28/10/2020
A new report published by Public Health Wales has looked in to the effects of the full Wales COVID-19 lockdown on road traffic crashes.
Between January and May 2020 the work identified a decrease of nearly 47 per cent in health service treatment of road traffic crash injuries compared with the same period in 2019.
Dr Sarah Jones, Consultant in Public Health said, “Unfortunately road traffic crashes are a consequence of transport and travel. At a time of significant change to our transport and travel behaviours we also saw that injuries sustained in road traffic crashes were almost halved.
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23/10/2020
Written Statement: Response to the report and recommendations from the Unadopted Roads Taskforce - Ken Skates MS, Minister for Economy and Transport and North Wales.
Last year, I commissioned an expert Taskforce to identify the extent of the issues regarding unadopted roads in Wales and see what could be done to improve the situation.
Chaired by Huw Morgan of the WLGA and former Director of Sustainable Communities for Ceredigion Council, the Taskforce had a flexible membership of skilled practitioners and professionals. These included representatives from the Home Builders Federations and Federation of Master Builders, highway engineers, members of the County Surveyors Society (CSS) and planners from Planning Officers Society Wales (POSW). It investigated issues associated with all types of unadopted roads and the difficulties arising as a result of no clear ownership or accountability for maintenance.
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21/10/2020
With the clocks going back one hour this weekend and daylight hours growing shorter, Road Safety Wales is reminding road users to take extra care and remain vigilant when out and about in the dark.
The arrival of autumn often brings worsening weather and reduced visibility, increasing the risk of collisions, particularly involving vulnerable road users such as children, older people, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
Teresa Ciano, Chair of Road Safety Wales, called for extra vigilance as darker evenings begin, “Darkness creates more challenging conditions for road users. Motorists should drive considerately and reduce their speed to meet the traffic and weather conditions.
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21/10/2020
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. The other side includes information used by the ambulance service and hospital, including space to list any medication to which they are allergic, current medical history and the details of any medication they currently take.
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19/10/2020
The UK Government is now consulting on proposals that from 2021, drivers will be breaking the law if they pick up and use their mobile phones while driving.
A change in law would ban a hand-held mobile phone from being used in any capacity besides making contactless payments, for example, paying for food at a drive-through takeaway.
The development would reduce the number of reasons a driver can legally have for having a mobile phone in their hands, making it easier to secure a conviction.
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15/10/2020
An extensive public engagement exercise into Rhondda Cynon Taf’s future Active Travel plans has been agreed, as part of a review into the Council’s Integrated Network Map for submission to Welsh Government by the end of December 2021.
Cabinet members have considered the economic, health and environmental benefits of Active Travel, adding that increased investment is being made available to fund new provision and improve existing community walking/cycling routes.
The Council submitted its first Integrated Network Map to Welsh Government in November 2017, setting out local Active Travel aspirations for the next 15 years. It was developed through consultation with residents, businesses, community groups and organisations.
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13/10/2020
Ministers are backing the recommendations of an independent expert group to give councils additional civil enforcement powers to fine problem parkers.
“The current law is not as clear as it could be", said Deputy Transport Minister, Lee Waters MS, who set up the taskforce.
“There is no specific offence of parking on pavements, and although the Police can enforce the existing criminal offence of causing ‘unnecessary obstruction of any part of the highway’, it is rarely enforced".
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07/10/2020
Emergency healthcare response in Gwent is about to receive a boost – and an environmentally friendly one at that. Following on from its launch in Cardiff and Vale, the Welsh Ambulance Service this week unveiled its new Cycle Response Unit bikes for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) area.
On Friday at The Bike Shed store in Pontcanna, Cardiff, four new specially made bicycles were handed over to the ambulance service and will at first be utilised on the streets of Newport. After initial research work with London Ambulance Service, who have 20 years’ experience of cycle response, local business The Bike Shed were drafted in to work on the perfect bike design to accommodate the 52kg load of equipment they will carry – the same as that in rapid response ambulance car.
Darren Panniers, Ambulance Operations Manager for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area, welcomed the project by saying: “We are thrilled to take delivery of the new bikes and once deployed will be a great asset.
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06/10/2020
A scheme to encourage children and young people to take up cycling and promote active travel, will see 660 bikes delivered to schools across Cardiff by the end of the month.
The School's Bike Fleet scheme provides schools with a fleet of bikes for pupils to use in school for the delivery of cycle training.Funded by Welsh Government, the scheme is a partnership project between Cardiff Council, Welsh Cycling and British Cycling.
Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said, "The Schools Bike Scheme will aim to increase the number of children taking part in cycling by embedding it into school's curriculum.
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05/10/2020
Dyfed-Powys Police has revealed that its Roads Policing Unit officers arrested 20 people on suspicion of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol over a three day period, Friday, 25 September -Sunday, 27 September.
Breaking the figures down, the force says 11 of the people arrested were suspected to have illegal substances in their system at the time of driving, while nine were suspected to be over the alcohol limit.
Inspector for Specialist Operations Andy Williams said, “Unfortunately, we have seen a dramatic rise in arrests over the past 12 months, with the number of drug driving incidents surpassing drink driving.
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