Category: IAM RoadSmart

1. IAM comment on 2012 road casualty statistics‏

   Posted on 1:08pm Friday 28th Jun 2013

   The latest Department for Transport road casualty statistics released today show a decrease in road casualty figures, the lowest number since records began in 1926.
    
   • The number of people killed in road accidents reported to the police decreased to 1,754 in 2012 from 1,901 in 2011 (a fall of 8%).
   • The number of people seriously injured decreased by 0.4% to 23,039 in 2012 from 23,122 in 2011. The total number of casualties in road accidents reported to the police in 2012 was 195,723, down 4% from the 2011 total.
   • Total reported child causalities (ages 0-15) fell by 11% to 17,251 in 2012.
   • The number of children killed or seriously injured also fell, decreasing by 6% to 2,272 in 2012 from 2,412 in 2011.
   • There were 420 pedestrian deaths, 7 per cent fewer than in 2011.
   • The number of cyclists killed rose by 10 per cent from 107 in 2011 to 118 in 2012.
   • The number of car occupant fatalities in 2012 decreased to 801, down 9 per cent compared with 2011. The number of seriously injured car occupants in accidents reported to the police fell by 1 per cent to 8,232. Total reported casualties among car users were 119,708, 4 per cent fewer than 2011.
   • The number of motorcycle users killed fell by 9 per cent from 362 in 2011 to 328 in 2012. The number of users reported as seriously injured decreased by 5 per cent to 5,000. Total reported motorcycle user casualties decreased by 4 per cent to 19,310 in 2012. Motorcycle traffic decreased by 2 per cent over the same period.  

   IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: “IAM welcomes a return to the long-term improvements in road safety that the UK has been rightly recognised for. 

   Last year was a clear warning for government that complacency in road safety cost lives.”   “The IAM has always warned that failing to match investment in segregated facilities with the growing numbers of cyclists would lead to an increase in death and serious injury and this worrying trend continues.  A ten per cent increase in cycling deaths in a year when the weather suppressed cycling trips is a real red danger signal that simply cannot be ignored.”  

   www.iam.org.uk

2. IAM: Improved pedestrian safety design will help high risk children on the roads‏

   Posted on 8:52am Wednesday 19th Jun 2013

   Improved pedestrian safety design will help high risk children on the roads, says IAM 

   Today's report by AXA puts pedestrian safety under the spotlight, the IAM is asking the UK government and car makers to make pedestrian-friendly car fronts a top priority.  The government should be taking the lead in lobbying the European Commission and car manufacturers to make radical changes so that vulnerable road users can get the same five star protection as those sitting in the vehicle. 

   The number of deaths and serious injuries to car occupants fell by 524 in 2011 but amongst vulnerable road users they increased: 

   •           Pedestrians - 48 more killed, 254 more seriously injured  
   •           Cyclists - four fewer killed, 425 more seriously injured   Since 2006, car occupants' deaths and serious injuries have fallen by 35% but for pedestrians the fall is just 16 per cent, while cyclist deaths and serious injuries have increased by 31 per cent. 

   Car occupants benefit increasingly from the high standards of crash protection brought about by the Euro NCAP crash testing programme, ensuring more four and five-star cars than ever are on the market. Improvements to the front of cars that would benefit pedestrians and cyclists in a collision have simply not kept pace. 

   Research by IAM shows that the average Euro NCAP rating for car occupants in super minis in the last three years is eighty-two per cent while for pedestrians it is much lower, at 53 per cent. There needs to be a new focus on bringing pedestrian safety up to the level now enjoyed by car occupants. 

   IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “While the people in the car are much safer, in the case of a crash with a child pedestrian or cyclist, the front of the car is not as forgiving. Much more can and should be done through car design to minimise the damage caused by hard metal on soft tissue.”

3. Everyone wins if L drivers are allowed on the motorway, says IAM

   Posted on 1:09pm Saturday 15th Jun 2013

   Young drivers must be allowed to gain early motorway driving experience, according to road safety charity the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

   With a green paper on learning to drive due to be published later this month, the IAM are calling on the government to ensure that any new system includes allowing supervised L drivers onto our motorways.   Motorways are our safest roads and many countries including Australia and the USA already allow their use by learner drivers, often with few restrictions.  

   Allowing supervised learner drivers on the motorway would help them avoid some of the most common mistakes such as driving too close and centre lane hogging.    Very few drivers on the motorway today have had any training on how to use them – they learn by building up experience and from their mistakes – this is far from ideal.   Learner drivers are already a safe group on normal roads.  While motorway lessons may not be mandatory, a relaxation would allow those who are most likely to use their local motorway the chance to build up some life saving experience and knowledge.  

   IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Human error is the main contributory factor in 71% of injury crashes on motorways and surveys suggest drivers often lack confidence on motorway use.  This measure, plus widely available refresher and modular courses on motorway driving should be encouraged to help everyone use them from a position of knowledge and confidence.  The outcome should be fewer incidents, fewer injuries and fewer delays.”

4. IAM response to careless driving announcement‏

   Posted on 7:15am Thursday 6th Jun 2013

   Institute of Advanced Motorists director of policy and research Neil Greig said: "This is a major change in traffic law enforcement and the IAM is concerned that issuing fixed penalty tickets for careless driving downplays the seriousness of the offence.

   Careless covers a wide range of poor to reckless driving behaviour that often merits further investigation. 

   "This could free up traffic police time and allow them to maintain a higher profile. But without traffic cops out on the road to enforce this new approach it will have little impact on road safety."

5. ROAD HOGS FACING FINES AND POINTS

   Posted on 8:26am Wednesday 5th Jun 2013

   Drivers who hog the middle lane or tailgate other cars face on-the-spot  fines of £100 and three points on their licence under plans unveiled  today.

   Police are also expected to get powers to issue instant fixed penalty notices for not giving way at a junction or using the wrong lane at a  roundabout. Details of crackdown on anti-social motoring are due to be released by the Government in a statement to Parliament this morning.

   Transport minister Stephen Hammond told the Daily Telegraph: "Careless drivers are a menace and their negligence puts innocent people's lives  at risk. "That is why we are making it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers by allowing them to immediately issue a fixed penalty notice  rather than needing to take every offender to court. We are also increasing penalties for a range of driving offences to a level which reflects their seriousness and which will ensure that they  are consistent with other similar penalty offences."

   Until now such activity has generally gone unpunished because of the bureaucracy involved in prosecuting a case. A motorist has to be stopped by a police officer, a summons issued and evidence presented in court. Other changes being brought forward by the Government include increasing  the fine for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving or not wearing a seat belt from £60 to £100.

   The fixed penalty for driving without insurance is expected to double from £100 to £200. AA president Edmund King said: "An increase in the standard motoring fixed penalty fine will help deter those who commit motoring offences including mobile phone use. We are also pleased to see that at long last new powers and fines will be given to the police to tackle the top three pet hates of drivers - tailgaters, mobile phone abusers and middle-lane hogs."

   IAM comment:

   Institute of Advanced Motorists director of policy and research Neil Greig said: "This is a major change in traffic law enforcement and the IAM is concerned that issuing fixed penalty tickets for careless driving downplays the seriousness of the offence. Careless covers a wide range of poor to reckless driving behaviour that often merits further investigation.

   "This could free up traffic police time and allow them to maintain a higher profile. But without traffic cops out on the road to enforce this new approach it will have little impact on road safety."