§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the figures for road deaths for(a) children and (b) adults, killed near pedestrian crossings for each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe information requested is as follows:
Number of children and adults killed near pedestrian crossings: 1978–87 Children killed on pedestrian crossing Children killed on within 50 metres of pedestrain crossing Adult killed on pedestrian crossing Adult killed on within 50 metres of pedestrain crossing 1978 15 16 124 109 1979 6 l0 118 144 1980 16 14 115 135 1981 10 13 101 97 1982 13 14 112 120 1983 11 23 114 136 1984 10 15 96 148 1985 12 20 106 123 1986 13 13 126 158 1987 13 21 96 140
§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to increase the amount of time allowed for pedestrians to make use of pelican crossings when crossing the road.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe recommended timings for pelican crossings were revised in 1987, and are incorporated in the departmental standard TD 28/87 "Pedestrian Crossing; Pelican and Zebra Crossings". This introduced a two second extension to the crossing time, to be used at the discretion of the highway authority.
We are looking at ways in which extended crossing time can be made available specifically for elderly and disabled pedestrians.
§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the police and traffic authorities to encourage them to take measures to enforce motorists to respect pedestrian rights on zebra and pelican crossings.
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§ Mr. Peter BottomleyEnforcement of road traffic law is a matter for the police who have to decide on priorities in the light of local conditions. We are in regular contact with the Association of Chief Police Officers and local authority road safety officers on all matters relating to road safety.
All road users should have proper regard for pedestrians wherever they are, and should pay particular attention to rules 56–57 of the highway code.
§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy on the phasing out of zebra crossings in favour of pelican crossings.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyWe have no such policy. Pelican and zebra crossings are used in different circumstances which reflect different pedestrian and traffic flows, and traffic speeds. Local highway authorities have considerable discretion over the installation of both types of crossing, although the Department of Transport issues guidance as to the most helpful criteria.
§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made with trials of new pedestrian facilities at traffic-signalled junctions including the use of infra-red devices to detect the presence and movement of pedestrians.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe Department is co-operating with its French and Dutch counterparts in a research programme to improve pedestrian facilities at traffic lights.
A trial site is to be set up later this year at the Department's Transport and Road Research Laboratory. Various new pedestrian facilities, including infra-red detectors, will be developed.
Consultation with highway authorities and other interested groups will be undertaken as part of this work.
§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the report of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory on new techniques to identify sites for pelican crossings.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe final report of the Transport and Road Research Laboratory's study into pedestrian crossing criteria is expected in mid-1990. In the meantime we shall be publishing later this year two reports on the relationship between pedestrian flows and accident rates, which are directly relevant to the problem.
In April this year we published a major package of measures aimed at improving pedestrian safety which we intend to implement as quickly as possible.