§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the difference in the numbers of(a) fatal and (b) serious injury road accidents that would have occurred, had the UK adopted Daylight Saving of GMT/BST timetable in 1997. [104766]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe potential road safety implications of a change to Single Double Summertime have been previously investigated. A Government commissioned report by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), published in October 1998, concluded that if clocks were put forward a further hour over both the periods i.e. October to March and March to October, thereby making the evenings lighter, there could be a saving of over 100 deaths per year. The potential savings have not been mentioned again since then. But we are therefore aware of the potential road safety benefits. However, a wide variety of issues would have to be considered very carefully if a move to Single Double Summertime was to be considered, of which casualty savings is just one.
Given the potential wide-ranging implications for Britain, the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) leads on Single Double Summertime. That Department reviews the issues from time to time. DTI have no plans for a review at present, but when the time comes, DfT will advise DTI of its findings.