Driver Behaviour and Awareness Issues

1. The Department for Transport (DfT) sought advice from the Motorists' Forum on a number of issues where it felt that the Forum could have a useful input into future policy formulation. The issues to be addressed were:

Driver Awareness/Behaviour

• How DfT could raise driver awareness about road safety issues and influence driver behaviour.

Communication with Motorists

• How DfT could communicate more effectively with motorists while they were driving, thereby improving the effectiveness and clarity of DfT's communication strategies.
• How DfT could enhance its publicity/advertising campaigns, in respect of both the messages and target audience.
• How motoring organisations and others could enhance DfT advertising campaigns.

Older Drivers

• How mobility for older drivers could be extended without compromising road safety.

Driver Refresher Training

• Whether there is a need to encourage voluntary refresher training - ie encouraging motorists to look at driving as a life skill rather than a one-off test, thereby refreshing skills on a regular basis.
• How persistent "violators" could be targeted, ie through re-training and re-testing.

2. The Highways Agency also sought advice on how driving standards could be raised through road works on the strategic road network.

3. This task was delegated to the Forum's Rights and Responsibilities Working Group. The Group comprised members from the Automobile Association, British School of Motoring, Environmental Transport Association, Gwent Consultancy, Institute of Advanced Motorists, Metropolitan Police, National Society of Clean Air, Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, RAC Foundation, RAC Motoring Services, Transport Research Institute and University College London. Representatives from DfT and the Highways Agency also attended.

4. The key conclusions and recommendations emanating from the Working Group discussions, which were subsequently endorsed by the full Motorists' Forum, are set out below.

Driver Awareness/Behaviour

• Ensure speed limits are appropriate for the road and conditions, and that they are properly advertised to motorists.
• Place speed limit signs, on an experimental basis, where current signing is allegedly ambiguous.
• Place more speed limit signs in high risk accident sites.
• Display speed limits on speed camera warning signs.
• Require local authorities to maintain full visibility of speed limit signs throughout the year.
• Require vehicle manufacturers to design and install speedometers clearly indicating the primary speed limit thresholds, ie 30, 50 and 70 mph.
• Change the emphasis in the way speeding prosecutions are administered - ie look for ways to educate drivers on the danger of driving at inappropriate speeds and on the benefits of driving sensibly, as opposed purely to applying punitive sanctions.
• Increase traffic policing capacity to aid enforcement.

Driver Behaviour at Roadworks

(a) In coned-off areas:

• Consider employing digital speed cameras through the coned-off area at roadworks in place of single site cameras.
• Consider imposing alternative speed limits at roadworks linked to whether contractors are working on site.

(b) On the approach to roadworks:

• Introduce a mechanism advising motorists not to lane change too early (to make better use of road space and reduce "road rage").
• Consider more widespread use of "Merge in Turn" signs.

Effective Communication with Motorists

• Use information avenues other than mainstream TV - such as pirate radio stations, public information films, stories in TV soaps and TV "set-ups" - to carry advertising campaigns aimed at young audiences.
• Incorporate public service information with traffic reports on the radio to communicate with motorists while driving.
• Disseminate key motoring and traffic information by issuing leaflets at motorway service areas.

Keeping Drivers with Reducing Abilities Mobile

• Consider widening the scope for providing driving courses for older motorists.
• DfT to address safety issues surrounding taxi/private hire vehicles (both inside and outside the vehicles).
• Consult specific organisations representing elderly people, such as Age Concern and Saga.
• Seek insurance industry assistance in tailoring suitable and affordable car insurance polices (for those who obtain "medical clearance" to continue driving).
• Use local GPs to determine an elderly person's ability to drive (thought more acceptable to elderly person than using an independent assessor).
• Forum members to challenge any over-reaction to Government proposals aimed at maintaining older drivers' ability to continue driving.

Driver Refresher Training

• Following a motoring conviction, target retraining courses to the specific area of driver improvement required and consider whether voluntary schemes are more effective than those which are mandatory.
• As a means of refresher training, consider highlighting any new references in the Highway Code for easy identification.
• Seek insurance industry assistance to identify which "errant" drivers (those with a poor accident history) might be subject to general retraining.
• Use speed cameras, and, especially red light cameras to identify "high violators" who are potential "crash magnets" and therefore in particular need of help in changing their driving style.
• Explore with the insurance industry why successful completion of the Pass Plus scheme by young drivers does not lead to discounts on premiums by insurance companies.
• Enlist the views of young people on driving tuition, the driving test and post-test training.