26/08/2016
Officers in Newport held an operation yesterday targeting travelling criminality. During the operation, 53 vehicles were stopped.
- One person was arrested as they had failed to appear at Cardiff Magistrates Court for traffic offences and a warrant had been issued for their arrest.
- One vehicle was seized for using red diesel. A £539 on the spot fine was issued.
- Four people found committing benefit fraud, two of which had an immediate suspension of their benefits. Follow up enquiries are being made by the Department of Work & Pensions on all four.
- Four follow up enquiries to be made by the UK Border Agency, including three Polish nationals, who were found in the same car, who had been convicted of offences since being admitted to the UK.
- Nine vehicles immediately taken off the road by VOSA for a variety of serious defects.
- One vehicle taken off the road by VOSA for exceeding drivers hours.
- One vehicle taken off the road by VOSA for being 10% overweight.
- Five vehicles were seized for not having adequate insurance.
- 13 traffic offence reports were issued for offences including no insurance, no licence, defective tyres and seat belt offences
Inspector Matthew Havard said: "We want to send a strong message to anyone intent on criminality in our communities, that this will not be tolerated. More operations are planned for the future, so be warned, we will be waiting!"
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23/08/2016
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency wants to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Great Britain’s roads by making sure newly-qualified drivers are better prepared for driving on modern roads.
To do this, the driving test needs to better assess the candidate’s ability to drive independently in modern driving conditions. The changes are to:
- increase the ‘independent driving’ part of the test from 10 to 20 minutes
- ask candidates to follow directions from a sat nav during the ‘independent driving’ part
- replace the ‘reverse around a corner’ and ‘turn in the road’ manoeuvres with more real-life scenarios, for example, driving into and reversing out of a parking bay
- ask 1 of the 2 vehicle safety questions (known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions) while the candidate is driving, for example, asking them to use the rear heated screen
The consultation closes at 25 August 2016 11:45pm - you can respond by going to https://www.gov.uk/
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15/08/2016
Fatigue is estimated to be a contributory factor in up to 20% of road collisions. These types of crashes tend to be high speed impacts resulting in death or serious injury, because a driver who has fallen asleep cannot brake or swerve.
Sleepiness reduces reaction time, a critical element of safe driving, and also reduces alertness and concentration. The ability to perform attention-based activities, such as driving or riding is impaired and decision making can be badly affected, as information cannot be quickly processed by a person who is tired.
Chair of Road Safety Wales, Susan Storch, said:
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11/08/2016
Over 9,000 breath tests carried out and over 190 drug wipes administered during an All Wales Campaign
Led by Dyfed Powys Police the campaign ran from Friday 10th June until Sunday 10th July during which time a total of 9,532 breath tests were administered across Wales with 306 of those being positive, refused or fail to provide. 199 roadside tests for drugs were administered with 131 showing positive for drugs.
The offence of drinking alcohol or taking drugs and driving is one of the "fatal 5"; the five offences that can lead to death or serious injury on our roads. The others being careless driving, excess speed, failing to wear a seatbelt, and driving while on a mobile phone.
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05/08/2016
Vale of Glamorgan landlords Jennie and Digby Rees were presented with a Road Safety Wales Award 2016 in recognition of their continuing awareness of road safety in the rural village of Peterston Super Ely.
In the early 1990s, Jennie and Digby became alarmed by the congestion surrounding St. Bride’s Road – the main road through the village – during the local primary school’s start and finish times. As many of the school’s pupils came from outside of the village, the narrow roads became congested with an increasing number of parents dropping their children off for school, who would then have to cross the busy roads to get to their lessons.
With the safety of pupils in mind, Jennie and Digby approached the head teacher and governors of Peterston Super Ely Primary School, and offered the use of their parking facilities at the Three Horse Shoes for parents’ vehicles at the beginning and end of the school day.
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03/08/2016
A new blog on walesbybike.com is encouraging motorcyclists in Wales to carry a CRASH Card.
At some point in your motorcycle riding life you may have an ‘unscheduled dismount’ or you may be with a rider who does. CRASH is a set of easy to remember steps to keep you safe, as well as the unfortunate rider who has been involved in a collision.
One side of the card has the mnemonic 'CRASH'. The person making the 999 call is the most important person at the scene, because the information they give determines the response of the emergency services. The card follows a similar set of questions universally used by ambulance service control centres, and focuses on safety, the location of the collision, and how serious it is.
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03/08/2016
With 50 days to go until the first ‘European Day Without a Road Death’ (Project EDWARD), TISPOL has published a video suggesting ways for road users to get involved in the event.
Project EDWARD takes place on 21 September, and TISPOL, the European traffic police network, hopes all of its 30 member countries will participate.
Supported by Road Safety GB and other road safety stakeholders in the UK and across Europe, the event has been created to ‘re-energise the reduction of fatalities and serious injuries on Europe’s roads’.
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01/08/2016
RoSPA Fleet Safety has launched a new Driver Development Course that can be tailored to individual organisational and delegate requirements.
Designed to raise awareness of driver behaviour and encourage safe decision making, the bespoke course enables managers to meet their specific business needs and those of their individual drivers.
While the physical skill involved in driving for work is important, factors which affect driver behaviour such as stress and fatigue can put safety at risk. The Driver Development Course will encourage drivers to be honest about their own behaviour, to develop coping strategies for themselves as well as for the behaviour of other road users.
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