§ Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire)I am grateful to have the opportunity to debate road safety in Derbyshire, a matter which causes me serious concern. My constituency covers 350 square miles of Derbyshire and has in it some of the most attractive countryside in the United Kingdom. The number of tourists attracted to the county and especially to the peak district is an associated problem. It is no exaggeration to say that some 50 per cent. of the United Kingdom's population live within an hour's drive of Derbyshire.
Over the years, successive Governments have concentrated on giving road safety top priority. I know that the present Government do, as did the previous Government. For some years, I was a junior Minister at the Department of Transport, and we launched a campaign—I am glad to see that it is still running—with the slogan, "Kill your speed, not a child." Although speed is not necessarily a factor in every accident, it is often a significant factor.
The previous Government presided over the safest roads in the European Union. Between 1979 and 1997, dramatic improvements took place in road safety. The number of deaths and serious casualties fell by 43 per cent.; drink-related road deaths decreased by about 68 per cent.; and the number of fatal accidents involving motor cyclists was 62 per cent. lower. I remember being fascinated and puzzled by the fact that the number of road deaths was fewer in 1995 than in any year since records began in 1926, despite there being 14 times as many vehicles on the roads. A number of measures were taken to try to improve road safety, one of which was to lift its profile. In an effort to make the roads safe, we wanted people to think about how they drive.
I am disturbed by the dramatic increase in the number of fatalities on Derbyshire roads this year. I am grateful for the help that Chief Superintendent Bateman of the Derbyshire constabulary has given me during the past few weeks in preparing for today's debate. He confirmed that in the first six months of last year, until 19 June 1999, there were 20 deaths on Derbyshire roads. I was disturbed to hear that in the same six months this year, there have been some 40 deaths. I was aware that the number of deaths had increased greatly, and we must carefully consider the reasons for that increase.
The last year for which the county's casualty report is available is 1998. One of the problems is that casualty reports are, by their very nature, complex and detailed documents. They are often not published until a long time after the year's end. The 1999 report is not likely to be available for another eight to 10 weeks. In 1998, 66 people were killed on Derbyshire roads and 716 people were seriously injured. The estimated cost of those accidents was more than £250 million. That is a huge sum of money for the community. That year showed a slight improvement over 1997, casualties being about 2 per cent. lower.
I am concerned by the dramatic rise in the figures this year. It is disturbing to see such regularity in the numbers. I hope that the Minister can reassure me that what we see in Derbyshire is not happening in the rest of the country and that, for whatever reason, it is 22WH happening only in the one county. If those sorts of increases were happening everywhere, the Government would be heading in the wrong direction to meet the targets that they have set themselves.
The other issue that I want to raise this morning is the devastation that such fatalities have on the families. During my time as Minister, I met the families of those killed in the Pan Am 103 bombing and in the Marchioness disaster. Those were the most difficult meetings that I ever had. The Minister should be aware that the same devastation is suffered by the families of those killed in road accidents, but the families do not always receive the same publicity and help.
Kevin Delaney, a spokesman for the RAC Foundation, said:
The trouble is that we have a rail crash and 20 or 30 people are killed, whereas there may be as many as 10 road deaths a day but they don't happen in the same place at the same time and they happen for a variety of reasons, which, more often than not, are related to human error.In 1999, David Skinner, a road traffic management officer for Derbyshire police, said:If the same number of people who die in these accidents were murder or manslaughter victims in Derbyshire then there would be a public outcry. But, because they are road accidents it seems to be accepted.On occasions when I have had to visit the families or relatives of people who are involved in fatal accidents, as I am sure other hon. Members have, I am often asked why the accident occurred, what happened and what measures can be taken to improve overall road safety. The Government have set themselves some tough targets on road safety and on accident reduction figures. I welcome that, but I have to tell them that they have not put their money where their targets are. They said at the time of the accident reduction announcements that an extra £100 million would be invested, but they did not say that that was new money. In fact, they were granting to authorities their approval to borrow. One can sometimes speak about the figures in too much detail, but they clearly show overall a decline in the amount of money spent by the Government on road maintenance, which is an important part of the old question of how road safety should be dealt with.The last three years under the previous Government saw an average annual investment of more than £2 billion. That does not compare well with the investment made by the current Government, who have spent an average of £1.5 billion a year during their first three years in office, which is a substantial reduction in road spending. One of the ways in which the previous Government made progress was by building major new bypasses. We built 160 such roads, as well as many smaller ones. Bypasses have made a major contribution to the reduction of fatal road accidents in this country. More than £26 billion—at 1995–96 prices—was invested in motorways and trunk roads. Our investment achieved the completion of more than 400 major road improvement schemes and the building and upgrading of about 1,300 miles of trunk road, which is 13 per cent. of the motorway trunk road network.
We understand from press reports that the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is to change its overall view on the building of new roads. Such roads are often bypasses, which can make our towns and villages safer places and better 23WH environments for the people who live and work in them. I hope that the Minister will give me some reassurance on that point.
One of my most serious concerns about west Derbyshire is deaths involving motorcyclists. Last year, 16 motorcyclists died there, and, by 1 June this year, a further eight had lost their lives. Motorcyclists are extremely vulnerable, and I do not want to give the impression that they are always at fault in accidents. In any collision that involves a car and motorcyclist, it is usually the latter who sustains the worst injuries, irrespective of who is blameworthy. Matlock Bath has a great attraction for motorcyclists, and on some Sundays, 300 to 400 of them might visit the location. Anybody who goes there on a Sunday will see that that is not an overestimate. Motorcyclists tend to congregate on Sundays, but they also congregate at other times of the week.
I want to mention a few roads in particular. I was immensely pleased when the A50 was finally upgraded. Perhaps naively, I used to call it the Doveridge bypass because people in Doveridge wanted that road to be upgraded. However, it was a mistake to call it the Doveridge bypass because it is basically a link road between the Ml and the M6. It is a major road, all of which is a dual carriageway, and it has made a tremendous difference to the road structure of the east and west midlands. Certainly, I know of many colleagues who no longer drive up the M6, but take the M1 and cut across on the A50 to pick up the M6 further up the network.
Much of the road goes through open countryside and has a whisper concrete surface. However, concrete has been used on a small section of the road, which goes through Doveridge, and the noise increase in that area is amazing. As soon as one hits the concrete surface, the noise level rises. It seems unbelievable to me that Connect, who built the road, was allowed to lay a noisy road surface on the most populated stretch of the A50. I want the Minister to send a strong message to Connect that the current road surface is unacceptable for environmental reasons and because of the noise, which is now constantly heard in Doveridge, as well as in places like Marston Montgomery and Somersal Herbert, which never used to be affected by any noise from the A50. Connect should be told to resurface that section of road. Construction companies have been instructed to resurface other stretches of road on which concrete has been laid.
As a result of the A50 being built, several people now use the A515 from Sudbury to Ashbourne. However, on certain sections of the A515, it is virtually impossible for two lorries to pass, and the number of accidents on that road has increased. An investigation needs to be carried out because the A50 upgrade has led to a substantial increase of traffic on the A515.
I want to revert to the A50 and to mention the Sudbury-Aston roundabout. A few people live on one side of that link road between the M1 and M6. However, during construction, no provision was made for people to cross to the other side of the road to catch buses. That is a problem because pedestrians must dodge traffic on an especially busy dual carriageway. I have asked 24WH Connect to make the necessary changes, but such matters seem to take an inordinate amount of time and reports have only just been prepared.
I also want to make a plea for the completion of the Ashbourne bypass. The Ashbourne bypass, on the A52, which is a trunk road, was completed some years ago. Unfortunately, at that stage, the county council did not include the completion of the Ashbourne bypass in the plans that it submitted to Government. Therefore no money was made available. If the scheme had been included, it would, I was reliably informed, probably have fallen within the Government's plans to improve the bypass network. Now, given the Government's new approach to bypasses, I hope that the A515 Ashbourne bypass can be included. It will make a tremendous difference to the town.
Several measures have been taken to improve the safety of the A6 and I welcome them overall. One stretch has been changed from dual carriageway to single carriageway on both sides of the road. That was the only stretch between Matlock and Bakewell where it was possible to overtake safely and the change was a mistake. I hope that the agencies that now manage the A6 can examine the issue. One of the problems arising in connection with the measures taken to improve road safety on the A6 is traffic leaving it to use minor roads. The need that that creates for policing of those roads as well as the A6, with its high risk of accidents, has resource implications for the Derbyshire constabulary.
Pressure has been put on the county council to consider road safety and calming measures on the A623, which goes through Calver. I hope for a sympathetic reaction from the county council, and perhaps the Minister will encourage that. A great deal of traffic uses the road on its way through the peak district.
I have raised road safety because I am very concerned about the number of fatalities in Derbyshire in the first part of the year. I hope that that rate will not continue, because those fatalities cause devastation and ruin to families.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Keith Hill)I congratulate the hon. Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin) on securing this important debate and I thank him for his help in advising my office of the key issues that he intended to raise.
I was saddened to hear of the recent fatal accidents in the hon. Gentleman's constituency. It is a real tragedy that three lives were lost last month in a single accident in Matlock and that two of those killed were only 18 years of age. My sympathy goes to the families and friends of those involved, whose lives will have been devastated.
Each year more than 3,400 people die on British roads and more than 40,000 are seriously injured. In Derbyshire alone on average 85 people are injured on roads each week—11 of them seriously—and one is killed. That is an enormous toll of human suffering that we can and must reduce. That is why we have developed a new 10-year road safety strategy, entitled "Tomorrow's roads: safer for everyone", which was launched by the Prime Minister on 1 March. The strategy includes tough new casualty reduction targets.
25WH In the first four months of the year there were 22 fatal accidents in Derbyshire compared with 10 for the same period in 1999. The hon. Gentleman's latest information shows that the accident rate continues at twice that of last year. That is an extremely alarming increase. There is no simple explanation for it, but the authorities in the area are responding vigorously to that most serious challenge. Derbyshire, as the hon. Gentleman said, is an extremely attractive county to visitors—particularly the Peak park and rural areas. There is clear evidence of increasing car-borne visitor traffic. The area around Matlock in particular is enjoyed by hundreds of motorcyclists each year, but that adds to the county's safety and environmental problems.
The authorities responsible for the roads in Derbyshire—the county council, which looks after the local roads, the Highways Agency, in respect of the trunk roads, and the police—place enormous importance on road safety and road casualty reduction. This year, the county council is spending approximately £1.6 million on schemes to improve safety. We are giving local authorities more freedom than ever to develop their transport priorities through the new local transport plan process. That enables them, for the first time, to plan over a five-year period, working with local people, businesses and other agencies to ensure that their policies meet local needs. Road safety is, of course, very high among them.
Derbyshire county council has been proactive in improving safety. Road safety implications are considered at every stage of the council's transport planning. Its proposals are set out in the local transport plan and aim to reduce the number and scale of accidents by tackling areas with accident problems and by reducing vehicle speeds, which are a major contributory factor in many accidents and affect the severity of injuries.
There will be more resources. In addition to the £5.8 million transport settlement for Derbyshire for 2000–01, which represented a 25 per cent. increase on the previous year, we were able to allocate an extra £302,000. That money has been targeted at schemes to improve child safety and safe routes to school, as part of the transport fund announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget. Over the past two years, resources for Derbyshire have increased by some 90 per cent.
However, we are going even further. The total amount of money available to local authorities will rise again from about £755 million in 2000–01 to well over £1 billion in 2001–02. That money will be allocated to local authorities on the basis of the priorities set out in their local transport plans. The new funding takes the form of credit approvals, because that is the method of funding that local authorities prefer. I emphasise that that is real money. It represents real increases in funding by central Government for local transport and road safety improvements.
The hon. Member for West Derbyshire raised detailed concerns. I can assure him that the Highways Agency also attaches the highest priority to road safety. For instance, the A6 and A52 trunk roads in Derbyshire have been subject to accident reduction trials. Those projects are aimed at reducing the number of accidents that occur on the A6 between Derby and Stockport, and on the A52 and A523 between Derby and Leek.
26WH Blanket 50 mph speed limits have been introduced along those roads, with sections of 30 mph or 40 mph through towns and villages. Gateways with coloured surfacings and carriageway roundals have been introduced. Additional pedestrian facilities have been provided, together with visibility improvements at certain junctions and improved signing and road markings throughout. The implementation of those measures was completed as recently as April, so it is too early to say how successful the schemes have been, but early signs are positive. Indeed, some evidence suggests that the schemes have contributed to a reduction in traffic flows on the A6 and the A52.
The A515 between the A50 Derby southern bypass and Ashbourne is narrow in parts, with similarly narrow or non-existent verges, which means that there is no simple means of widening the road. The county council estimates that traffic has increased on the road by 29 per cent. since the opening of that bypass in 1996. The council plans to resurface the worst sections of the road and undertake a signing and aligning review, which will improve safety. However, it is fair to say that that will not address the safety issues fully, so a topographical survey is also being undertaken with a view to including an improvement scheme within the 2001–02 programme. I hope that that reassures the hon. Gentleman and his constituents.
I am aware of the situation in Calver, which is on the A623. I understand that the county council has reviewed the current 40 mph speed limit in the village and does not consider that a lower speed limit is warranted. However, it has agreed to extend the 40 mph limit towards Baslow to ensure that the speed limit signs are visible to drivers coming into the village. The council is currently processing the necessary traffic regulation orders. In addition, the county council is investigating the A623 as a whole. A capital allocation has been made for route enhancement measures to improve signing and carriageway delineation. The A623 has also been identified as a route that may benefit from mobile speed cameras.
I come now to the problem of noise on the A50 at Doveridge. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Highways Agency has a programme to quieten particularly noisy stretches of road. The A50 Doveridge bypass was not included in the list of most pressing cases, but in view of local concerns, there is no reason why it should not be assessed retrospectively in line with the original criteria. The Highways Agency is considering whether the circumstances at Doveridge warrant further noise analysis as a precursor to early maintenance work, which in turn could reduce the levels of noise from the road. The hon. Gentleman has made a strong case and, in view of his close interest in the issue, I will ensure that the Highways Agency continues to keep him fully aware of developments.
As can be seen, much work is being done at the local level to improve road safety, but what of national road safety policy? We are fortunate to be building on a relatively good track record in casualty reduction since the targets set by the previous Government in 1987. I am happy to acknowledge the hon. Gentleman's role in that as a Transport Minister in that Administration. The target was to reduce casualties by one third by 2000. By 1998, we had achieved a 39 per cent. reduction in the number of fatalities and a 45 per cent. reduction in the 27WH number of serious injuries. That must be set against a significant rise in traffic over the same period. Moreover, Britain's road safety record is relatively good compared with that of other countries in Europe.
The new road safety strategy and targets for the next 10 years are even more challenging. By 2010, compared with the average for 1994–98, we want to see a 40 per cent. overall reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads, a 50 per cent. reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured and a 10 per cent. reduction in the rate of slight injuries.
To achieve the radical improvement in road safety that we wish to see during the next 10 years the Government must, through Government offices, the Highways Agency and others, work in close partnership with other bodies. We will work in partnership with local authorities that are developing local road safety strategies and targets as part of their local transport plans. We will also work with the police who make a substantial contribution to road safety by enforcing road traffic law. In addition, we will work with road safety organisations, such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety and road user groups. Most importantly, we will need to work with individual road users themselves.
Obviously, in the remaining time available I cannot describe the full range of measures in the strategy, but I should like to focus on two key issues. First, the strategy has child safety at its core. Although our overall record for child road safety is good, unfortunately the same cannot be said for our record on child pedestrians. We are determined to improve our record and we will need to take a multi-pronged approach. That will include more traffic-calmed 20 mph zones. We also need to make improvements in the way in which we educate our children to be safer when using the road. That is not only about drivers taking care or slower speeds, but about helping children and others to understand better the risks that they face and how to deal with them. Finally, we must aim to have more children wearing seatbelts and to have more child restraints in cars.
Speed is another priority area. It used to be socially acceptable to have a few drinks and then drive, but once people understood that drink-driving kills, it was seen as irresponsible. Currently, many people do not see it as a great sin to drive at 40 mph in a 30 mph zone, but 85 per cent. of pedestrians hit at 40 mph will die compared with 45 per cent. at 30 mph and 5 per cent. at 20 mph. Speed kills. It is dangerous and antisocial and we must get that message across. The issue is driver responsibility. We will make it a major theme in road safety during the next 10 years.
Once again, I thank the hon. Member for West Derbyshire for allowing us to discuss these important issues by means of this Adjournment debate.