§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of the PSNI about the measures to reduce deaths through road traffic accidents(a) in Northern Ireland and (b) in North Down. [125812]
§ Angela SmithIn November 2002, I was joined by the Assistant Chief Constable with responsibility for road traffic policing in launching the Northern Ireland Road Safety Strategy 2002–12. The strategy provides a major step forward in outlining the partnership approach between the main agencies: Department of the Environment (DOE), the Department for Regional Development (DRD) and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), in addressing the main causes of death and serious injuries, which are speed, drink-driving and failure to wear seat belts.
Officials in the relevant Departments and agencies, including PSNI, have been liaising closely to implement the objectives outlined in the strategy. The strategy provided for the establishment of a Road Safety Steering Group, which will oversee and monitor progress towards the delivery of the strategic objectives and targets and consider new initiatives. The Steering Group involves senior management in each of the three main organisations responsible for the delivery of the strategy.
Actual delivery of the activities and initiatives set out in the strategy will be co-ordinated by the Road Safety Review Group, which is chaired by a senior official in the DOE and includes representatives from Roads Service and PSNIs Road Policing Development Branch.
Since the launch of the strategy there have been five joint launches involving the DOE and PSNI, including the launch of the new anti-speeding campaign where the Assistant Chief Constable and I reaffirmed our commitment to road safety and to influence positively the attitudes and behaviour of all road users through education and enforcement.
Officials from the DRD Roads Service have regular liaison meetings with PSNI to discuss any relevant issues to do with traffic management and road safety from an 204W engineering perspective. Roads Service officials have also met recently with PSNI to discuss road safety on the A2 Belfast to Bangor road in North Down.
As part of a major initiative on use of fixed and mobile safety cameras throughout Northern Ireland, four sites on the A2 Belfast to Bangor Road have been selected for enforcement by safety cameras and new signing for these sites was erected on 1 July 2003, superseding earlier speed camera signing. This again was undertaken by PSNI in conjunction with Roads Service and was as a result of the close liaison between the two organisations.
The hon. Member may be interested to note that although the number of fatalities (87) to date this year is higher than the comparable period in the last two years, the numbers of killed and seriously injured (KSI), which are the recognised road safety indicators throughout the UK, have shown a steady decline. In the first five months of this year (the last full period for which comparative figures are available) the KSI total is 581 compared with 682 for the same period in 2002 and 701 in 2001.
There will continue to be positive and constructive discussions not only between the DOE, DRD and PSNI, but also with all its partners in road safety to ensure safer roads for everyone in Northern Ireland. However, it is incumbent upon all road users to take personal responsibility for their action when using the roads.