Chapter 11 - Safety and security: protecting people and networks CM 6234
We want to ensure that people are safe and secure when they use our transport system, whether they are catching a bus, taking a plane, a ferry or a cruise ship, waiting at a train station, parking their car or walking into town.
The challenge
Safety
11.1 The risk of a fatal accident on any form of transport is low. Even on the most dangerous types of transport, there are less than 120 fatalities for every billion kilometres travelled. The relative risk varies depending on how people choose to travel; these figures show that public transport is safer than personal motorised forms of transport such as cars, and motorbikes have the highest risk of fatalities.
Passenger fatalities across transport modes
11.2 The majority of deaths and serious injuries from transport occur on our roads. Safety on Britain's roads has been improving for many years, and they are now among the safest in the world. However, we cannot be complacent. We have set ourselves the objective of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in road accidents by 40 per cent, and the number of children killed or seriously injured by 50 per cent, by 2010 compared with the average for 1994-98. We will make it our priority to improve road safety for children in disadvantaged communities, where accident levels are relatively high.
11.3 Rail is a very safe mode of travel and is getting safer. In 2000-01 there were only 17 passenger fatalities across a network which carries one billion passengers a year. Far more people (256 in 2000-01) are killed trespassing on the railways, including vandals and suicides.
Security
11.4 The tragic attacks in the USA in September 2001 and, more recently, in Madrid in March 2004, have changed forever the context for transport security around the world. Security is likely to remain a major factor in the development of our transport systems for the foreseeable future. Our challenge is to develop security regimes that manage the risk to an acceptable level and meet our international obligations in a way that does not place unreasonable costs on operators and the travelling public.
Where we want to be
11.5 Looking ahead 30 years, we need to be in a position where we have significantly improved the safety of our transport networks for both travellers and for the people who work on them. This will mean:
- capitalising on the potential for new technologies to reduce the risk and severity of accidents on all modes of transport;
- better education and training for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to ensure all road users are aware of the risks and know how to use the roads safely;
- better, more targeted enforcement for the minority who break the law and put others at risk;
- promoting better street design to make our roads safer and more pleasant environments for all road users, including children;
- improving personal safety on our transport networks by reducing crime and vandalism; and
- working with industry and with international partners to maintain and improve safety standards both in the UK and abroad.
Safety - What we have achieved
Road safety
11.6 Our road safety strategy Tomorrow's Roads - safer for everyone (March 2000)(1) set the framework for significantly improving road safety. At its heart is a focus on improving the following four areas.
- Education - We are committed to reducing excessive and inappropriate speed. Our road safety campaigns have a key role to play here. We are also supporting safety training for other road users, including children and cyclists.
- Enforcement - We have improved our enforcement measures to ensure that those who break the law and place others at risk are identified and punished. And we are making sure that penalties are appropriate, raising the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 10 to 14 years imprisonment.
- Engineering - Safety schemes funded by local authorities have had a significant impact on road safety. These schemes have included improvements to junctions, better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, and redesigning roads to reduce traffic speeds and increase driver's awareness of pedestrians.
- Vehicle technology and standards - We work closely with other countries and with industry to deliver continual improvements to vehicle safety. Technologies such as anti-lock braking and airbags have reduced the risk and severity of accidents. We also want to ensure that motorists can make informed choices when they buy their car, and we are striving to expand the work of the Euro NCAP organisation in providing consumers with information on the safety rating of vehicles.
11.7 The first three year review of our road safety strategy(2), published in April 2004, concluded that we are on track to meet all our challenging casualty reduction targets. Compared to the average figures for 1994 to 1998, the 2003 figures for deaths and serious injuries show a 22 per cent reduction. And for the most vulnerable road users, children, they show a 40 per cent reduction. However, there are still on average 10 fatalities on British roads each day. Almost half of these are car occupants and 20 per cent are motorcyclists.
Rail safety
11.8 The British Transport Police Authority was established on 1 July, 2004 to maintain a police force for the railways. The new authority, which is modelled on Home Office local police authorities, will enhance the status and public accountability of the British Transport Police (BTP). BTP works closely with the rail industry and emergency services across the country.
Personal security
11.9 We have produced guidance on improving personal security in the pedestrian environment, reducing graffiti and other environmental nuisance on and around public transport systems. The Secure Stations Scheme has established national best practice on security standards and provides accreditation at stations that have implemented good security measures.
11.10 In London, the Mayor and the Metropolitan Police have set up a joint intelligence unit to ensure public and staff feel safe on the buses. The unit targets antisocial behaviour and more serious crimes on buses and around bus stops, as well as enforcing bus lanes and laws relating to taxis and private hire vehicles.
Personal Security on Buses
Criminal and anti-social behaviour against bus and coach passengers and crews is unacceptable. The Safer Travel on Buses and Coaches Panel (STOP) looks at ways to combat assaults, anti-social behaviour and vandalism at stops and stations and on vehicles and property. The panel brings together those involved in dealing with the issue of safety and security, and includes operators, local authorities, police and unions.
In December 2003, STOP published Protecting Bus and Coach Crews - a practical guide(3), which contains advice for bus operators and their staff on how they can reduce the risk of violence, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.
Aviation and maritime safety
11.11 We have made a major contribution to setting up the European Aviation Safety Agency, which will maintain high safety standards across Europe. And we have also pursued an active policy of inspecting foreign aircraft visiting UK airports, and published details of airlines that we have refused permission to operate services to the UK for safety reasons.
11.12 In shipping, safety is best secured by quality shipping operators flying the flags of reputable shipping registers. Our aim is to drive out sub-standard shipping, which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says enjoys a 15 per cent economic advantage over well-run ships by cutting safety corners. At the European level we are working within the European Maritime Safety Agency.
Safety - What we are going to do next
Road safety
11.13 We are keen to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of fatal accidents, and we are working closely with the police and local authorities to find ways of accessing data more quickly. And we will continue to use this information to help and inform all road users through publicity and education.
11.14 We are also working with the motorcycling industry, user groups, the police and others through the Advisory Group on Motorcycling to address motorcycle safety and to better integrate motorcycling into our transport strategy. The Advisory Group will publish the results of this work later this year and their recommendations will inform the development of a national strategy for motorcycling.
THINK! Road Safety Publicity Campaign
The THINK! campaign was launched in 2000 to raise awareness of road safety. Successes to date include:
- an increase in the proportion of motorists who find it 'unacceptable' to 'highly unacceptable' to drive at 40mph in a 30mph area (76 per cent in 2003, up from 60 per cent in 1998);
- the highest ever level of young drivers disagreeing strongly with the statement "It is safe to drive after two drinks" (67 per cent); and
- nearly universal awareness (96 per cent in February 2004) of the new mobile phones legislation, which came in to force in December 2003.
Future priorities
In 2004-05 we will launch campaigns to:
- raise awareness of the dangers of driving after even one drink;
- encourage motorists to slow down, with the long term aim of making speeding as anti-social as drink driving;
- use innovative child and teen road safety publicity to educate new generations about road safety; and
- encourage motorists not to drive tired, to switch off their mobiles before driving off, and recognise the dangers of drug driving.
11.15 We will introduce provisions at the next legislative opportunity to enable roadside breath testing results to be used as evidence in court. We will also make it a requirement that all those disqualified for two years or more retake the driving test. This will apply to all repeat drink-drive offenders.
11.16 Driving is an important life skill and we will help and support drivers to help themselves. We believe that there should be a greater role for measures that help to improve drivers' abilities and make them more aware of how they can be safer drivers. We will support the national scheme to provide driver training schemes as an alternative for minor offences. We are also working with the police to develop best practice for speed awareness schemes for first-time offences by speeding drivers.
11.17 We completed a review of road traffic offences for bad driving in January 2004. It looked at ways of improving and updating the law on serious driving offences, particularly where death or serious injury results. We will be consulting on these proposals this summer, to inform any necessary changes in legislation.
11.18 There will also be a role for infrastructure improvements. To improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and horse- riders, the Highways Agency has identified over 1,000 crossing sites on the strategic road network where improvements to safety are sought. Improvements will be incorporated in the Highways Agency's programmes where possible. Many other major schemes in the Highways Agency's programmes, such as bypasses which divert traffic away from communities, will also improve safety.
Technological advances
11.19 We will continue to work with other governments and manufacturers to harness new and emerging technologies to improve safety. For example, new EU Regulations on pedestrian protection will require all new car models to have softer fronts from October 2005, and this requirement will be extended to all new cars, including existing models, from 2012. These improvements to car design could reduce pedestrian fatalities by up to 10 per cent and reduce serious injuries to pedestrians by 20 per cent.
11.20 We are promoting the development of intelligent transport systems (combinations of computers, databases, maps and sensors) for both vehicles and infrastructure. These systems work as extra eyes and ears for drivers and help to reduce the incidence and severity of accidents.
11.21 The insurance industry already encourages good driver behaviour by charging lower premiums to drivers who have a good safety record. But by monitoring how often, where, and when cars are driven, usage-based insurance schemes have the potential to encourage safer driving and bring car ownership within reach of many good drivers who would otherwise find premiums prohibitive. For example, Norwich Union is currently piloting a usage-based insurance scheme using global positioning system (GPS) technology, which we will follow with interest.
Galileo
Galileo will be Europe's own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. It will be accurate to one metre, which is unprecedented for a publicly available system. Galileo will:
- provide the accuracy needed where safety is paramount, guiding ships, running trains, and landing aircraft, even in extreme conditions;
- support much improved search and rescue services, to identify within metres the location of planes, ships, or people in distress; and
- extend and improve car navigation aids, car theft protection, and fleet monitoring systems that depend on GPS technology.
The Government, with the British National Space Centre, is investing 90 million euros in the Galileo project.
Railway safety
11.22 The railways have a good and improving record on safety. But there is a strong consensus from inside and outside the industry that the current safety framework could be improved.
11.23 The Government will legislate to transfer all aspects of health and safety regulation from the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive to the independent Office of Rail Regulation. The Government remains committed to the principle that safety regulation should be independent of government and the industry, and this will continue to be the case following this transfer of responsibility. The transfer will simplify the regulatory structure and provide a fresh start to encourage cultural change across the rail industry. It will enable the development of an independent regulator with specialist economic and safety rail expertise and allow decisions which touch on both economic and safety regulation to be brought together.
11.24 The Government's view is that there are also a number of areas where the industry itself needs to take action. It is in everyone's interest that there is strong safety leadership by the industry and so should consider with the Office of Rail Regulation how best to achieve this. Train operators and Network Rail need to continue their work to move from following standards unquestioningly, to a safety system based on risk analysis.
11.25 Personal security is a major concern to many passengers and the Government confirms its support for the British Transport Police continuing in its role as a specialist police force. No change is proposed for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, which is being established as the independent rail accident investigator.
Personal security
11.26 We will continue to raise the profile of crime and the fear of crime as issues which need to be addressed through effective partnership working. We will, for example, publish guidance on the links between bus crime and other crimes, and on the range of staffing options to promote personal security across the whole journey.
Aviation and maritime safety
11.27 We will ensure that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) delivers an efficient, high quality safety regime as the European Common Aviation Area gradually expands. The UK Civil Aviation Authority will collaborate with EASA and will continue to provide effective oversight of UK airlines. We will work with the European Commission and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to ensure world-wide safety standards continue to improve. We will support the strengthening of ICAO's auditing activities. We will agree concerted action if other countries fail to ensure the safety of their aviation.
11.28 The current emphasis in shipping is to put significant financial and human resources into responding to accidents. We want to shift that emphasis to identifying how best to stop situations developing through targeted education, advice and other initiatives. Shipping regulations continue to flow from the United Nations and the European Union. We will work internationally to influence safety requirements so that they are appropriate and proportionate and do not put British shipping at a commercial disadvantage.
Transport security - What we have achieved
11.29 Since 2001 we have worked closely with the international bodies that regulate transport security to ensure that standards world-wide reflect the changing nature of the international terrorist threat to transport systems. At the same time we have worked with colleagues in industry and Government to ensure that UK transport systems and the people using and working on them are properly protected.
11.30 The UK's transport security regimes are among the most mature in the world, with well-developed legislation and systems. Nevertheless, the period since September 2001 has seen considerable enhancements. Underpinning this has been an enormous amount of activity to enhance international security standards, and a determination to develop closer working relationships with the UK control authorities (the police, immigration and customs). The launch of Multi-Agency Threat and Risk Assessment (MATRA) for airports in December 2003 was a major milestone in that process and we are looking to develop this approach for other types of transport.
11.31 The already robust UK aviation security programme has been further enhanced through, for example, the introduction of new secure cockpit doors on civil aircraft and by the capability to deploy armed police on aircraft should the need arise. We are also building a network of overseas-based regional aviation security liaison officers to advise UK airlines and local transport security authorities on aviation security issues.
11.32 In the maritime industry we have taken a leading role internationally in establishing and implementing new International Maritime Organisation standards for passenger, cargo shipping and ports, which came into force in July this year.
11.33 On the railways, we have reviewed the UK's National Railway Security Programme and established a programme of regular inspections of the mainline network. In the light of the attacks in Madrid we have been working closely with the industry and the police to identify and develop measures to enhance security on the railways, building on the existing regime. And we have reviewed the Channel Tunnel security programme to ensure it remains appropriate, holding regular meetings with French officials to maintain high security standards in the UK and France.
11.34 In July 2003 we formalised London Underground's security regime through security instructions under the Railways Act 1993. Since then we have established a compliance and enforcement regime. Since the Madrid attacks we have been working closely with the industry and the police to ensure our railway and Underground security arrangements remain appropriate.
11.35 Following the 11 September attacks the UK took the lead internationally in reviewing the security of dangerous goods in transport. As a result, new United Nations-approved security standards were agreed, which the UK and other states must adopt.
11.36 In essence, the agreed measures set down basic security provisions for the transport of dangerous goods, covering their consignment, site security, storage and the training of those involved. The new security measures will become law from 1 July 2005. In the interim, the UK introduced a code of practice for the security of dangerous goods by road in January 2004. This comprises practicable and proportionate security measures. Its implementation will enhance the security of dangerous goods on the UK's roads, and thus reduce their vulnerability to a terrorist attack. A similar code for rail will be introduced in August 2004.
Transport security - What we are going to do next
11.37 We, and the transport industries, must continue to meet the challenges of developing practicable, effective and proportionate security measures, and delivering secure transport systems that remain attractive and affordable for the travelling public.
11.38 This will be particularly challenging in parts of the transport industry that are essentially open in nature, such as the railways. Across all forms of transport we will focus on four key themes:
- the continuous development of domestic security programmes;
- driving up standards of transport security within Europe and worldwide;
- investment in research and development to ensure that the staff responsible for security benefit from the most appropriate recruitment and training procedures, and are supported by the best available technology; and
- compliance monitoring with enforcement action to ensure that the industries meet the required standards.
11.39 The transport industry should cover the cost of delivering transport security regimes. The Government's role will be to provide funding for research and development, for law enforcement and for intelligence services and to continue to work with industry and with international partners to develop and enforce security standards.
11.40 Perhaps the strongest single weapon in the fight against transport-related terrorism is the vigilance of staff and passengers. We would therefore encourage everyone working in, or travelling on, our transport system to maintain vigilance and to report any activity that appears suspicious.
11.41 There can never be any absolute guarantees where security is concerned, but through our close working relationships with colleagues overseas, the police, the Security Service, and with the transport industries, we will continue to make every effort to keep the UK's transport system safe.
Conclusion
11.42 The Government is committed to ensuring that people are safe and secure when they travel. The strategy outlined in this document will foster the delivery of safety measures and security regimes that manage any threat to a level acceptable to us all.
(1) Tomorrow's Roads - safer for everyone, Department for Transport, March 2000, available from the Department's website at www.dft.gov.uk
(2) Tomorrow's Roads - safer for everyone: the first three year review, Department for Transport, April 2004, available from the Department's web site at
www.dft.gov.uk
(3) Protecting Bus and Coach Crews - a practical guide for bus and coach operators and staff, Department for Transport, December 2003. Available from the Department's web site at
www.dft.gov.uk
