Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the (a) daytime and (b) night-time occupancy of HGV parking places in motorway service areas.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department does not hold data on the daytime occupancy rates of HGV parking places in Motorway Service Areas (MSAs). The National Survey of Lorry Parking (2018) contains data on night-time occupancy of HGV parking places across all lorry parks, including MSAs, which can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/723349/national-survey-of-lorry-parking-report.pdf.
The Department is currently tendering to update the National Survey of Lorry Parking to ensure strong and up to date evidence is available on the national picture of lorry parking demand to inform decision making. We expect this to be complete by September 2022.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the time and distance for a user of a wheel chair to get from one platform to the other at Durrington-on-Sea station.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
Durrington-on-Sea is a category B2 station, which means that there is step-free access to both platforms and technically a step-free route between platforms. However, the step-free route between the two platforms is quite impractical as it is 0.6 miles via a nearby road-bridge on Shaftesbury Avenue. This is approximately a 12-minute journey for someone walking and the bridge is steep. Govia Thameslink Railway does not treat B2 category stations as accessible.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the (a) number of and (b) deficit in MOT testing in each month since March (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020; what estimate he has made of the (A) number of MOT tests required to restore adequate service levels and (B) average number of days before a request for a MOT test is met; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) monitors MOT testing capacity constantly to inform future planning. The agency does not hold data on MOT booking requests as they are made directly to MOT testing stations (cars) or authorised testing facilities (lorries, buses and trailers).
For lorries, buses and trailers, where DVSA staff conduct annual road worthiness (MOT) tests, the DVSA has issued a series of exemptions. The deadline for a vehicle’s next test depends on when the MOT was originally due and whether the vehicle qualifies for a 3-month or a 12-month exemption. These exemptions will be automatically applied. The DVSA is confident, with its plan for exemptions in place, that it can deliver to capacity to carry out tests when they are due. DVSA is working with industry to ensure that tests are presented when due, so that demand is managed.
For light vehicles, such as cars, where private garages carry out MOTs, a six month extension was applied automatically to all MOTs expiring between 1 April and 31 July 2020. The DVSA is working closely with the industry to help it manage demand for MOTs now extensions are no longer being issued. There is confidence the network of 23,000 garages that conduct MOTs will be able to meet demand for MOTs from light vehicle owners.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue has accrued to the public purse in each year since charges replaced the original tolls at the Dartford crossing; and what estimate he has made of the time taken to pay for the costs of building the Elizabeth Bridge and funding its long-term maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The revenue accruing from the Dart Charge is published each year in the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing charging scheme accounts (in the table headed income) which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/search/all?keywords=%22dartford+thurrock%22+accounts&order=relevance.
Toll charges were levied until 2003 when the debts associated with the construction of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and the tunnels had been fully discharged. A Road User Charge was introduced in 2003 to manage the high demand for use of the Crossing after a study reported that traffic levels would be 17% higher if payment was removed. The charges imposed and collected are used to fund transport improvements in accordance with the Transport Act 2000, though not exclusively Dartford-related.
The published accounts include figures on the maintenance and operation of the crossing in the expenditure table.
The maintenance cost for both the tunnels and Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, for the year ended 31 March 2019, amounted to £11.371 million. This figure included costs for:
Expenditure (2018-2019) | £000 |
Highways England Staff | 3,530 |
Safety Scheme | 4,833 |
EU Tunnel directive on safety | 1,848 |
Technology projects safety | 890 |
Network Resilience | 136 |
Routine maintenance | 494 |
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to promote the adoption of the latest sensing Autonomous Emergency Braking systems to support advances in the technology sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
New sensor technology, together with advances in system software, mean that a new generation of Advanced Emergency Braking Systems have the potential to have a positive effect on road casualties.
Through its support for a dynamic rating system in EuroNCAP, the UK Government has encouraged the uptake of AEBS and other new technologies by vehicle manufacturers who seek the highest safety ratings for their products. The UK is also an active participant in UN ECE consideration of proposals to require AEBS to be fitted to all new passenger cars and vans.
More widely, the Government is investing £150m into Collaborative Research and Development and Feasibility Study projects, including a range of high profile public trials and demonstrations of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, and related technologies and business models.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the (a) known and (b) estimated safety benefits to vulnerable road users including (a) pedestrians, (b) cyclists and (c) motorised two wheelers of fitting (i) cars, (ii) vans and (iii) lorries fitted with the latest sensing Autonomous Emergency Braking.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
UK casualty data regarding pedestrians and cyclists were used in the European project, “Assessment methodologies for forward looking Integrated Pedestrian and further extension to Cyclists Safety Systems”(AsPeCSS - 2014). It estimated that first generation AEBS could reduce pedestrian fatalities by 6% and serious injuries by 4% when assessed against a baseline of no AEBS. Estimates for second generation systems, with greater pedestrian recognition capability, indicated a reduction of fatal and serious injuries of 14% and 9% respectively.
The capability of AEBS to reduce cycle casualties was assessed but, due to the less mature state of the technology, the benefits could not be quantified in such clear terms.
This study does not provide a breakdown by casualty and by vehicle type.