Road Traffic Law Enforcement

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2017 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the Second Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2015-16, Road traffic law enforcement, HC 518, and the Government response, HC 132.

Deaths on our roads have decreased over the past decade following sustained efforts to improve road safety. Nevertheless, in 2015, 1,730 people were killed on our roads and 22,144 seriously injured, many of them suffering life-changing consequences. That is the background against which the Select Committee on Transport carried out our inquiry into road traffic law enforcement. Our report was published in March 2016, and the Department responded in June.

There are three strands to road safety—education, engineering and enforcement—and they cut across Departments. Our report concentrates on enforcement, but inevitably touches on the other aspects. The National Police Chiefs Council told us that its task was to act in relation to the fatal four offences: inappropriate speed, drink and drug-driving, non-wearing of seat belts and driving while distracted, which mainly refers to the use of mobile phones but also involves other aspects.

Enforcement requires detection, which is implemented by a combination of specialist officers to apprehend offenders and the application of technology. Deterrence, which includes motorists’ perceptions of the likelihood of being caught, is an extremely important aspect of traffic law enforcement. Over the years, there has been greater reliance on technology than on specialist officers. We expressed great concern about the major reduction in specialised road policing officers, the number of whom fell from a full-time equivalent of 7,104 in 2005 to 4,356 by 2014. Between 2010 and 2014, there was a 23% decrease in their number. There are regional variations on those figures, reflecting the different decisions of the 43 separate police areas overseen by police and crime commissioners. They take their own individual decisions about what they think is operationally appropriate, but all of them do so in the context of deciding different priorities against a background of a reduction in spending. There is no Home Office guidance on the issue, so those decisions are taken in individual areas.

It is interesting to note that although overall detected traffic offences halved over that period, the number of offences related to causing death on the roads, which are always reported, did not fall. That leads to the question whether the reduction in reported offences means that driving standards have improved or that detection rates have fallen. It is an important question to ask. We ask that the Department assess the impact of that drastic reduction in specialist road police officers. It is an important matter that is often not recognised.

Speed can kill. Driving too fast for conditions was a contributory factor in 7,361 accidents in 2015, 167 of which were fatal and 1,380 of which caused serious injury. That represents 11% of all fatal accidents and 8% of serious accidents. Exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor in 5,272 accidents, 222 of which were fatal, and 1,152 causing serious injury. That constitutes 15% of fatal accidents and 7% of serious accidents. Behind every one of those figures and each of those statistics lies a death or a life changed, perhaps forever.

Some 90% of fixed penalty notices imposed for breaking the speed limit were camera-detected. Speed cameras are frequently controversial. We listened to the experiences about speed cameras that have been put in different places, considered the various responses and concluded that it is important that cameras are placed where they can improve safety and that their financing is transparent, with excess revenues being invested in improving local road safety rather than financially benefiting the Exchequer or local councils. The financing for fixed speed cameras has changed in recent years. Recent changes have caused some local authorities and partnerships to remove such cameras, but they can be extremely important in improving safety, so there must be a proper assessment of where they are placed and how effective they are. We said that we felt the Road Safety Trust should review how the cameras are working and what is the most effective way to deploy them.

Motorists seem to regard penalties imposed for average speeds as fairer than those levied for speed at the moment when the camera flashes. We noted the growth of diversionary courses as an alternative to speeding penalties, with drivers paying for the courses. We asked a number of questions about those courses. We need to know much more about how effective they are. There should be more transparency about how they are financed, and more consistency in their availability across the country. Drivers pay to go on the courses, and they might pay different amounts in different areas; different courses are available in different policing and local authority areas, and it is not entirely clear how effective they are. We felt that a proper assessment should be made.

Although the Department told us that it was issuing guidance, and Highways England is also looking at the issue, it is not entirely clear what works best to make our roads safer. We felt that specialist officers should be deployed in areas where high speed causes fatalities, and that that should be combined with an educational campaign. In many areas, an educational campaign must go together with enforcement.

Recently, there has been a great deal of publicity about the horrendous deaths caused by drivers using handheld mobile phones, which falls under the category of distraction in vehicle. A driver using a handheld mobile phone was recorded as a contributory factor in 440 accidents in 2015, 22 of which were fatal and 75 of which involved serious injury. The wider category of distraction in vehicle was a contributory factor in 2,920 accidents, 61 of which were fatal and 384 of which caused serious injuries.

It is of great concern that fixed penalty notices for using a handheld mobile phone while driving have decreased by 90% from 167,000 in 2006 to fewer than 17,000 in 2015. The Government now state that they are planning tougher penalties, which is welcome, but those penalties will be effective only if drivers believe that they will get caught for using their handheld phone.

[Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

I saw the statistics that my hon. Friend has just cited about the 90% reduction. Could the Committee identify what caused that reduction? When I read that, I could not believe it was an accurate figure.

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[Mrs Ellman]

My hon. Friend’s comments are extremely important. It seems to be about a reduction in detection rates and in officers on the roads, which is of great concern to us. When we spoke to police who gave evidence to our inquiry, they told us that they felt the use of handheld mobile phones was an important factor in relation to road safety—perhaps an even more serious one than drinking and driving. The issue must be flagged up as one of great concern on which further action needs to be taken.

Since the publication of our report, I have been approached by people with proposals for using technology to both deter and prevent the use of handheld mobile phones when driving. Some of the proposals were extremely interesting, including a proposal for technology that would switch off the possibility of using a handheld mobile phone while the car was in motion, except for emergency needs. Another proposal referred to technology to detect the use of a mobile phone while somebody was driving. Some of the people who spoke to me were going to meet Ministers to discuss the matter further. I urge the Minister to look at how technology can be used to make progress in this area. It is horrendous when we hear of people being killed—people in cars or pedestrians at the side of the road—because of a driver being distracted by a handheld mobile phone. It is a very serious matter. We should not wait for the statistics that I read out to increase so that the problem becomes even more evident than it is already. Such an important issue should be addressed.

Pedal cyclists and motorcyclists are vulnerable road users. In 2015, 100 cyclists were killed on the roads and more than 3,000 were seriously injured. In the same year, 365 motorcyclists were killed and more than 5,000 seriously injured. One of the concerns raised by cyclists who gave evidence in our inquiry was the lack of enforcement of traffic laws and the lack of consistency in reporting near misses—accidents that almost happened. It should always be remembered that for a cyclist, a near miss could mean near death. There does not seem to be consistency in applying road traffic laws in relation to cyclists, and there is no proper national collation of what happens in such incidents, so we call on the Department to investigate and try to get national information about what is happening in different places. That is extremely important.

There are also issues to do with the Department’s actions in relation to local authorities, which should be given the power to enforce civil regulations in moving traffic. The decriminalisation of parking offences shows what role local authorities can play. Enforcing civil regulations in moving traffic includes enforcing laws with regard to bus lanes, one-way systems and ignoring box junction markings. It is regrettable that the Department has again refused to activate part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. It is not clear why the Government keep refusing, despite repeated requests. We were told that there was no call for it, but that is not correct because local authorities, among others, repeatedly ask for the measure to be activated. The provision is already has already been passed into law, so I would be grateful for further information from the Minister on why the Departments feels it cannot implement that part of the Act. It has already been agreed to, and it would have significant implications for local road management, for road safety and for the saving of lives.

Drinking and driving do not mix. Drivers impaired by alcohol contributed to 4,788 accidents in 2015; 126 of those were fatal and 1,120 caused serious injuries. It is important that information is gathered on whether drivers involved in accidents who have been drinking but are below the legal limit are in fact impaired in their driving. If that information is not gathered at the moment, it should be. It might help us come to a reasoned assessment of whether the limits should be changed. It is also important that the impact of other jurisdictions’ decisions to lower the legal limit be assessed so that we can find out what impact that has made.

Wearing seat belts is extremely important. It is of great concern to know that 22% of car occupants who were killed in 2015 were not wearing seat belts. A major education campaign is required. Since 2014, cars sold in Europe have to have visual and audio warnings about seat belts. However, that applies to new cars, and it will take a long time for that to have an effect on our roads, so I call for a major campaign on that. It could be done simply and could save lives.

Heavy goods vehicles and road freight present their own challenges. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s use of technology and its intelligence-based approach bring real benefits. Joint working in London and the south-east is particularly impressive. We saw how impressive that was in London. It is important that random checks are not abandoned, because they matter as well. The London safer lorry scheme should be assessed for wider application.

Issues surrounding the use of EU cross-border directives when non-UK drivers commit offences must be resolved. There has been a problem in that UK traffic law is based on charging the driver of a vehicle rather than the registered keeper, whereas the directive focuses on the keeper. The Government have been trying to resolve that issue, and we were told it would be resolved by May 2017. It is unclear how Brexit might affect that issue. What progress has been made in dealing with it? Again, this is to do with saving lives.

Penalties must be seen to be fair and consistent. When drivers are found to have been breaking road traffic laws, they should feel that the process is fair and that they were not simply caught in a random way. Since 2013, police officers have been able to issue fixed penalty notices for careless and inconsiderate driving offences. Specialist officers should be visible and act consistently in different parts of the country.

Road traffic law enforcement is essential, as our report has shown. It is, however, part of a wider approach to road safety, including not only enforcement but education and engineering. Those three strands must work together, cutting across Government Departments. The welcome reduction in casualties over the past decade has come about because the Department has given road safety a consistent focus over many years and different Departments have worked together. The Minister has already indicated that he will act on some aspects of our report, and I welcome the interest and commitment that he has shown. I call on him to explain what further steps he will take to reduce the number of people who die or are maimed on our roads, and how he will work with other Departments and local government to achieve that.

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[Mrs Ellman]

This is very much ongoing business. I thank all hon. Members present for the important comments that they have made, and I thank members of the Select Committee, who have contributed so well—particularly the hon. Member for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart) who, as hon. Members will have heard, made insightful and informed comments. We will continue to work together. I say to the Minister that resources are needed to make progress, and that a cross-departmental approach is required. If it is Government policy not to have targets, how will we know whether sufficient progress has been made? The Transport Committee will continue to pursue all of these issues.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the Second Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2015-16, Road traffic law enforcement, HC 518, and the Government response, HC 132.