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30 Mar 2004 : Column 1321W—continued
Bicycle Helmets
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assistance his Department and its predecessor Departments have given to the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust in each of the last five years; upon what conditions such assistance was given; and if he will make a statement. [164164]
Mr. Jamieson: We work closely with the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust (BHIT), including the provision of grant aid for initiatives which contribute to the Government's cycling objectives. I helped launch the BHIT's "Guidelines for Setting up Community Based Bicycle Helmet Programmes" in May 2002. They are the result of three years work funded by a joint package with the Department of Health of £100,000. BHIT also received funding to produce a similar School Based set of Guidelines, which were sent to all schools in July 2003.
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The BHIT has received further funding from the Department of Health for three years. The DoH gave BHIT £32,000 in 2002–03, £25,000 in 2003–04, and will be giving £20,000 in 2004–05 for their Helmet Your Head project. The project was funded as part of the DoH's target for the Health Service to contribute to accident prevention and especially injury reduction among children.
We have given grant aid to other organisations who are pursuing initiatives which support the aims of our road safety strategy, such as RoSPA, for their "Guidelines for Child Cycle Training" and the CTC for their "Adult Cycle Training Schemes Guidelines".
Buses
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what figures he uses for the cost of (a) a bendy bus and (b) a conventional double decker bus when calculating grants to local authorities for their transport plans. [164833]
Dr. Howells: Allocations for local transport funding in England (outside London) are calculated to reflect the achievement of each local transport authority in delivering the aims and objectives in its Local Transport Plan. Information on the type of buses used by local operators does not form part of the calculation.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) British built and (b) German built buses have caught fire and burnt out in the last year in the UK. [164149]
Dr. Howells: We only have records relating to six incidents in 2003—these were cases where the police asked for the Department to help with investigations.
Five of these cases involved British-built vehicles, and all were caused by maintenance defects.
We have no record of any German-built vehicles being involved in fires during 2003.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulatory action he is proposing to improve safety on bendy buses. [164146]
Dr. Howells: We do not as yet know exactly what has caused the problems with these buses, so it is too early to speculate on whether any additional regulatory action may be necessary.
We are monitoring the situation closely and will be reviewing the situation both with the vehicle manufacturers and the bus operators. In the meantime all the potentially at-risk vehicles have been taken out of service pending the completion of remedial work.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the most recent average occupancy figure is of the London bendy buses. [164147]
Dr. Howells: The average number of passengers travelling at any one time in an articulated "bendy bus" in London was 24, when surveyed by Transport for London in mid 2003.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many seats a London bendy bus has. [164148]
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Dr. Howells: The articulated "bendy buses" on services in London have 49 passenger seats. There is also provision for a passenger in a wheelchair.
Driving Test Hazard Perception Test
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what evaluation of the recently introduced Driving Test Hazard Perception Test his Department has carried out; and if he will make a statement; [163349]
- (2) what research his Department carried out in preparation for the introduction of the Driving Test Hazard Perception Test; and if he will make a statement; [163350]
(3) what research his Department has carried out on the reaction of people from different age groups to the new Driving Test Hazard Perception Test; and if he will make a statement; [163351]
(4) what plans his Department has to modify the content of format of the new Driving Test Hazard Perception Test; and if he will make a statement. [163352]
Mr. Jamieson: Hazard perception testing for learner car, lorry and bus drivers, motorcyclists and prospective driving instructors was introduced in November 2002 as part of the qualifying theory test. The pass mark for the hazard perception part of the test has been progressively raised since introduction as instructors and their pupils became accustomed to the new assessment.
Following feedback from candidates that they did not fully understand what they were required to do in the hazard perception part of the theory test, the tutorial video that candidates are shown at the start of that part of the test was revised last December. Since then, the pass rates for the hazard perception part of the test have increased significantly:
| November 2002 | December 2003 | February2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 79 | 69 | 80 |
| Motorcycle | 93 | 81 | 89 |
| Lorry | 80 | 69 | 79 |
| Bus | 80 | 66 | 76 |
| Driving Instructor | 66 | 56 | 64 |
Research over a 10 year period by the Transport Research Laboratory into the importance of hazard awareness in collision prevention indicated that performance in tests of hazard perception improved as experience is gained. The research showed that experienced drivers performed better than new drivers, who in turn performed better than learner drivers.
The film clips used in the hazard perception assessment were trialled before introduction to determine their effectiveness at discriminating between drivers on the ground of their experience. Calibration trials and analysis then took place to identify an appropriate mix of clips to ensure individual tests were of similar difficulty.
Customer satisfaction surveys and focus groups conducted by the Driving Standards Agency explore customer reactions to all aspects of the testing process,
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including the hazard perception assessment. The research does not differentiate between test candidates based upon their age.
We have no plans to change the format of the hazard perception assessment. We do, however, plan to extend the computerised assessment, together with multiple-choice questions of knowledge and understanding, to the existing standards supervision for all registered driving instructors later this year.
Focus Groups and Opinion Polls
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [162759]
Mr. McNulty: Estimated out-turn in 2003–04, will be £493,065 on focus groups of which £296,070 relates to the consultation for the white paper on the future of air transport and £156,595 to the THINK! road safety publicity campaign. In 2002–03, the Department spent £53,439 on focus groups all of which was in support of THINK!. In addition £50,792 was spent on opinion polls over a 16 month period straddling both the financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04.
Costs for earlier years before the Department for Transport was formed could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Research is widely used to inform the development, delivery and evaluation of policy and publicity. Focus group work to inform the development of our long term £14 million a year THINK! road safety publicity campaign, which keeps road safety high in the publics consciousness, involves testing attitudes and creative ideas. The end results of any focus group research that we carry out in this context are in the public domain in the form of THINK! campaign material.
All contracts are let in accordance with agreed tendering procedures and are subject to the usual rules that spending should represent good value for money.
Motor Insurance and Driving Licences
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to require motorists to display (a) proof of insurance and (b) a licence alongside their tax discs. [163513]
Mr. Jamieson: The Government are determined to tackle the menace of uninsured driving. We have commissioned Professor David Greenaway to conduct an independent review of the motor insurance industry with special reference to uninsured driving. The report is due to be delivered to Ministers next month and the recommendations for reducing the level of uninsured driving will be examined in detail. Although not ruling out the display of insurance discs we would not wish to pre-empt the findings of the review and intend to await the outcome before deciding on the next steps.
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