“It will not be possible to prosecute a company where the failings are at junior management levels”

New road safety legislation set for winter introduction
The much-heralded Road Safety Bill is reaching the end of the road on its Parliamentary journey and is due to become law later this year.

Hopes had been high that the Bill, which has been on the table for more than two years, would have become law in the first half of this year (RoadSafe: winter 2005/06). But the Bill now looks set to reach the statute book before the end of the year with a Department for Transport spokesman telling RoadSafe: “The Bill has completed its House of Commons committee stage. It then moves to report stage and then third reading and it is hoped to gain royal ascent before the end of the year.”

The Bill contains a raft of tough new penalties aimed at improving road safety and cutting the toll of deaths and injuries in road crashes.

Measures set for introduction include:

• The creation of a new offence of causing death by careless driving, with a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment
• The creation of a new offence of causing death when driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, with a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment
• Increasing the penalty for use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving from a £30 fine to a £60 fine and three penalty points
• Flexible speeding fines with reduced penalties for drivers caught just above the speed limit and higher penalties for motorists significantly above it
• Nationwide speed awareness courses as an alternative to a £60 fixed penalty speeding fine
• Rehabilitation schemes with support for so-called alcolocks for drink-drivers

Corporate manslaughter bill faces further delay
Companies whose gross negligence leads to the death of employees or members of the public will face unlimited fines, following the publication of the long-awaited Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill.

Under current law, a company can only be convicted of corporate manslaughter if there is enough evidence to find a single senior person guilty. This, says the Home Office, does not reflect the reality of modern corporate life and to date, only seven small organisations have been convicted.

The proposed new criminal offence, which has been a long time in planning, addresses this key deficit by enabling the courts to consider the overall picture of how an organisation’s activities were managed by its senior managers, rather than focusing on the actions of one individual.

The offence will look at the overall management of an activity within an organisation. It will not be possible to prosecute a company where the failings are at junior management levels. The Government says it will look to refine this definition during the Bill’s parliamentary passage, if a better way of achieving this can be found.

An organisation will be guilty of the new offence if someone has been killed as a result of the gross failure of an organisation’s senior managers for example to:

• Ensure safe working practices for their employees (for example, that staff are properly trained and equipment is in a safe condition)
• Maintain the safety of their premises (for example, ensuring that lifts are properly maintained and fire precautions taken)

It will also cover organisations providing goods and services to members of the public and the construction, use or maintenance of infrastructure or vehicles, or when operating commercially. The bill also takes the unprecedented step of lifting Crown immunity for the first time.

In its announcement, the Home Office also said that the new offence will be clearly linked to the standards required under existing health and safety laws. It is likely to be at least 12-18 months before the Bill becomes law.

Home Office Minister Gerry Sutcliffe says: “The UK has a very strong health and safety record. This is not about changing standards or imposing extra burdens on business, but supporting well managed companies by targeting those who are cutting costs and taking unjustified risks with people’s safety. “Publication of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill shows the Government’s commitment to bringing forward a criminal offence so that companies who have dismally failed to pay proper attention to people’s health and safety are bought to justice.”

New digital tachographs to boost road safety
Ten years of work and development, negotiation and regulation involving the transport industry, the UK government and the European Union have culminated in the introduction of digital tachographs on commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, coaches and some buses.

The safety-focused move means that all new models registered from 1 May and covered by the regulations must be equipped with digital tachographs to record the hours, speeds and distances travelled by lorries and their drivers. The technology replaces old analogue units first introduced in the 1980s. The Freight Transport Association welcomed the new technology with external affairs director Geoff Dossetter saying: “Over the next 10 years the entire European fleet of five million lorries will gradually switch to digital tachographs. This will result in a comprehensive training programme for drivers, managers and back office staff but the result will be a more efficient means of recording the hours that drivers work.

“In the UK, the lorry is the safest vehicle on the road, involved in about half as many accidents per vehicle mile travelled than the car. The new units will play their part in ensuring that drivers do not exceed their permitted hours of working.”

Replacing the old-fashioned paper-based data analysis system is an on-line system with data stored on both the new-style tachograph unit and on each driver’s smart card, which are available from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

The vehicle unit can store up to one year’s worth of data and the driver’s smart card can store up to 28 days of driver-related information. Operators are legally obliged to store data for at least 12 months. In the event of a crash, data collected is likely to prove invaluable in proving innocence or guilt. Information collected includes journey distance and time, operating mode (driving or resting), who was driving and when and vehicle speed by the second.

However, Robin Dickeson, manager, commercial vehicle affairs at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, says some companies are unsure how the new rules will impact on their businesses. He says: “We’re getting queries over the types of vehicle covered and when people should use ‘digitachs’. The answer is that if a vehicle type needs an old-style tachograph now, you’ll need to use a ‘digitach’ and driver’s smart card in a new vehicle of the same type after May 1. Obviously, the details will vary from one firm to another, depending on the way each operates.”

Further information is available at: Website: www.vosa.gov.uk

Smoking ban should be included in health and safety policies
Companies should tighten their health and safety policies to incorporate a ban on smoking in company vehicles, according to leading contract hire and leasing companies.

A ban on smoking in public places, including light and heavy goods vehicles and minibuses used for hire purposes, came into force in Scotland in March this year. A similar ban is due to come into force in England in summer 2007. Lex Vehicle Leasing, Britain’s largest contract hire company, has taken a strategic decision to supply all new vans in the UK, not just those in Scotland, with a sticker which reinforces a smoking ban in the vehicle, even though it is not obliged to do so by law.

“Taking into account the ever-tightening duty-of-care legislation we would advise that all companies think about a complete smoking ban”

Managing director Jon Walden says: “We know there are health and safety issues surrounding smoking in any vehicle and taking into account the ever-tighter duty-ofcare legislation we would advise that all companies think about a complete smoking ban. “As part of our annual fleet survey we asked companies whether they thought it was dangerous for company car drivers to be allowed to smoke in their company cars. 154 companies responded and 76.6% agreed with the statement and 23.4% disagreed, which suggests that a smoking ban is already on the cards inside many companies.”

While the Health Bill containing the legislation for England has yet to be finalised, the government has promised not to ban smoking in company cars. But, vehicles used by more than one employee or as a “place of work”, such as a delivery van, will come under the law banning smoking in public places. Meanwhile, Masterlease says businesses should push ahead with outlawing smoking in company cars. The company says businesses should re-write their health and safety manuals in favour of a total ban now rather than waiting to be told to do so in the future.

A spokesman says: “If passive smoking is an issue in pubs and bars, then it is going to become an issue in an even more confined space of a vehicle shared with work colleagues, whether they be business associates who share lifts to meetings or plumbers and refuse collectors.” He adds: “Who is to say that those exposed to passive smoking could not issue their own civil actions against companies who fail to put in the relevant guidelines?” Masterlease, which has more than 100,000 vehicles on its books in the UK, operates such a ban for its own staff and believes that businesses could save money in the long term thanks to proactive action ahead of any future legislation.

For example, driving while smoking could see drivers punished for failing to have proper control of the vehicle, an offence which is due to become endorsable by three penalty points, the same as a fixed penalty notice for speeding, says Masterlease.

BT was one of the first companies to publicly announce a ban in all vehicles following the Scottish legislation. Dr Paul Litchfield, BT’s chief medical officer, says: “We are trying to promote good health among our staff, which is why we are offering support to help people give up smoking. I hope this will encourage people to stop.”

Road safety behind new pan-European driving licence
Improvements in road safety is one of the reasons given by the European Union for approving the introduction of a pan-European driving licence.

The pan-European credit card-size driving licence is to be introduced to replace the more than 110 different licences currently in use across the European Union. The Directive will enter into force by the end of 2006 and therefore be applicable at the latest at the end of 2012. Following the Directive’s introduction, member states will have up to 26 years to replace the existing driving licences.

“The European driving licence is of vital importance for road safety and for the fight against fraud”

In future, the validity of driving licences will be limited. The new rules foresee a 10-year validity period for motorcycle and car licences, which member states may raise to 15 years. Bus and lorry drivers will have to get their licences renewed every five years rather than every 10 and will have to declare that they are in good health. Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot says: “The European driving licence is of vital importance for road safety and for the fight against fraud. It will make travel around Europe easier and without bureaucratic difficulties. All drivers will have clear, modern licences that will be accepted in all member states.”

The EU says that the new driving licence will ensure improved road safety through better definitions of the scope of application of the different driving licence categories. It will also, says the EU, prevent “licence tourism”, where a driver who loses their licence in one country simply gets a licence in another, and uses it in their home country.

The Directive provides for the introduction of a licence for mopeds and establishes the principle of progressive access to bigger and more powerful motorcycles. Direct access to the latter category will only be possible at the age of 24 after a theoretical and practical test, instead of 21 as at present. People who want to ride the most powerful motorcycles before they are 24 will need to gain two years’ experience on lighter types. The new rules also set minimum standards for driving examiners. The UK government attempted to block the increase in the age from 21 for riding more powerful motorbikes, but it was supported by other member states. The Department for Transport believes that the most important issue from a road safety point of view is experience, not age.

Motorists may face an EU eye test at 60
Drivers could face eye tests at 60 under proposals drawn up by the European Commission. This would change the current system where motorists in Britain declare they are fit to drive at 70.

Whether such tests would be mandatory or voluntary would be left to member states, which have also been urged to tighten up other vision requirements by Brussels experts. The EU’s eyesight working group has also called for tests to be devised to assess how motorists perform at dawn and dusk.

Medicine danger warning to drivers urged to be improved
More than three million motorists use medicines that could impair their driving, according to the RAC Foundation.

Now, the Foundation has joined forces with Andrew Dismore MP to call for simpler warning labels on medicines that don’t mix with driving. Most drivers are unaware that over-the-counter and prescription medicines can affect their concentration and reaction speeds. However, more than 100 over-the-counter medicines can affect driving. They include:

• Decongestants that can cause dizziness and anxiety
• Antihistamines that can cause sleepiness and delayed reaction times. In fact, the recommended dose of some old-fashioned antihistamines can have a worse effect on driving than being over the alcohol limit
• Other medicines that can cause blurred vision and loss of concentration

Mr Dismore says: “Clearer labelling seems an excellent way both to alert the public to the unexpected hazards of what they may be taking to cure their ills, and to provide a clear safety message, triggering the need to consider risks before driving. A red triangle marking would stand as an unambiguous warning that the ability to drive or work safely might be impaired on taking the drug.”

The Foundation says that present labelling is very confusing: the wording can vary between medicines; some manufacturers put the warning only on the leaflet inside the packet, which is easily lost; warnings are often in very small print. And there will always be some people who don’t think the warning applies to them. The RAC Foundation has previously called for a traffic light system, which shows a red light on drugs likely to affect a driver’s reactions, an amber light on drugs which may make it advisable not to drive, and a green light on drugs which are considered safe for motorists.

DfT commissions study on UK use of eCall
The Department for Transport has commissioned an in-depth study to look at the case for the UK development of eCall – the SOS emergency service call-out system which the European Commission wants to see fitted to all new cars from 2009.

“A Europe-wide feasibility study shows large potential benefits for eCall, but it is not yet clear how these can be translated to the UK”

eCall is an in-vehicle service that combines GPS location with airbag sensors and mobile phone technology to automatically alert the emergency services to the location of an accident (RoadSafe: summer 2005). This could have benefits in reducing the effects of accidents that have occurred through more rapid response. The feature is already available on some vehicles in the UK. Systems from the likes of BMW, Fiat, Mercedes- Benz, Peugeot and Volvo operate via a third party, who then contacts the emergency services.

The European Parliament approved plans earlier this year for the mandatory fitting of eCall, which is predicted to save up to 2,500 lives a year on Europe’s roads and reduce the time waiting for emergency services after a road accident by up to 50%. The eCall system is based on the use of 112 (as an emergency number) and E112 (location information requirements in public wireless networks for emergency calls). A Europe-wide feasibility study shows large potential benefits for eCall but it is not yet clear how these can be translated to the UK, with its particular vehicle safety, road and traffic characteristics and its different approach to organising the emergency services.

The study, by SBD, an independent company providing specialist consultancy services in the design and development of automotive components and systems, will look at the specific UK business case for eCall and then establish whether there are any barriers to its deployment. It will also identify the opportunities eCall offers, especially if combined with other initiatives such as usagebased insurance. The SBD team will be consulting widely with industry players about the technology, service provision and business models, and with the emergency services about how eCall might deliver benefits in practice.

Drivers may have to drive all day with lights on
Drivers in the UK may be forced to drive all day with their lights on, even in the summer, if a road safety proposal the European Commission is considering becomes law in 2010.

However, driving with dipped headlights during the day will fuel petrol consumption and increase exhaust emissions, warns the AA Motoring Trust. An alternative, Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lights, fitted to new cars will produce a negligible increase in pollution while increasing the visibility of road vehicles and reducing accidents. But, making older cars retrofit costly LED lights or use dipped headlights is not an option, says the AA Trust. According to Germany’s Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), using dipped headlights increases fuel consumption by 3%, while LED lights reduces that to 0.3%.

“Most people make sure that children use some kind of restraint when travelling on the road, but it is vitally important to use the right one”

Austria is the first West European country outside Scandinavia to make it compulsory for all vehicles to drive with dipped headlights during the day. Since 15 April, that law has been enforced with a E15 fine. The European Commission is considering a similar law across the union, a move supported by RoadSafe.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA Motoring Trust says: “The Trust would support moves to make daytime running lights a mandatory fitting on new cars. These lights should be less bright than dipped headlamps, but brighter than side lamps, and should be LED-style lights with low energy consumption. These lights would be likely to make the roads safer by allowing road users to distinguish easily cars that are on the move. “However, the Trust would not support a requirement that cars not fitted with daytime running lights should be required to drive with dipped headlamps on at all times. This would increase fuel consumption and mean that lamp bulbs had to be replaced much more frequently.

“It would also produce complaints about dazzle from many road users, while motorcyclists and cyclists would feel that they would become less conspicuous as a result. “Although this second requirement is looked upon as an interim measure until all cars have special daytime running lights, there is a risk that many drivers of new cars will feel that the mandated LED lights are less conspicuous than dipped headlamps and choose to use them as well. If this happens, the whole idea of energyefficient, safety-optimised daytime running lights will fail.”

New seatbelt and child restraint rules to cut road deaths
Children up to 11 years old will have to be strapped into child car seats, booster seats and booster cushions under new regulations due to come into effect in September so that parents and carers have time to prepare.

The new rules, laid down in a European Union directive which the UK government is adopting, will result, it is estimated, in more than 2,000 fewer child deaths or injuries a year.

Announcing the new regulations, Road Safety Minister Stephen Ladyman says: “Most people make sure that children use some kind of restraint when travelling on the road, but it is vitally important to use the right one; and not to use an adult belt before the child is big enough. “Small children need the protection that baby seats and child seats are designed to provide. Seatbelts are designed for adults. Children who have grown out of child seats still need to use booster seats and booster cushions.”

In summary, the new requirements are that:

• All children under three years old must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in any car or goods vehicle (except in the rear of a taxi if a child seat is not available)
• Children aged three or more years old and up to 135cms (approx 4ft 5 inches) in height – the average age for a child to reach that height in Britain is between 10 and 11 – must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in cars or goods vehicles fitted with seatbelts (few exceptions are permitted)
• Rear-facing baby seats must not be used in seats with active frontal air-bags
• Where seatbelts are provided, the number of people carried in the rear of vehicles may not exceed the number of seats available fitted with seatbelts or child restraints (to apply from May 2009)

Drivers are responsible for seatbelt wearing and use of the relevant child seat or booster by children under 14 years of age. Penalties for offenders remain at a £30 fixed penalty notice or a maximum fine of £500 if a case goes to court. RoadSafe welcomes the move with director Adrian Walsh saying: “Although these regulations will bring us into line with Europe, there is no reason why responsible drivers should not insist on all passengers wearing belts. It is staggering just how often they simply don’t bother – worse still many parents don’t use appropriate child seats or even allow young children to sit in the front of cars.”

Volvo has published a free Children In Cars booklet which has helpful tips and advice gained from Volvo’s Traffic Accident Research Team and crash testing at its award-winning Safety Centre.

RoadSafe backs lighter evenings call to cut road deaths
RoadSafe has backed calls from RoSPA for lighter evenings all year round.

RoSPA wants parliament to support a three-year time trial that, it says, would save around 450 deaths and serious injuries each year. The Lighter Evenings (Experiment) Bill proposes that in England clocks should stay one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the winter and two hours ahead in the summer. Other countries in the UK would be left to make their own decision on whether to join the experiment, which would run from October 2006 to October 2009.

Under the current system, road casualty rates increase after the clocks are moved back to GMT at the end of October, with the arrival of darker evenings and worsening weather conditions. In 2004, road deaths rose from 269 in October to 300 in November and to 323 in December. Pedestrian deaths went up from 56 in October to 76 in November and 78 in December and the overall casualty rate for road accidents also increased.

The new proposal would result in darker mornings, but an extra hour of evening daylight throughout the year. A report commissioned by the government showed that this would lead to around 450 fewer deaths and serious injuries, including between 104 to 138 fewer deaths.

Tired? Pull over and stop for a hot coffee – but not without a licence
Red tape aimed at late-night trouble spots is jeopardising road safety, according to the RAC Foundation.

Official government advice tells tired drivers to “drink two cups of coffee . . . and have a rest for 10-15 minutes to allow time for the caffeine to kick in” – but new licensing laws are forcing garages to stop selling hot food and drink at night.

“New licensing laws are forcing garages to stop selling hot food and drink at night”

Under the Licensing Act 2003, which came into force in November last year, any premises serving hot food and drink between 11pm and 5am must apply for a licence authorising the provision of “late night refreshment”. However, such a local authority licence costs hundreds of pounds and, says the Foundation, many smaller stores say the margins on sales of food and drink at night do not make it worthwhile to go through the complicated application process. Therefore, if a tired motorist asks for a coffee, or even a mug of hot water to make their own hot drink, a retailer without a licence cannot help without breaking the law.

Licence application fees include a one-off fee of up to £635, and an annual renewal fee of up to £350. Fees are based on rateable value, not the turnover of the food and drink operation, so many forecourts fall into the top fee band. Additional costs include the costs of advertising an application in a local newspaper (approximately £250), having plans professionally drawn up (to include all fire safety equipment), and the costs of any legal advice. The Foundation has called on the government to introduce an exemption so that forecourt stores can continue to provide “this important community service” and tired motorists can have easy access to a hot coffee to fight fatigue.

Kevin Delaney, head of road safety for the RAC Foundation, says: “A hot drink late at night can be a lifesaver. Motorists are less likely to take a break if garages stop serving hot food and drinks at night, and may be more likely to fall asleep at the wheel.”