Friday 22 May 2015

£3 million to target county's rural roads

The release of £3 million from the County Council reserves will fund resurfacing work on Buckinghamshire's minor roads.

County councillors today (Thursday May 21) unanimously agreed to add the £3m to £25m already earmarked for restoration work on the roads this year.

The £3m will pay for a 12-month programme of 'plane and patch' work to resurface badly worn sections of roads in around 300 locations, mainly unclassified rural routes, starting in September.

Leader Martin Tett said: 'These unclassified roads wouldn't normally be covered by our resurfacing schemes, but they're nevertheless important for those who use them. This money should make a significant improvement, particularly in our most rural areas.'

During the next three months Transport for Buckinghamshire will assess the roads, consult with County Councillors and submit the proposed programme to Transport Cabinet Member Mark Shaw for decision.

Mark told councillors he was confident the 300 schemes could be delivered through TfB's asset management team. 'This is a challenge we'll meet head on, and focus on getting good quality and good value for money,' he said.

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Road safety warning to parents about child car seats

Officers from Transport for Buckinghamshire and Thames Valley Police were out during Global Road Safety Week advising motorists on the importance of making sure children are safely strapped into the correct car seats.

The team visited Millbrook School and Asda supermarket in High Wycombe during the week (4 – 10 May) to hand out information and offer advice.

During one morning they spoke to 60 parents and carers at the two venues giving out key safety messages on the correct fitting of seatbelts and children’s car seats.

A large number of seats were found to be incorrectly fitted: straps were not secured tightly enough, were twisted, or the child had slipped them off. Not wearing a seatbelt or not using it correctly can be a fatal decision, even on short, familiar journeys and at low speed.

Mike Freestone, Buckinghamshire County Council Director of Transport Services said: 'The importance of this campaign cannot be emphasised enough, given that every day more than 500 children are killed on the world’s roads and many thousands more are injured.

'I'm really grateful for the partnership working we have here to spread this vital safety message.'

Mike said there were many free resources available to schools and clubs, and he urged parents and carers to look at these to help keep young people safe on the roads.

Peter Hare, Road Safety Constable for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes said: 'I would like to stress that the seat must be appropriate for the age and size of the child. It must be securely fixed with the straps hugging the child, not allowing them to remove their arms from the straps. I would also recommend not wearing thick clothing as this allows them to slip out of the belts and if it is cold, cover them and the seat, rather than wrapping them within the seat. Please take the time to ensure your loved one is securely strapped in their seat, because in a crash that’s the safest place for them to be.'


Global Road Safety Week information:
http://www.who.int/roadsafety/week/2015/en/

Free Child Road safety Resources:
http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk/pages/roadsafetyweek/rsw-resources.html

Information on the law and fitting car seats:
http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules

Transport for Buckinghamshire supports Global Road Safety Week

Global Road Safety Week (GRSW) is running from the 4-10 May 2015 and Transport for Buckinghamshire is promoting this event on behalf of Road Safety GB (lead organisation), which seeks to highlight the plight of children on the world’s roads and generate action to better ensure their safety.

The week features hundreds of events hosted by governments, international agencies, civil society organisations, and private companies.

Mike Freestone Director of Transport Services said “Every day more than 500 children across the globe lose their lives in traffic collisions and thousands are injured. Global Road Safety Week will highlight these appalling statistics and raise awareness of the need for action on this crucial road safety issue. Locally, Transport for Buckinghamshire intend to use Global Road Safety Week to promote the free resources available to schools to help deliver road safety education and ultimately reduce child casualties.”

The campaign includes:

• A series of child road safety resources - including activity sheets, maps and country profilers – which are available free to download.

• A series of simple ‘how to’ guides to help educators and others teach basic road safety to children. The guides cover children as pedestrians, cyclists, travelling in cars and on public transport, and setting up a Junior Road Safety Officer scheme.

• A database of road safety professionals with expertise with regard to child road safety, who are willing to provide advice and support to people in other parts of the world.

There is also an opportunity for parents, teachers and other interested parties to submit questions for a series of free online forums covering child road safety issues, which will be held on the Road Safety GB website during Global Road Safety Week.

The online forums – covering children as pedestrians, as cyclists, travelling in cars, and how to set up and run a Junior Road Safety Officer scheme - will be held daily on Tuesday 7 – Friday 10 May inclusive, between 12.00 - 13.00.

Questions can be submitted in advance or during the forum itself, for a panel of expert facilitators to answer in ‘real time’ during the forum.

The forums are part of a comprehensive suite of initiatives here in the UK in support of GRSW 2015.