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In addition, as Roadsafe went to press, the government was due to publish its long-awaited draft Bill that will pave the way for a new offence of corporate manslaughter. Both the Road Safety Bill and the draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill were among 32 Bills and eight draft Bills announced in last month’s Queen’s Speech, which outlined the legislation due to be considered in the new Parliamentary session. It is virtually certain that the well-trailed Road Safety Bill will reach the statute book in the new session of Parliament, which is expected to be curtailed by a general election likely to be held in May. However, the much-hyped, but equally long-delayed corporate killing legislation is unlikely to become law prior to a general election. The wide-ranging Road Safety Bill contains a wide variety of measures some of which are aimed at tightening up existing legislation. Three of the most significant measures focus on increasing the penalties for using hand-held mobile phones while driving, the introduction of speed awareness courses for repeat offenders – both measures highlighted in Roadsafe: summer 2004 – and graduated speeding penalties. Road Safety Bill: hand-held mobile phones In December 2003, legislation was introduced banning the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving, with offenders facing a £30 fixed penalty notice or a fine on conviction of up to £1,000 or £2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles and vehicles adapted to carry eight or more people (Roadsafe: winter 2003/04). Now the Department for Transport plans to toughen the sentence to make the offence subject to an endorsement of three penalty points and a £60 fixed penalty. Meanwhile, after a number of prosecutions and fixed penalty notices for drivers caught using hand-held mobiles and one van driver who admitted causing death by dangerous driving while using his mobile phone being jailed for three years, it is likely that within the next year the first company could be prosecuted under the legislation for “aiding and abetting” the use of a mobile phone by an employee while at the wheel. A prosecution is likely to result in a fine of around £2,500 and a bout of unwelcome publicity.
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has already outlined a “fairer” system of penalties for motorists who are caught speeding. The plan is to introduce a reduced penalty for motorists not far above the speed limit and a higher penalty for those who are significantly above it. The flexible points system is being seen as an attempt to diffuse growing driver anger over the use of speed cameras and ensure that thousands of motorists are not banned from the roads for relatively minor infringements.At the moment, drivers breaking the speed limit receive three points on their licence regardless of the gravity of an offence. Anybody who accumulates 12 points, or commits four speeding offences within three years, suffers an automatic ban. Ministers are concerned that motorists who need their driving licences for work are losing their livelihoods. The Road Safety Bill reveals how penalties imposed on speeding motorists would vary between £40 and two penalty points for the less serious offences, up to £100 and six points for the most serious (see table). The lower penalty would not apply to people speeding in 20mph speed limits. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling says the graduated system of penalties for speeding is designed to be more effective and appropriate than the current “one size fits all” approach.“The police would continue to enforce speed limits rigorously and motorists will always need to be aware that speeding is highly dangerous and if they are caught they will face a fine, points on their licences and disqualification if they persist,” he says.
drink-driving.”
The Bill outlines the government’s plan for introducing nationwide speed awareness courses giving speeding motorists an alternative to a £60 fixed penalty fine. The courses would be offered to first-time offenders in the lower speeding category – at their own expense – in lieu of the two point penalty (see above).The courses – which are already being run by a number of police forces, some in conjunction with local authorities including Thames Valley, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, Avon and Somerset, Lancashire and Northamptonshire – are designed to improve driving skills, attitude and behaviour, in order to enhance the safety of motorists and other road users (Roadsafe: summer 2004). Speed is claimed to be one of the single biggest causes of road traffic collisions and it is hoped that educating drivers will address what appears to be a growing culture of acceptance of speeding and speeding penalties.Courses may also be available for motorists facing convictions for careless driving and other offences.RoadSafe has backed the launching of a national scheme, with director Adrian Walsh saying: “Following the success of national driver improvement schemes, rapid progress should be made to rolling out speed awareness schemes in all areas.” Road Safety Bill: drink-driving The government has consistently ruled out demands to tighten the existing drink-drive limit, but it is promoting the introduction of rehabilitation schemes with support for so-called alcolocks. In 2003, there was a total of 560 drink-drive-related deaths, the highest number for seven years. The Department for Transport figures did reveal a fall in the total number of casualties involved in drink-drive accidents in 2003 to 19,010, but the figure is still higher than it was 13 years ago. The data prompted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to renew its call for the drink-drive limit to be cut from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml. Such a move could save 50 lives and 250 serious injuries a year, it claims. The Society has also called for the police to be given wider powers to breath test as it believes people would be less inclined to flout the law if they feared they could be tested anywhere and at any time. Roadside evidential breath testing is expected to be allowed when the legislation reaches the statute book.
Road Safety Minister David Jamieson says: “Over 3,000 people are killed and seriously injured by drink-drivers every year and we know that a staggering 20% of perpetrators [around 100,000 drivers are convicted of drink-driving annually] are repeat offenders. Drivers who have been banned in the past could have the alcohol lock device fitted to stop them driving even after half a pint or a small glass of wine. “Alcohol lock programmes in other countries have worked well with repeat drink-drivers.”The alcohol lock device fits into a car’s ignition and the driver must take a breath test to check blood alcohol levels – if they are too high then the car will not start. The technology also includes a random testing function, which monitors the driver en route to make sure they have not consumed alcohol since starting the car. The primary purpose of alcohol locks is to prevent convicted drink drivers from repeating the behaviour. It consists of a small box about the size of a car radio that is attached by a coiled cord to a sample head and mouthpiece. The alcohol lock limit is usually set at around 20mg/100ml so that the device will not be triggered by small amounts of alcohol in certain foodstuffs and medicines.Several states in the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden operate alcohol lock programmes. Other countries in the EU, including Belgium, France, Germany, Norway and Spain, are also undertaking alcohol lock trials. Corporate killing The government’s long-expected commitment to bringing new corporate manslaughter legislation to the statute book was due to move a step closer as Roadsafe went to press. The Home Office will publish a draft Bill to introduce a new offence of corporate manslaughter before Christmas, a spokesman told Roadsafe. However, with a tight legislative timetable due to the likelihood of a general election being held in May it is unlikely that the complex Bill will become law until 2006.Nevertheless the spokesman said: “We remain firmly committed to reforming this area of the law. However, it involves complex questions that need to be resolved.“We had expected to settle our position and produce proposals by now but working these issues through has taken longer than expected. It is a very complex area of law and it is crucial we get the issues of accountability right, both in respect of which organisations the offence should apply to and how it should apply within such organisations.”Under current corporate manslaughter legislation, prosecutors have to prove a single director was negligent in the event of a serious or fatal accident. That has proved virtually impossible and has thwarted a number of attempted prosecutions so the new corporate killing legislation is being drafted to target companies. Road Safety Bill: other measuresThe government’s Road Safety Bill includes a raft of other measures including: powers to provide road safety grants to local authorities; re-testing for repeat offenders; retention of drink-drive offence data; the launch of a drink-drive rehabilitation scheme; prohibition of speed enforcement detection and jamming devices; speed exemptions for emergency vehicles; increased penalties for dangerous driving, careless driving, using vehicles in dangerous condition, non-use of rear seatbelts by children and failing to identify the driver; improving information on driving instructors; motorway rest areas; digital tachographs and enforcement of drivers’ hours rules; mandatory mileage recording; registration of number plate suppliers; using uninsured drivers’ data; fixed penalties for drivers with no current GB licence; international exchange of driver and vehicle data; recall of paper licences; seizure of fraudulent licences; charges for licence-related services; transport of radioactive materials; certification of alternative fuel conversion; and clarification of definitions that may allow private hire vehicles in London to operate outside the existing regulatory regime. Working time legislation The work schedules of all employees who drive either full-time or as part of their job will go under the microscope to ensure they meet the tough requirements of the new Road Transport (Working Time) Directive, that comes into effect on 23 March next year. “White van man” is particularly being targeted by the government with the new legislation, that is specifically being aimed at “mobile workers” – who were previously exempt from the European Commission-inspired Working Time Directive.The government’s definition of “mobile workers” includes van, minibus and PSV drivers, but could be interpreted as also including chauffeurs as well as high mileage company car drivers, according to legal experts.In announcing the legislation, the government said it believes that driver work-related stress levels will reduce and road safety is likely to improve as a result of the move to control the number of hours driven by “mobile workers”. The Directive is, effectively, an addition to the EC 1998 Working Time Regulations under which employees should not work more than 48 hours per week when averaged over 17 weeks. Workers must also have daily rest breaks of 11 consecutive hours in any 24-hour period and weekly rest periods of 24 consecutive hours in any seven-day period.Referring to the introduction of the Road Transport (Working Time) Directive, Roads Minister David Jamieson says: “These regulations will provide drivers with clear guidance on working conditions and provide them with the level of protection enjoyed by employees in other sectors, without imposing an unfair burden upon employers. Drivers will benefit from lower work-related stress levels and we expect to see road safety benefits for both drivers and other road users. This legislation will bring benefits to all those who work in the industry as well as making the industry more attractive to new recruits.” VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency), the renamed Vehicle Inspectorate, will be responsible for enforcing the new regulations that, says the government, will be chiefly in response to complaints they receive from employees.Under the Regulations, an employer has a duty of care to keep records that show, for each worker, whether the 48-hour limit is being complied with. The employer must also retain those records for two years. It may also be necessary to introduce a timesheet system on which employees can record their working, travelling and driving hours.VOSA inspectors, as the prosecuting authority, are expected to want to examine employee records in terms of hours drivers work, and companies putting drivers at risk could face court action.Although the level of penalties have yet to be released, the likelihood is that the larger the company, the bigger the fine. However, the government says VOSA’s aim will be to “educate rather than prosecute”.The Department for Transport and Health and Safety Executive’s Driving at Work: Managing Work-Related Road Safety document published 15 months ago highlighted the importance of route planning, realistic work schedules, allowing enough time to complete journeys safely and ensuring drivers are not put at risk from fatigue by driving excessive distances without appropriate breaks.By managing such issues and thus reducing work-related road accidents, companies will be able to improve their image and staff recruitment and retention, increase efficiencies, improve productivity through reduced sick leave and give employees a better home and work life balance. |
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