Government unveils new measures to further improve road safety

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has unveiled a raft of measures to improve the safety of Britain’s roads, including US$3 million for research into driver education, including the possibility of giving learner drivers motorway experience with an instructor before taking their test.
December 22, 2015 Read time: 2 mins

The UK 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) has unveiled a raft of measures to improve the safety of Britain’s roads, including US$3 million for research into driver education, including the possibility of giving learner drivers motorway experience with an instructor before taking their test.

Other measures include a US$968,000 grant for police forces in England and Wales will fund more officers with drug recognition and impairment testing skills to enable more effective and targeted enforcement.

A grant of US$74 million over the next four years will support Bikeability cycle training in schools, helping to increase children’s road awareness, encouraging children to be healthy and active.

The government will also consult on changes to improve cycle safety to ensure sideguards are not removed from HGVs but remain permanently fitted. Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) for learner motorcyclists will be strengthened and there will be a consultation on a range of further proposals to support safer motorcycling.

Motorists who endanger lives by using hand held mobile phones while driving will face an increase from the current three penalty points to 4, while the fixed penalty notice will rise from US$140 to US$223. For larger vehicles such as HGVs where the consequences of an accident can be much more severe, the penalty will increase from the current three points to six and the fixed penalty notice will rise from US$140 to US$223.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Britain has some of the safest roads in the world but we are always looking to improve that record. Today we are delivering common sense proposals that balance tougher penalties for dangerous drivers with practical steps to help youngsters and other more vulnerable groups stay safe on our roads.”

The 6983 Freight Transport Association (FTA) has reacted positively to the proposals. Commenting on the statement, Christopher Snelling, FTA’s head of National & Regional Policy, commented: “Overall this appears to be a sensible range of measures that should further improve the UK’s comparatively good road safety record.”
 
Snelling concluded: “It is incremental improvements such as these, along with the hard work of road freight operators that have contributed to the fact that half as many HGVs are involved in fatal incidents today as compared with 10 years ago.”

A series of consultations on the specific proposals announced today will follow in 2016.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cross border enforcement a logical step
    January 30, 2012
    The logic supporting a cross-border enforcement Directive for the European Union (EU) is both detailed and compelling. The White Paper on European transport policy published in 2001 included the ambitious objective of reducing by 50 per cent by 2010 the number of people killed on the roads of the EU. But since 2005 the reduction in the number of road deaths has been slowing down: overall, the period from 2001 until 2009 saw the number of fatalities decrease by 36 per cent. According to Community indicators,
    Read More
  • Align transport infrastructure needs with ITS offerings
    July 19, 2012
    Kallistratos Dionelis, General Secretary of ASECAP, ponders the absence of creativity and innovation in the road management sector. 'Traditional' road managers and ITS specialists share many of the same ultimate goals and yet, he says, a common understanding of what technology can achieve is still conspicuously absent.
    Read More
  • Align transport infrastructure needs with ITS offerings
    July 19, 2012
    Kallistratos Dionelis, General Secretary of ASECAP, ponders the absence of creativity and innovation in the road management sector. 'Traditional' road managers and ITS specialists share many of the same ultimate goals and yet, he says, a common understanding of what technology can achieve is still conspicuously absent.
    Read More
  • Align transport infrastructure needs with ITS offerings
    July 19, 2012
    Kallistratos Dionelis, General Secretary of ASECAP, ponders the absence of creativity and innovation in the road management sector. 'Traditional' road managers and ITS specialists share many of the same ultimate goals and yet, he says, a common understanding of what technology can achieve is still conspicuously absent.
    Read More

Highlighted Content