Over 3,500 people are killed on our roads each year, with a further 33,000 seriously injured. The Committee's report focuses on the role of traffic law in making our roads and communities safer, and on the role of the police and other agencies in roads policing. Issues discussed include the adequacy of traffic offences and penalties; whether the police and other enforcement agencies have the right priorities; the needs of pedestrians and cyclists; policy options to deal with dangerous drivers before they cause harm; the impact of uninsured, unlicensed and banned drivers on traffic enforcement; and the effects of administrative changes (such as the transfer of network management duties from the police to the Highways Agency) on road safety and effective law enforcement. Findings of the Committee include the need for a radical overhaul of the way serious traffic offences are dealt with, by the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts system, as well as in public attitudes towards poor driving standards. The Committee praises the work undertaken by the Department for Transport to prioritise road safety issues, and calls on the Home Office to act urgently to establish an appropriate legal framework for dealing with road offenders and ensuring our roads are properly policed.

The Committee's report examines a range of safety and environmental issues regarding technological developments in the design of motor vehicles under the following headings: industrial advantage and vehicle technology; the environment and the car of the future, carbon emissions and European standards; future fuels and technologies; incentives for low carbon and alternative fuel cars; vehicle safety technology; telematics for intelligent transport systems and law enforcement, including satellite location technology and in-vehicle technology for crime prevention; consumer awareness, safety and environmental information, and the car maintenance sector.

Sixteenth report of Session 2010-11 : Documents considered by the Committee on 26 January 2011, including the following recommendations for debate, Treaty change; financial assistance for Member States; taxation, report, together with formal Minutes

With corrigendum slip dated June 2005 (1 sheet).

In 2005, traffic collisions killed 3,201 people with almost 29,000 seriously injured on British roads. Although the level of road crash fatalities and injuries has fallen over successive decades and Britain has one of the safest road environments in the world, the numbers still remain far too high and many of these casualties might have been avoided if there was a higher level of compliance with traffic law. The Committee's report examines the road casualty problem, focusing on the role of roads policing and the contribution which enforcement can make to casualty reduction. It considers how technology is influencing the policing and enforcement of particular offences, relating to speeding, drink and drug driving, driving whilst using a mobile phone and driving while impaired by fatigue. The report finds that, despite progress made by the Department for Transport against its 2010 casualty reduction targets, the Home Office has continued to deny traffic law enforcement issues the priority it requires and must explicitly adopt the targets as a key part of its future national policing plans. Investment and research into new technological equipment, such as roadside breath testing equipment and time-distance cameras, and a higher profile and more visible traffic enforcement effort would bring important casualty reductions. However, the efficiencies which technology can bring should not be seen as a opportunity to cut the number of roads police officers, as technology alone cannot carry out the multitude of functions undertaken by roads police officers.