Clause 10 - Accident regulations
Railways and Transport Safety Bill
9:45 am
Mrs Anne McIntosh (Vale of York, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No.16, in
clause 10, page 6, line 32, at end insert
'Accident reports such as those conducted in the event of a road accident should be completed by the relevant investigators acting under the provision of this Bill, ensuring greater transparency and security across all modes of travel.'.
The amendment is designed to deal with a particular issue, so I request, particularly in view of yesterday's statement by the Secretary of State, a stand part debate on clause 10.
The amendment deals with the provision whereby:
''The Secretary of State may make regulations in connection with the investigation of railway accidents and railway incidents''
The explanatory notes say:
''Clause 10 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations which would allow, for example, requirements to be made on the reporting of accidents and incidents to the RAIB (so that they may then investigate those accidents and incidents). Such provision would not affect existing obligations to report accidents to HSE''—
the Health and Safety Executive.
The document that is referred to in respect of road accidents is called Stats15 or Stats19—I cannot remember which, but the Minister will know what I am talking about. My understanding is based on familiarisation that I have had with road accident cases, and I believe that the casebook ''Wilkinson's Road Traffic Offences'' is the authority, as it goes into great detail on the issues. The police fill in road accident reports primarily to record the root cause of the accident and, in doing so, they consider driver behaviour in terms of the vehicle's speed and whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The accident report also goes into detail about the state of the road surface. It notes whether it was a dry day or whether the weather could have contributed to the accident. A wet road can affect a car's braking distance, and an icy road can affect a car's ability to stop in time or not to veer off the road or into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Poor visibility owing to fog or mist can also have an impact. The statistics noted in the road accident reports are vital to determining the root cause of an accident.
The thinking behind our amendment was summed up by my hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Collins) clearly and poignantly on Second Reading, when he said:
''our starting point should be the fact that a life is a life is a life. Saving a life on the roads or in the air is at least as valuable to society as saving one in any other context.''—[Official Report, 28 January 2003; Vol. 398, c. 778.]
We enjoy an inherently good safety record on our railways and roads in this country. However, because by definition more people tend to get hurt in one railway accident or incident than in a huge number of accidents on our roads in any one day, rail accidents appear more graphic and horrific.We set great store by the fact that the loss of a life, or an injury incurred, is equally damaging and should have equal value whether it occurs on the railways, in the air, on the sea or on the roads. We want greater transparency in
respect of safety, and we want to see that we are working towards increasing the security and safety of all modes of transport. On Second Reading, we noted with regret that we should have liked the Bill to touch on aspects of road safety—but we can return to that at a later stage.
We have procedures in place. Clause 10(1) empowers the Secretary of State to
''make regulations in connection with the investigation of railway accidents and . . . incidents.''
We believe that, as part of that investigation, accident reports relating to railways could usefully draw on the experience with roads. Road accident reports have been in operation for some time. I understand that the authorities—the Under-Secretary might confirm that that includes the Highways Agency and the police—rely on them, for example, to improve the safety of a road. Clearly, if a road becomes known as an accident black spot, road accident reports will play a special role.
My next point will be particularly appropriate for the Under-Secretary. A rumour has reached me that Portland helicopter base may be under threat. In the context of saying that a life is a life and that equal value should be given to a life, whether it is lost on the railways, at sea or in the air, I hope that at some stage we can ask the Under-Secretary whether that rumour is true. It might be more appropriate to raise it under the maritime provisions of the Bill.