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This month's top stories

Read the latest local and national road safety news and find out about current events and campaigns.

April 2012

March 2012

  • Dorset County Council made a successful bid to the Department for Transport for three years of Bikeability funding.  We have been granted £30,000 to provide 750 free places for level two cycle training in the current financial year.  We are confident that we will receive funding for years two and three but this is subject to performance this year.
  • The latest casualty statistics from the Department for Transport for the 12 months up to 30 September 2011 suggest a 5% reduction nationally in the number of people killed or seriously injured in a collision, compared with the same 12 month period in 2010. Dorset County Council's figures for this period show a 15% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in a collision, from 230 for year ending September 2010 to 196 for year ending September 2011.  View the Department for Transport - Collision quarterly estimates (opens in a new window)

Due to the complex nature of road traffic collisions, it is widely appreciated that no single factor on its own is likely to result in a reduction in road traffic casualties. Dorset County Council regularly analyse road traffic collision data in order to prioritise road safety initiatives which include engineering measures, road user training and enforcement.

February 2012

  • Make sure your loved ones 'belt up' this Valentine's Day - The latest countywide observational survey shows that 96% of drivers across Dorset were seen wearing seatbelts - an increase of 3% over the last 12 months. Of those who don't wear seatbelts, the vast majority are males driving vans, taxis and goods vehicles.  The risk of death in a collision where the car occupant is not wearing a seatbelt is up to 4 times greater than if they were wearing a seatbelt. Fatal injuries can be sustained by car occupants at relatively low speeds.  The Department for Transport says that evidence shows up to 300 lives could have been saved in 2007 if all car occupants had been wearing a seatbelt. That's roughly one life a day.  See the links below on the law, further information and advice on seatbelts:
  • Our Dorset Driver course has been available to book online since the beginning of this year.  44% of our bookings are now made online!  The success of the course means that many of our 2012 dates are fully booked but we will be adding more dates from September onwards so keep checking the Dorset Driver page for available dates!  If the course you are interested in is fully booked, you can still fill in the online form and ask us to keep you informed of upcoming courses once they become available

January 2012

  • A total of 145 drivers in Weymouth were caught committing motoring offences during the latest 'no excuse' Surround a Town event on Wednesday 25 January 2012.  Of the 75 officer issued tickets, 40% (30 offenders) of the offences were for drivers not wearing a seatbelt.  Other offences detected during the day by police officers included 28 speeding offences, seven motorists driving while using a mobile phone, three vehicles being driven with no MOT and one driver given a prohibition notice for having an unsafe vehicle.  Read more about the 'no excuse' project
  • 18 January 2012 marks two years of the 'no excuse' project.  Since its launch, the number of people killed or seriously injured on Dorset's roads has reduced by 28%.  Read more about the 'no excuse' project
  • The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) is calling on the Government to work with insurers to offer discounts on premiums for young drivers who take further driver training.  The average car insurance premium for young males aged 17-22 is £2,977 per year, more than three times the average premium of £907. For young females, the average premium is almost twice as much as the average at £1,682. But the figure for females will rise further in December 2012 when new gender equality laws come into effect.  Read the full article on Road Safety GB (opens in a new window)
  • The road safety charity, 'Break', are urging nursery schools, play groups and teachers to promote road safety through a 'Beep Beep! Day'.  Aimed at children under 7, 'Beep Beep! Days' teach them simple road safety lessons and key words and to start them thinking about the basics of staying safe.  Participants receive free resources.  For more information, see Brake 'Beep Beep Days' (opens in a new window)

December 2011 

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