One good news story about road safety is that since 2003 annual road deaths have been falling. In fact, in 2008 and 2009 the reduction was by several hundred each year, and in 2010 it fell by as much as 17%.

However, that’s where the good news pretty much ends. The government’s latest figures for 2011 show a 3% rise in deaths, from 1,850 to 1,901.

Disturbingly, child road deaths rose by 9% to 60 and, as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) points out, the overall number of child casualties barely changed between 2010 and 2011, with 19,474 recorded. Read Full Article »

A 50% increase in speeding fines is on the cards, and the government wants to include careless driving as a fixed penalty offence, with the offer of training available.

A consultation has recently started into these proposals and runs until September.

They include raising the current fine for endorsable fixed penalty offences from £60 to £90.

The Department for Transport says the level of fine has remained the same since 2000 and price inflation has subsequently reduced their real value.

Educational courses are now coming in at around £90 a pop, so there’s a risk that people may start to choose a fine (and penalty points) rather than sit in a room for a couple of hours learning about what a big lump of metal can do to someone when it’s travelling at 40mph. Read Full Article »

A recent High Court decision possibly shines a tiny chink of light on the working relationship between North Wales police and Vosa.

Situated at the gateway of most of the freight traffic coming into the country from Ireland, you can imagine the force has probably seen its fair share of less than scrupulous hauliers sending knackered vehicles and even more knackered drivers across the sea.

And for that reason it probably jumped at the chance to impound four vehicles belonging to operator O’Leary International after officers discovered drivers were in possession of false letters of attestation, duplicate tacho cards and a mouth full of fibs. Read Full Article »

June marks the start of a month-long enforcement campaign by the police to crack down on summer drink driving, and this year the emphasis is on male drivers.

It coincides with a survey carried out which found that men are three times more likely to regularly drink and drive as their female counterparts: 9% do so every month, compared with 3% of women.

Two in five men (40%) and almost a third of women (30%) admit to getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol in the past year. Read Full Article »

As half term approaches and road safety charity Brake urges drivers to slow down to protect children, it’s interesting to note what a recent report says about our driving behaviour and that of drivers in the US.

What’s the difference between us and the Americans? Apparently, our friends across the Atlantic won’t take their foot off the pedal, whereas we stamp ours down much more harshly.

Driver performance and safety consultants GreenRoad also found that December is the safest month for fleet drivers in the UK, with January the worst. Stateside, there is hardly any difference from month to month. Read Full Article »