Agenda item

Report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport

6.1       The Assistant Director, Communities introduced the report. The total number of road accidents where someone was killed or seriously injured (KSI) has increased over the last reporting period. However, the number of fatalities has decreased. An analysis of the cause of these accidents shows that 90% are due to driver behaviour. This factor drives the rationale behind the work programmes that have been put in place by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) to reduce the number of accidents.

6.2       The Road Safety Team receives around four thousand enquiries a year and is made up of three sub teams, whose functions are described in appendix 3 of the report. The three sub teams are:

·        Road Safety Engineering Team

·        Road Safety Education Team

·        Local Traffic and Safety Team

6.3       The Road Safety Team is currently consulting with the Sussex Police on the priorities to spend an additional £125,000 provided by Public Health for speed limit reductions. This continues the work of a wider countywide review of speed limits. A further allocation of £1 million has been made available from the Public Health budget to develop a programme aimed at reducing road accidents and KSIs through education and developing a better evidence base.

KSI Definition and Reporting

6.4       The Department for Transport (DfT) definition is used for KSI reporting and this includes fractures, burns and hospitalisations as a result of a road accident. Sussex Police are working to make reporting more consistent by introducing accident classifications which are input via a tablet device. This removes the reliance on the reporting officer to accurately describe or classify the type of injury.

6.5       It is accepted that there is a degree of under reporting of accidents where people may report an injury later when they visit a hospital or GP. If a person does not report an injury to the Police, it will not be included in the statistics. The Public Health team are aware of this issue, but this is the same nationally. The DfT are looking at the issue of under reporting of road accidents as they believe only 80% of serious injuries and 75% of slight injuries are being reported. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the UK has one of the most robust accident reporting systems in the world.

Impact of the Ageing Population on KSIs

6.6       The number of elderly residents in the County and the number of pedestrian injuries is not a significant factor in the increase of KSI figures, which are in line with national trends. The SSRP does not have precise figures on the number of elderly drivers, but it is thought that the proportion of elderly drivers is not the reason for the increase in KSI figures. However, as the population demographic changes and the number of elderly drivers increases, it may become a growing issue.

6.7       At present elderly drivers over the age of 70 have to self-certify that they are fit to drive every three years. Doctors will refer people to the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) if they think someone is not fit to drive. Sussex Police have a small team of two officers who visit and talk to elderly drivers about their fitness to drive.

Approaches to KSI Reduction

6.8       The Committee noted that KSI figures are still going up despite the effort and resources that have gone into road safety. It is the Committee’s view that the work that is being undertaken to reduce road accidents, does not appear to be producing the desired reduction in road accident injures. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport commented that the trend in five year rolling averages shows a reduction in KSI figures. However, in comparison with last year’s figures the number of KSIs has gone up. The Dft believe there are a number of factors, such as the recession and weather conditions, that have led to this increase nationally.

Enforcement

6.9       The Committee considers that absence of enforcement by the Police as one of the key issues in road safety. Enforcement shapes driver behaviour which is a key element in reducing road accidents. It is the Committee’s view that this lack of enforcement is not being addressed and is evident in the many petitions requesting speed limit reductions, the provision of road crossings and other road safety measures that go to Lead Member meetings. Often the Council will say no to these requests, which entail a lot of officer time and resources that could be used more effectively elsewhere.

6.10     The Committee commented that with the prospect of declining capital and revenue budgets in the future, ESCC will have less ability to assess and implement traffic calming and other road safety engineering schemes. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport commented that it is also likely that Sussex Police will have less resources for road safety enforcement in the future as policing priorities change.

6.11     Past Police enforcement campaigns have had an impact on KSI figures. The Committee asked if it would be possible to spend £330,000 of the £1million Public Health funding on a high profile enforcement campaign to see what the impact on KSIs would be. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport commented that the impact of enforcement on driver behaviour is time limited. Usually the change in driver behaviour is temporary (6-9 months) whilst enforcement activity is taking place. The key to reducing KSI figures will be interventions that bring about a permanent change in driver behaviour.

Driver Behaviour

6.12     It is the Committee’s view that if driver behaviour is the major cause of accidents, then this needs to be targeted through education and enforcement. Driver behaviour includes aspects such as excessive speed, substance misuse, inexperience, and new factors such as the use of mobile devices whilst driving.

6.13     The work of the SSRP is focussed around changing driver behaviour and working with vulnerable groups such as young drivers, cyclists, and motorcycle users. Following recent budget savings, ESCC does not financially contribute to the work of the SSRP. The majority of SSRP funding comes from the surplus generated from driver awareness training programmes. The Road Safety Team makes a non-monetary contribution to the SSRP with one full time equivalent (FTE) post working on the delivery of SSRP programmes.

Public Health Programme Work.

6.14     The Committee noted that a joint Scrutiny Board has been established to enable Scrutiny input into the three year Public Health funded programme to reduce road accidents and improve road safety. The Programme will review previous road safety work as well as including input from the Scrutiny Committee.

6.15     RESOLVED: It was resolved to agree the recommendations of the report to:

Note the progress made by the Road Safety Team and support the progress made with the SSRP and in working with local Community Safety Partnerships.