Road traffic collisions and safety (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

Effective road safety:

• Saves lives and prevents (often life-changing) injuries
• Enables people to live healthy and full lives
• Prevents emotional and psychological trauma
• Saves an immense amount of public money
• Reduces the burden on over-stretched public services, such as health and social care
• Supports other public policies, such as improving health by helping and encouraging people to walk and cycle in a safe and attractive environment
• Helps to tackle health inequalities
• Improves community cohesion and quality of life

The 1988 Road Traffic Act states:

Each local authority must prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety and may make contributions towards the cost of measures for promoting road safety taken by other authorities or bodies. Local authorities also have a duty to take steps to reduce and prevent accidents, promote road safety and secure the safe movement of traffic (including pedestrians) on their roads.

The Council carry this out through, road safety education and training; and investigating injury accidents on the highway in order to formulate and introduce remedial measures to reduce the number and severity of accidents occurring.

Statutory duties to deliver road safety

While central government sets the regulatory framework for roads, vehicles and road users, and national road safety strategies, road safety delivery occurs primarily at the local level with Local Government being the lead delivery agent, working in partnership with many other agencies and stakeholders.

Local Authorities

Local authorities have various statutory duties related to road safety:

The Road Traffic Act 1988 (Section 39) requires local authorities in Great Britain to

• take steps both to reduce and prevent accidents
• prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety
• carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads or part of roads, other than trunk roads, within their area
• take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (Section 122) requires local authorities in Great Britain to

• to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehicular and other traffic(including pedestrians)

The Traffic Management Act 2004 (Section 16) requires local authorities in England and Wales to manage and maintain their road networks to

• secure the expeditious movement of traffic on, and the efficient use of, their road networks
• avoid, eliminate or reduce road congestion or other disruption to the movement of traffic on
• their road network or a road network for which another authority is the traffic authority.

Partnership Approach

Partnership working is a vital ingredient for a successful road safety strategy to ensure a joined-up approach to road safety and also to raise public awareness of road safety and sustainable transport. Road safety delivery agents, such as the Police, Fire and Rescue Services and Public Health agencies, all have a duty to help prevent road crashes and casualties.

The police are a key delivery agency for local (and national) road safety. Roads policing supports and complements road safety education and engineering initiatives. It discourages and detects illegal, dangerous and careless behaviour on the road, identifies offenders and helps to educate, and change the attitudes of, road users. It also prevents other forms of crime.

Road death and injury is massively wasteful, destroys lives beyond those of the actual victims, limits future productivity and drains money from our economies. It is also eminently preventable and we have an enviable record in reducing road casualties at a fraction of the costs to society of the problem itself.

Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative (NSRI)

Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative (NSRI) was set up to use police led enforcement to inform education and communication to help reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads. It is a partnership between the five Tyne and Wear local authorities and Northumberland, Northumbria Police, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue services, Her Majesty's Court Service, the Highways Agency and Newcastle University.

The initiative works to improve enforcement of speed restrictions and other offences such as jumping red lights, using a mobile phone while driving, not being in proper control or not wearing a seatbelt. The initiative also works to educate drivers through various online platforms, about road safety issues and aims to help reduce vehicle speeds where appropriate and raise people's awareness of road conditions. Details are on the NSRI website at:

Safe Speed for Life

South Tyneside Council have identified its priorities which are laid out covering the following key themes:

• Parking
• Transport
• Cycling
• Roads and pavements
• Road safety
• Street care and cleaning
• Street lighting
• Beach and water services
• Transport policy
• Winter advice
• Traffic cameras

South Tyneside Council: Parking, roads and transport