Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government for what reason the drink drive limit in England and Wales was set at 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood; and what scientific studies, if any, were the basis for determining that limit.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Road Safety Act 1967 made it an offence to drive a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in excess of 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood and obliged drivers to submit to a screening, breathalyser test at the roadside in certain circumstances.
In 1966 Professor Allsop published a paper “Alcohol and Road Accidents” which stated that earlier research by Professor Borkenstein in 1964 showed that with “blood alcohol levels above 80 mg/100 ml, the risk of being involved in an accident is higher”.
Professor Allsop’s report provided the basis for setting the drink drive limit in 1967.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sugg on 2 April (HL14846), whether they will also monitor the results of the December 2014 reduction in the legal blood alcohol limit for motorists in Scotland from 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood to 50 milligrams; and what assessment they have made of the possible effects of introducing such a reduction for motorists in the rest of the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
An independent report of the impact of the Scottish limit reduction, led by the University of Glasgow, was published on 12 December 2018. The study found that lowering the drink drive limit was not associated with any reduction in total road traffic accident rates or serious and fatal road traffic accident rates.
There are no current plans to lower the drink drive limit in England and Wales. The Government believes that rigorous enforcement and serious penalties for drink drivers are a more effective deterrent than changing the drink driving limit.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of the introduction of a system of graduated licences for new or young drivers.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Department for Transport will closely monitor the results of the introduction of Graduated Driver Licencing (GDL) in Northern Ireland, before further consideration is given to introducing such a system more widely within the UK.
The Department needs to be sure that the benefits of introducing GDL to the UK are balanced against the potential risks and costs of the restrictions on young drivers.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation regarding the maximum allowed age of tyres fitted to (1) coaches and (2) heavy goods vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
On 26 February 2019, the Government announced that it will consult on options to ban tyres older than 10 years from use on buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles and mini-buses.
The consultation will also look at whether the ban should be extended to taxis and private hire vehicles.
We understand that some of the options under consideration may have implications for different stakeholder groups. This is why we have committed to a full consultation in order to better understand the consequences of various proposals.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for fatalities and injuries involving confined spaces in the fishing and maritime industries in England.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) undertakes rigorous investigations into accidents and incidents to ensure that the causes can be understood and lessons learned.
There have been a number of accidents involving fatalities, and multiple fatalities, within the maritime sector. MAIB has issued a number of Safety Bulletins following these incidents (2/2008, 3/2014 and 4/2018) highlighting the risks.
The reasons for these accidents have generally been attributed to:
As a result of MAIB recommendations a paper was submitted to the International Maritime Organization to raise awareness of enclosed space entry accidents. This has led to changes in the guidance issued at international level by the International Maritime Organization.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency publishes comprehensive guidance which reflect these findings and best practice including the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP), which it is mandatory for all merchant ships to carry a copy of, the Fisherman’s Safety Guide and Marine Guidance Notes.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any validated statistics from the Scottish Government relating to the impact of the reduction of the drink driving limit in Scotland on 5 December 2014; and if so, what account they have taken of those statistics in assessing the appropriate level of the drink driving limit in England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
Statistics on road safety in Great Britain are based on data from various sources, including accidents reported to the police via the Stats19 system. This includes data from Police Scotland. The Department for Transport publishes an annual statistical release providing estimates on accidents involving drinking and driving in Great Britain.
The Government would welcome a robust and comprehensive evaluation of the road safety impacts resulting from the change to the Scottish drink drive limit.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the provision of Emergency Towing Vessels covering the Strait of Dover.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
In light of a recent recommendation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency intends to commission a study to review the full range of emergency response assets available in the Dover Strait area, including a reassessment of the need for a dedicated emergency towing capability.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been spent to date developing and operating (1) the Electronic Service Delivery of Abnormal Loads system operated by Highways England, and (2) any other commercial software systems which are designed to perform a similar task; and what proportion of abnormal load notifications received by Network Rail have been generated by each system in the last two months.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Electronic Service Delivery for Abnormal Loads (ESDAL²), operated by Highways England, has cost £3.9million to develop and operate to date.
There are commercial systems that perform some elements of ESDAL², but do not offer the same end-to-end service. These have been financed through private concerns and no public money has been used to develop or operate them.
For the period 1st September to 31st October 2016, Network Rail has received a total of 11,308 notifications through ESDAL² from 361 companies. In the same period, it has received 6,834 notifications from 87 companies who have used a commercial software platform (or 29% of total notifications received in the period) with approximately half of these being from a single company. There have been 5,149 notifications from other forms received by Network Rail, which equates to 22% of total notifications received.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that the Secretary of State for Transport shall decline to grant a Vehicle Special Order under section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, for the purpose of carrying crane ballast weights, to an operator which does not have a green Operator Compliance Risk Score from the DVSA; and if not, whether they will review that policy.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The DVSA’s Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is a scheme that supports DVSA’s compliance monitoring for operators. In contrast Vehicle Special Orders in relation to the Special Types General Order (STGO) for abnormal loads are granted by the Secretary of State for Transport through Highways England.
These two schemes are not connected or interdependent. The Compliance Risk Score does not form any part of the process for granting an application for a Vehicle Special Order. Both schemes are designed with specific requirements. We have no plans to change the process to make either scheme conditional on the other.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether draft regulations will be made available under Clause 5 of the Bus Services Bill [HL] relating to the provision of relevant information that a franchising authority may obtain from local bus operators, and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government will work closely with both local authority stakeholders and bus operators to develop sensible proposals that both meet the needs of franchising authorities and do not place unnecessary burdens on local bus operators.
Policy discussions with key stakeholders were started in May, and policy scoping notes, setting out the policy intent of each of the regulations, were circulated to Noble Peers on 15th June. Our intention is to continue to engage with bus operators and local authorities to produce draft regulations for consultation in the autumn.