Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Road Safety

Thursday 8 February 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Barry Sheerman inquired about steps being taken to ensure the safety of vulnerable road users.
  • The Minister noted that the Government updated the highway code in January 2022 to enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and riders.
  • The Minister responded that there has been a 9% decline in road fatalities in the year ending June 2023 compared to the previous year.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Barry Sheerman Lab
Transport
Context

The MP is concerned about the increasing danger faced by vulnerable road users and the lack of specific targets to improve their safety.

Question

What steps he is taking to help ensure the safety of vulnerable road users. I am concerned about the increasing danger faced by people walking, cycling, and riding due to a lack of specific targets for improvement in recent years.

Answer from Guy Opperman

In January 2022, the Government updated the highway code to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and riding. The changes aimed to make a positive shift in road-user behaviour, by making road users aware of their responsibility to use roads safely and to reduce the dangers they may pose to others. The Government's flagship multimillion-pound road safety campaign, THINK!, also plays a crucial part in reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific steps taken beyond general initiatives and lacks concrete statistics.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email
Q2 Barry Sheerman Lab
Transport
Context

The MP criticises the government for neglecting road safety targets and enforcement, leading to increased danger for vulnerable users.

Question

Are the Minister and his team aware that our country, once known to be one of the best places in the world for road safety, is now, after 14 years of neglect, no targets—in fact, there is a hatred of targets—and little enforcement, a very dangerous place to be a vulnerable road user? When will this Government wake up and start doing something about that?

Answer from Guy Opperman

With no disrespect to the hon. Gentleman, who I like as a person, he is simply wrong. In the last year, ending June 2023, there was a decline of 9% in fatalities compared to the year ending June 2022. Look at the specific measures taken: we have toughened up the driving test, made the highway code more robust and introduced tougher criminal sentences. Those are the actions of a Government who are listening and taking action.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer criticises the MP's claim without addressing the specific ask about future actions to improve safety for vulnerable users.

How: Criticising The Questioner

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Get updates like this by email