£3.5m for 'innovative' road safety projects
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Eight local authorities have been awarded £3.5m of extra funding for road safety projects, road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick announced last week.
The authorities will use the funding to tackle road safety problems in their areas using new techniques, then share evidence with other authorities and agencies.
Jim Fitzpatrick said: "We need to find innovative ways to tackle the road safety problems we face. This extra funding will support local authorities using the latest techniques, which in turn will help to spread good practice around the country and make our roads safer for everyone."
The eight Road Safety Partnership Grants are:
* Up to £854,000 for Staffordshire County Council to improve safety for motorcyclists by raising car driver awareness, tackling hazards such as diesel spills and mud on the road more effectively, making minor highway engineering changes and providing pre-rider education for 13-year-olds upwards.
* Up to £200,000 for Derbyshire County Council to use a data system to analyse patterns of motorcycling and target social marketing towards motorcyclists. The project will involve working closely with the motorcycling community in Derbyshire.
* Up to £66,000 for Warwickshire County Council for a pilot programme to be expanded to cover up to 1,300 powered two wheeler riders across the West Mercia area. 'Take Control' training enhances riders' abilities by targeting subsidised and accessible training towards riders at high risk of injury, including riders who would have progressed from mopeds to 125cc bikes without additional training, new or inexperienced riders of high powered machines and riders motorcycling for leisure.
* Up to £597,000 for the new Cheshire East Council to lead a project to reduce the disproportionately high numbers of motorcyclist casualties on the A537 'Cat & Fiddle'.
* Up to £849,000 for Lancashire County Council to test innovative in-vehicle systems that warn drivers when they are speeding or approaching sharp curves.
* Up to £480,000 for the Unity Partnership - on behalf of Oldham Borough Council - for road safety education targeted towards adults in five areas in Oldham with concentrations of road casualties.
* Up to £49,000 for Bristol City Council to work with the University of West of England to evaluate the effectiveness of social marketing targeted towards young drivers in deprived areas.
* Up to £284,000 for the London Borough of Hounslow for a tailored road safety programme directed towards the Somali community, which is disproportionately represented in road casualties locally.
Funding of £28,500 was also awarded to the Child Accident Prevention Trust CAPT) to support child safety week and up to £41,000 is available for Brake related to road safety week.
Click here to read the full DfT press release.
Comments:
It makes me wonder sometimes. If a LA comes up with a good idea that appears to work it is then lost as there is no co-ordination throughout the country. Each LA is obtaining its own monies and using them some with greater success that others but no one will admit theirs doesn't work and no one will adopt something that does. What a waste of monies and endeavours.
Bob Craven, Lancs
