§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what would be the cost of increasing the number of road safety officers from the present 12 to 17. [18741]
§ Mr. MossThe annual cost of increasing the number of road safety education officers from the planned 11 to the recommended 18 would be £176,323.
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost of the report commissioned by his Department on road safety education. [18739]
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many road accident casualties resulted from(a) overloaded lorries and lorries with mechanical defects and (b) errors by drivers, riders and pedestrians and defiance of the laws on speeding, drink driving and seat belts. [18737]
§ Mr. MossRoad casualty accident figures provided by the RUC are as follows
(a)Accident casualties resulting from overloaded lorries and lorries with mechanical defects.
- 1993: 5
- 1994: 20
- 1995: 29
(b)Accident casualties caused by drivers, riders and pedestrians and defiance of the laws on speeding, drink driving and seatbelts.
- 1993: 21,691
- 1994: 23,518
- 1995: 22,499
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons the number of road safety officers is to be reduced from 12 to 10. [18740]
§ Mr. MossI have decided, in the light of competing priorities for road safety funding, that the number of road safety education officers should be reduced from 13 to 11. Road safety remains a priority for the Government and the overall resources allocated to it, particularly for vehicle enforcement and accident remedial and traffic calming measures, continue to increase year on year.
63W
§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to achieve the code of good practice recommendation of one road safety officer per 50,000 population before 2000; and what additional resources he plans to devote to this aim. [18738]
§ Mr. MossI have no such plans. Competing priorities for road safety funding combined with general pressure on all departmental spending, render such a recommended staffing level inappropriate.