Overview Current situation Safer–traffic law enforcement Fairer–post crash response Investigation and prosecution Compensation and rights of victims

supporting crash victims and reducing road danger since 1992 RoadPeace supporting crash victims and reducing road danger since 1992 “Cyclists beware, there is no justice. In the eyes of the law you are in the wrong, whatever happens”.

Road danger reduction Different from road safety, in that: Duty of care must be shouldered by those posing the greatest threat. Concerned not just about road casualties but all consequences of inappropriate and excessive use of motor vehicles. Reduce the speed, volume and dominance of the motor vehicle.

Current situation National casualties Trend External causes London Under-reporting Contributory factors DfT & road safety

Reported road casualties (2010)

Who dies: the trend

External Causes of Death for the Young (2008) Homicide Initial view: External causes of death for young people. Coloured segments relate to road deaths. Monochrome patterns to non-road deaths. Considerable variations between age groups with deaths: Pedal cycles and pedestrians declining Vehicle occupancy rising to a peak for 17-19 First click Identifies Homicide Much less significant than road deaths for all age groups

Reported road casualties in London

Total cost of crashes £30 billion Under-reporting Police DfT estimate Serious injuries 23,000 80,000 Total casualties 207,000 700,000 Source: Dft, 2010, 2011 Total cost of crashes £30 billion

Contributory factors (2009) Note: DfT estimates 360 killed in drink drive crashes in 2009 (80% more than the police) Note: DfT estimates 360 killed in drink drive crashes (80% more than the police)

DfT Road Safety Strategy Then (2000-2010) Now (2011-2021) Road Safety Strategy Strategic Framework 10 themes 3 themes 150 actions 12 actions 40% K/SI target reduction no targets but… monitoring of casualties, rates and perception of safety We intend for the action we take to be seen as acceptable and proportionate to the majority of motorists. (DfT, 2011)

UN Decade of Road Safety Gets a racing start

DfT Business Plan: where is road safety? 5 structural reform priorities 4. Tackle carbon and congestion on our roads Switch to more effective ways to make our roads safer i. Stop central government funding to local bodies for new fixed speed cameras. ii. Work with local authorities to publish speed camera data. (And these are the only two references to speed in the entire document that do not relate to high speed rail)

Localism: speed reduction in Southwark with Southwark Council, Southwark Police & MPS Roads Policing Key lessons Work through Safer Neighbourhood Teams–ask for speed enforcement from Roads Police Ask for traffic safety and collision maps to be included in police community consultative group meetings. Ask for borough lead on traffic safety and collision investigation Ask for annual review of RDR efforts

Fairness and the post crash response Collision investigation and inquest Criminal prosecution and sentencing Civil compensation Rights of crash victims

National consistency? Published in 2001 but advisory only 43 independent police services DfT estimates minimum resources allocated to collision investigation

Speed estimates Rare to get accurate speed estimates Difficult to estimate, especially with vulnerable road user collisions Black box data rare Lack of technical guidance

Witness statements Cc Empirical evidence for rapid memory decay steep forgetting curve Cc Forgetting Curve

Collision investigation in London Who investigates? Road death/life threatening collisions: Specialist collision investigator based at four traffic garages Injury collisions: Scene attended by borough police but investigated by Traffic Criminal Justice Unit based at Sidcup

Inquests: lessons not learned Some 70% road deaths have inquests But… Families hurt by limited disclosure No training for coroners Coroner powers rarely used No road death verdict “accident” and Coroner reform being rolled back

Criminal prosecution Key concerns for RoadPeace Charging decision Charging standards careless vs. dangerous Lack of training Lack of transparency Sentencing culpability vs consequences

Causing death by driving Dangerous Driving Careless Driving whilst Under the Influence Careless Driving Driving whilst unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured

Causing death by…

Prison sentences

Causing death by careless driving penalties

Driving bans for causing death/bodily harm Year: 2010 5 in 6 drivers who have killed get a shorter ban than a second time drink driver

Motoring convictions (2010)   England and Wales Metropolitan Police Causing death or bodily harm 552 61 Dangerous driving 4001 470 Careless driving 58,721 8,414 Drink driving 60,888 14,126

Civil compensation Stricter liability–civilised compensation system Reverses the burden of proof in collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, and does not affect criminal prosecution does not reward bad behaviour protects children and older people

If victim contributed to collision... Who already has it Country Year If victim contributed to collision... Denmark 1986 No effect with injury compensation but property damage compensation will be reduced France 1985 No effect if victim under age 16 or over 70 or 20% disabled Germany 1909* No effect if victim under 10 Netherlands early 1990s No effect if victim under age 14 and others cannot be > 50% liable.

Rights of crash victims …are not the same as victims of crime Not same right to information X nor included in crime statistics X right to support services X

Dedicated to Barry Mason – a modern day hero

Thanks to Network for Social Change for Join Us RoadPeace a membership charity www.roadpeace.org Thanks to Network for Social Change for funding our work