues that conventional oil and gas reserves will struggle to keep up with demand and that renewable energy sources will not be able to fill the gap. Encouraging energy efficiency, as well as developing new technologies to expoit other reserves were described as the way forwards. It will be interesting to see how the energy debate develops overtime as there are already signs of a backlash, against the renewable fuel agenda. 

(Source: The Times Monday 25th June, 2007)

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High Occupancy vehicle lanes can smooth traffic

High Occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes have the ability to ‘smooth’ traffic at bottlenecks according to new research from Menendez and Daganzo (2007).

HOV lanes are restricted-use and are reserved for vehicles often with two or more occupants. They can have a disruptive effect on other lanes if they are under used or if changes are frequently made in and out of the lane. However, this research shows that in bottle neck situations they can have positive ‘kepping traffic moving’ effects.

The application of HOV lanes in the UK is few and far between and is often a very controversial option, especially if it is thought that capacity is being taken away from general traffic. On the whole, the RAC Foundation believes that this traffic management measure can be effective if used in conjunction with schemes and localities that promote and facilitate car sharing. However, it is very positive to see some research on the vehicle flow mechanics of this much disputed traffic management approach. 

(Source: Menendez, M. and Daganzo, C. (2007) Effects of HOV lanes on freeway bottlenecks IN: Transportation Research Part B: Methodological. Volume 41, Issue 8, October 2007. p.809-822)

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Safety inequalities on UK road’s revealed

Britains most dangerous roads see ten times the death and injuries of the best roads according to new research from EuroRAP (European Road Safety Assessment Programme).

A short section of road in Lancashire (A682 from junction M65 to A65 at Long Preston) tops the list of the most dangerous roads, where nearly 100 people have been killed or seriously injured in the last decade. When all roads were looked at it was the simple, quick and cheap solutions (such as modern signing, hazard markings and improved junction layouts) that have had the most impact on reducing casualties. Vehicle activated were found to have an impact at about a third of sites. There is also evidence that the UK is falling behind other countries in terms of safety, but this annual review of improvements is central to improving our physical infrastructures. Lets hope that all local authorities seek to make use of this information and use it as appropriate. 

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