Living Streets Response to the Transport Select Committee inquiry: Road traffic law enforcement – October 2015

Introduction

  1. We are Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking. We want to create a walking nation, free from congested roads and pollution, reducing the risk of preventable illnesses and social isolation and making walking the natural choice. We believe that a walking nation means progress for everyone. Our ambition is to get people of all generations to enjoy the benefits that this simple act brings and to ensure all our streets are fit for walking.
  1. Within the terms of reference for this inquiry our response predominantly focuses on the evidence regarding ‘the impact of road traffic law enforcement on the safety of cyclists and pedestrians’.

The current situation

  1. In 2014, 446 pedestrians were killed (a 12% increase from 398 in 2013), representing 25% of all road collisionfatalities. Almost all of the change in pedestrian fatalities between 2013 and 2014 was from an increase incasualties aged 60 and over. Older people and children are the most vulnerable pedestrians. For example, children cannot safely perceive the speed of oncoming vehicles (a phenomenon known as looming) increasing the risk of collisions when crossing the road. As people get older, sight and hearing loss, and mobility difficulties increase the risk of collisions (the Active People Survey for 2013 shows that 3 per cent of all adults aged 16-49 reported having a mobility compared to 31 per cent of those aged 70 years old and over).
  2. 29 fatalities were child pedestrians (aged 0-15; or one class of school children) compared to 26 in 2013 and 20 in 2012[1]. In 2014 1379 children (compared to 1358 in 2013[2]) or 44 classes of school children were killed or seriously injured[i].

Background

  1. Effective prevention and prosecution of road traffic offences would save lives andmake streetsmore inviting for places to walk and cycle. In 2012, 558 proceedings were started for causing a death by driving in England and Wales.[3] This is higher than the number of homicides reported for 2011/12 (553 reported homicides in England and Wales)[4]. This number is based on proceedings against drivers accused of causing death by driving. With such a high number of deaths on our roads, it is clear that action needs to be taken to reduce the number of law-breaking and dangerous drivers that make our roads less safe.

The role of design

  1. It is important to note that law enforcement of traffic offences is only one part of a multi-pronged approach to improving road safety. An important component of which is road design and planning.
  2. For example, in relation to speed offences, street design itself has a significant effect on the speed at which drivers feel safe driving. Many roads built since the 1930s have wider carriageways and long uninterrupted sightlines engineered for faster speeds. Measures to reduce the width of carriageways and interrupt sightlines encourage drivers to use more caution. Cost effective examples include: removing guardrail and street clutter from the pavement, installing planters on the roadway, removing the centre line and other road markings, and innovative parking bay layouts.

Speed limits

  1. We have received reports of a number of police forces stating that they lack the resources to enforce 20 mph speed limits. However, the same could be said for 30 mph and the fact remains that the police still have a duty to enforce the law, including 20 mph. Speed limit compliance should be delivered through a mix of design, enforcement and education. New technology also has a role to play. For example, Intelligent Speed Adaptation. technology is being used in London to limit bus speeds using a digital speed map.
  2. Reducing the speed limit to 20 mph has been shown to reduce child pedestrian deaths by 70%[ii]. Reducing traffic speed and density makes our streets and public places more pleasant to be. It instantly becomes easier to cross the road, it is less noisy and it is a more sociable environment to linger. It is also easier for pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy the same direct and safe routes for their journeys as motorists. By adopting this ‘level playing field’ approach to speed limits, local authorities can encourage pedestrians to take to their streets.
  3. Whilst we recognise the inquiry will not cover sentencing we wish to highlight our view that any driving that causes a death or injury is by definition ‘dangerous driving’, and should be tried as such.
  4. In 2008, when the charge of ‘causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving’ (CDCID) was introduced, the Crown Prosecution Service expected it to be used less than 100 times a year, only as a measure for when dangerous driving could not be proven. But this charge is now favoured by prosecutors, with 277 court proceedings for this charge in 2012, compared to 186 proceedings of ‘causing death by dangerous driving’ (CDDD).[5] By using a lesser charge with a low rate of imprisonment, prosecutors are undermining the severity of taking a life. By using the words ‘careless’ and ‘inconsiderate’ in the wording of a charge that deals with death, lawmakers are undermining the severity of the actions of the driver. In no other charge of causing a death, through negligence or intent, is the crime described as ‘inconsiderate’ or ‘careless’, and nor should it be. A death caused on the roads should be taken just as gravely as a death caused anywhere else.

Driving under the influence

  1. We want to decrease the legal driving alcohol limit to an ‘effective zero’ because of the increased chance that a driver will cause or suffer from road death when they have ingested even a small amount of alcohol. By decreasing the legal Blood Alcohol Content level from the current 80 milligrams per 100 ml to between 20 and 50 mg per 100ml, and increasing mandatory sentences for convicted drink-drivers, the government can communicate to the public the danger of even a small amount of alcohol before driving.
  2. An offence that we believe should be taken just as seriously as drink driving is that of driving under the influence of drugs. The risks involved with being intoxicated by any substance whilst driving should be reflected in legislation and accompanying awareness campaigns, as well as in enforcement and sentencing.

Forfeiture of Licences

  1. It is the opinion of Living Streets that allowing someone to continue driving whilst awaiting trial for a serious driving offence is an unnecessary risk to public safety. It is only logical to have the defendant hand over their license as a requirement of bail pending the result of the trial. Around 4 in 5 drivers prosecuted for causing someone’s death through driving are found guilty, with a similar proportion sentenced to a driving ban, often spanning years. This means that 4 out of 5 of these defendants are proven to be such dangerous drivers that they are not allowed back on the roads, but while awaiting their trial they are still allowed to drive.[6]

Civil Liability

  1. We believe that, in order to increase the level of caution taken by drivers, civil liability should fall on the driver to prove that they were not at fault, shifting responsibility during legal action and creating an obligation for drivers respect and protect other road users by driving safely.
  2. In most nations in the EU, the framework that dictates civil liability (responsibility) for an accident is placed upon the driver, meaning that they must prove to the court that they were not at fault. This contrasts with the UK system in which drivers are presumed not liable for damages caused by a collision with a cyclist or a pedestrian. This skews the process in favour of drivers and maintains their position in the UK as ‘King of the Road’, maintaining the risk of more vulnerable road users being hit by over-confident motorists.
  3. For more details please contact: Tom Platt – Head of Policy and Research; - Tel: 020 7377 4917

[1]

[2]

[3] MOJ (2013), Motoring Offences 2012 Supplementary Tables S6.1-S6.16

[4] Crime Survey for England and Wales, 2011/12,

[5] MOJ (2013), Motoring Offences 2012 Supplementary Tables S6.1-S6.16

[6]453 commitals for trial in England and Wales in 2012 out of 558 proceedings for causing death or bodily harm. MOJ (2013), Motoring Offences 2012 Supplementary Tables S6.1-S6.16

[i] Department for Transport, Reported Casualties by road user type, age and severity, Great Britain, latest available year:

[ii] DCFS (2007) The Children's Plan-Building brighter futures. The Department for Children Schools and Families: The Stationery Office