States approved a target for accident reduction in terms of a five-year rolling average outline the work done locally or others

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WRITTEN QUESTION THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 18th JULY 2011

Question

Given that he is tasked by the States to bring forward to the States a target for accident reduction in terms of a five-year rolling average, and to justify adopting that target, will the Minister outline to members the work done locally by his department or others, in the following areas:

1. Reviewing research findings in Jersey and elsewhere as to the effect of speed on accident rates and severity;
2. Reviewing the causes of accidents in Jersey based on collating and interrogating the existing information held by TTS;
3. Reviewing accident clusters and evaluation of any specific factors at work in these clusters;
4. Appraisal of specific accident reduction proposals, including but not limited to:

20 mph within the ring road;

20 mph within built-up areas across the Island; home zone / Dutch Woonerf' type proposals;

5. reviewing public attitudes to speed of motorists and of those who live alongside roads or who use them to walk, cycle or wait (for the bus);
6. working with the Statistics Unit on how the previous heading might be carried out;
7. reviewing specific measures for HGV's;
8. creating a new and better solution for green lanes in consultation with stakeholders?

Answer

Following approval of the Sustainable Transport Policy and amendments, my Department's transport policy team of two officers have a very challenging programme of initiatives to deliver in a short time period. One of the key tasks is to lead a multidisciplinary task group which will produce a road safety strategy with a target for injury reduction and the rationale behind it. That work is programmed to commence in September, and it will involve a detailed analysis of the States Police database to identify the most effective ways of reducing the numbers of injuries which occur on our roads.

The Deputy 's questions are very pertinent to this work and will help inform the scope of it. Answers to the Deputy 's specific points are as follows:

1. TTS officers keep abreast of international best advice with regard to the effect of speed on accident rates and severity. Excessive speed or inappropriate speed are two options which  the  States Police  database give  as  contributory factors. These  form  a small proportion amongst the stated numerous other factors though it could be argued that speed has some factor to play in all accidents. The task group will analyse in more detail the contribution which speed limits and enforcement can be expected to make towards the forthcoming road safety strategy.
2. TTS use accident data to investigate causes of accidents by location to assess what interventions might be appropriate. Analysis of accidents on an island wide basis will be an essential party of the task group's work in formulating the strategy.
3. TTS uses accident cluster data to help prioritise its road safety work, for example in deciding where provision of high friction anti skid material is justified.
4. TTS has not carried out a scientific analysis of the benefits of a 20 mph speed limit within the ring road or for other built up areas, though accident rates within existing 20 mph limits have been used to inform previous decisions on changes to speed limits and the setting of speed limit policy. TTS keep abreast of developments particularly in Northern Europe of home zones and "Woonerf" type principles, though have not carried out any local appraisal work. The task group will consider this issue in more depth.
5. Public attitude surveys towards policing, carried out for the States Police have shown speeding to be one of the most significant issues to local residents.
6. The task group will consider whether further public attitude surveys are necessary and would involve the statistics unit in the design and analysis of surveys.
7. The Sustainable Transport Policy includes a proposal to implement a commercial vehicle operator licence, a key aspect of which will be to improve the standard of HGV vehicles and reduce the likelihood of vehicle defects. Details of the licensing scheme will be developed in due course. It should also be noted that all vehicles over 3.5t laden weight are subject to an all island maximum speed limit of 30mph. The task group will consider the significance of HGVs with regard to road injuries in Jersey.
8. The task group will consider the role that the Green Lane system has in road safety, though it is important to respect that the Green Lane system is the responsibility of the Parishes.