The road safety news in brief from the w/comm 18 September.
- DfT launches £15m low emission tech competition (22 Sept)
- Date unveiled for 2018 data analysts’ conference (21 Sept)
- Charity investigates school bus safety (19 Sept)
- New study explores future coastal flooding risks to Scotland’s roads (18 Sept)
- GEM urges road users to make Project EDWARD a reality (18 Sept)
Click here to read the road safety news in brief from the week commencing 11 September.
22 Sept: 11.30
DfT launches £15m low emission tech competition
The DfT is calling on UK businesses to lead research into low emission technology for lorries, as well as cars and vans.
In launching a new competition, companies are being urged to compete for up to £15m to develop technology to reduce harmful emissions from freight.
The DfT says projects could include developing materials which make vehicles lighter, or improve the efficiency of engines or batteries.
Jesse Norman, roads minister, said: “We have made important progress in lowering emissions and are always looking at further ways of improving air quality.
“Lorries cause a third of the UK’s transport CO₂ emissions and simple new technologies can have the greatest impact in reducing the harmful pollutants of freight.
“This funding will give UK companies the chance to lead the world in developing important innovations to improve air quality across the country.”
THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER
21 Sept: 12.15
Date unveiled for 2018 data analysts’ conference
‘Joining The Dots’ – the national conference for road safety data analysts, organised by Road Safety GB in partnership with Agilysis – will be held on 27 February 2018 in London.
Aimed at road safety analysts, engineers and transport planners, the conference is designed to appeal to the wide range of professionals who use road safety data to drive their work.
The theme for 2018 is ‘Making Data the Common Language of Road Safety’. The agenda will be announced shortly and will include a mixture of presentations from experts in data and research. The conference will cover topics including STATS19 and other transport data, compliance and risk, and evaluating schemes.
TUESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
19 Sept: 16.00
Charity investigates school bus safety
International road safety charity, the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) has developed an online survey to find out about parents’ attitudes towards safety on school buses across the UK.
EASST works with fleet managers internationally to ensure that they are aware of the dangers of driving and how they can prevent collisions and fatalities.
The aim of the survey is to provide an insight into safety on school buses across the UK and to inform EASST’s training programme for fleet managers on the most effective way to ensure every child has a safe journey to school.
The survey takes just a couple of minutes to complete and will remain open until 31 October 2017.
MONDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
18 Sept: 14.45
New study explores future coastal flooding risks to Scotland’s roads
A new study by the University of Dundee, TRL and Transport Scotland has found that coastal infrastructure, including roads, could be under threat due to climate change and rising sea levels.
Image: TRL
Using a section of the A78 on the south-west coast of Scotland as an example, the researchers developed a methodology for assessing the risk to roads from coastal storms, taking into account climate change.
The project found that projected increases in sea level are likely to result in more frequent flooding of this section of the A78, as the severity of the storm required for overtopping is reduced. By 2100, it was estimated that the repair and delay costs related to coastal flooding would double; with greater delays for motorists and higher repair costs for Transport Scotland.
The risk assessment methodology provides a consistent method for evaluating potential threats and understanding the future impact of climate change. Ultimately, this should help those managing the strategic road network to make decisions on whether it is more cost-effective to take action to adapt to climate change impacts, or to deal reactively with flood events when they occur.
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18 Sept: 13.15
GEM urges road users to make Project EDWARD a reality
GEM Motoring Assist is once again supporting Project EDWARD, the European day Without A Road Death (21 Sept) and is urging all road users to put safety first to achieve a day with no road deaths.
Neil Worth, GEM Motoring Assist road safety officer, said: “Every day across Europe, around 70 people will set off on road journeys, but they won’t make it home. With every road death, so many other lives are fractured and ruined. We do not want that to happen to any family, and will do everything we can to reduce the toll of road fatalities.
“Gaining the support of individual road users is vital, and we know that if everyone is prepared to reflect on the risks they face and the risks they may pose to others, then we can have safer drivers, safer road users and safer journeys."
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