Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential safety benefits of requiring yellow box junctions at the intersection of road and rail at small level crossings; and if he will make it his policy to require those yellow boxes to be installed by highway authorities.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Network Rail, in its role as the national railway infrastructure manager, is responsible for ensuring the safe operation of public level crossings on the rail network in Great Britain and for assessing what safety measures are suitable at each crossing. It undertakes this in consultation with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the safety regulator, and with local highway authorities. There are no plans to require local highways authorities to install yellow box junctions at level crossings.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April to Question 34894 on renewal of driving licences for volunteers who cannot obtain medical certificates from their general practitioners, if he will make appropriate arrangements for drivers of passenger-carrying vehicles, in addition to the arrangements for bus and lorry drivers.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The temporary provisions for bus and lorry drivers outlined in the answer to Question 34894 extend to drivers of passenger carrying vehicles, providing the licence holder has passed the required driving test.
Drivers who have passed a car test and wish to drive a minibus as a volunteer can do so without obtaining a medical report, provided they can meet certain criteria. These are:
that they are driving on behalf of a non-commercial body for social purposes but not for hire or reward (unless operating under a permit)
they are 21 years old or over
they have held a category B (car) licence for at least two years
they are providing their services on a voluntary basis
the minibus has a maximum weight of no more than 3.5 tonnes (excluding any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers) and is not towing a trailer.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend the expiry dates for (a) passenger carrying vehicle and (b) other higher categories of driving licences for volunteer specialist drivers (i) whose age requires a medical certificate to accompany their licence renewal application and (ii) who cannot access a GP appointment to obtain a medical certificate to accompany that licence renewal application during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
To keep bus and lorry drivers on the road, the Government has made temporary provisions for bus and lorry drivers aged 45 and over. A D4 medical report will not be required when applying to renew a bus or lorry driving licence until further notice. Provided they have no notifiable medical conditions, drivers will be issued a licence that is valid for one year instead of the usual five. This will only apply if the licence is due to expire or has expired since 1 January 2020.
As is always the case, drivers must ensure they are medically fit to drive and they are legally obliged to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of any onset or worsening medical conditions.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made in providing frontline supply-chain logistics personnel with (a) hand sanitiser, (b) anti-bacterial wipes and (c) relevant protective clothing in order to maintain reliable deliveries to supermarkets and other distribution outlets.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We are working very closely with the logistics industry to keep supply chains moving, including to address this and other matters to keep workers safe. Public Health England updated advice on 24th March and 7th April. Advice is at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will conduct a public consultation on the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of making compulsory the equipping of bicycles with an effective auditory warning device whenever ridden on public roads or paths.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require a bell to be fitted to an assembled bicycle at the point of sale, but there is currently no legal requirement for bicycles to be fitted with bells when in use on public roads or paths. Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that a bell should be fitted to all bicycles, and advises cyclists to be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and to use the bell where appropriate to signal to others that they are nearby.
The Department has received representations from various stakeholders on this matter as part of the recent wide-ranging Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review call for evidence. Some respondents have suggested changing the current legislation to require all bikes to be fitted with bells when in use. The Department is currently analysing the 13,000 or so responses to the call for evidence, and will announce next steps later this year. In considering the case for any change to the current legislation on bike bells, the Department will consider matters such as how effectively any new requirement could be enforced.
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 are primarily designed to ensure consumer protection at the point of sale, and they do not cover the use of bicycles. They were introduced following a consultation in 2009.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons were for the policy decisions that led to it being illegal for a new bicycle to be sold without an auditory warning device but not illegal for the purchaser of a new bicycle to remove such a device after purchase.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require a bell to be fitted to an assembled bicycle at the point of sale, but there is currently no legal requirement for bicycles to be fitted with bells when in use on public roads or paths. Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that a bell should be fitted to all bicycles, and advises cyclists to be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and to use the bell where appropriate to signal to others that they are nearby.
The Department has received representations from various stakeholders on this matter as part of the recent wide-ranging Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review call for evidence. Some respondents have suggested changing the current legislation to require all bikes to be fitted with bells when in use. The Department is currently analysing the 13,000 or so responses to the call for evidence, and will announce next steps later this year. In considering the case for any change to the current legislation on bike bells, the Department will consider matters such as how effectively any new requirement could be enforced.
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 are primarily designed to ensure consumer protection at the point of sale, and they do not cover the use of bicycles. They were introduced following a consultation in 2009.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) bells and (b) alternative auditory warning devices on bicycles as an aid to the avoidance of collisions with pedestrians.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require a bell to be fitted to an assembled bicycle at the point of sale, but there is currently no legal requirement for bicycles to be fitted with bells when in use on public roads or paths. Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that a bell should be fitted to all bicycles, and advises cyclists to be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and to use the bell where appropriate to signal to others that they are nearby.
The Department has received representations from various stakeholders on this matter as part of the recent wide-ranging Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review call for evidence. Some respondents have suggested changing the current legislation to require all bikes to be fitted with bells when in use. The Department is currently analysing the 13,000 or so responses to the call for evidence, and will announce next steps later this year. In considering the case for any change to the current legislation on bike bells, the Department will consider matters such as how effectively any new requirement could be enforced.
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 are primarily designed to ensure consumer protection at the point of sale, and they do not cover the use of bicycles. They were introduced following a consultation in 2009.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department has decided that it would be too difficult to enforce a requirement, if enacted, for all bicycles to have an effective auditory warning device fitted, whenever ridden, when it has decided that it is not too difficult to enforce the current requirement that all bicycles must have lights, in working order, fitted whenever ridden at night.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require a bell to be fitted to an assembled bicycle at the point of sale, but there is currently no legal requirement for bicycles to be fitted with bells when in use on public roads or paths. Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that a bell should be fitted to all bicycles, and advises cyclists to be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and to use the bell where appropriate to signal to others that they are nearby.
The Department has received representations from various stakeholders on this matter as part of the recent wide-ranging Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review call for evidence. Some respondents have suggested changing the current legislation to require all bikes to be fitted with bells when in use. The Department is currently analysing the 13,000 or so responses to the call for evidence, and will announce next steps later this year. In considering the case for any change to the current legislation on bike bells, the Department will consider matters such as how effectively any new requirement could be enforced.
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 are primarily designed to ensure consumer protection at the point of sale, and they do not cover the use of bicycles. They were introduced following a consultation in 2009.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received representations from or on behalf of (a) partially sighted pedestrians and (b) other pedestrians on requirements for bicycles to be fitted with effective auditory warning devices whenever ridden on public roads or paths; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 require a bell to be fitted to an assembled bicycle at the point of sale, but there is currently no legal requirement for bicycles to be fitted with bells when in use on public roads or paths. Rule 66 of the Highway Code recommends that a bell should be fitted to all bicycles, and advises cyclists to be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and to use the bell where appropriate to signal to others that they are nearby.
The Department has received representations from various stakeholders on this matter as part of the recent wide-ranging Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review call for evidence. Some respondents have suggested changing the current legislation to require all bikes to be fitted with bells when in use. The Department is currently analysing the 13,000 or so responses to the call for evidence, and will announce next steps later this year. In considering the case for any change to the current legislation on bike bells, the Department will consider matters such as how effectively any new requirement could be enforced.
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2010 are primarily designed to ensure consumer protection at the point of sale, and they do not cover the use of bicycles. They were introduced following a consultation in 2009.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role the EU had in promoting the exemption of 40 year-old cars from MOT inspections; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
From 16 September to 2 November 2016 we consulted over proposals to implement European Directive 2014/45 on periodic tests for roadworthiness. The Directive provided that Member States could exempt vehicles over 30 years old, provided they had not been substantially changed. Our proposals were developed following an informal consultation in 2014.