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December 15, 2009:
Annual Report

Better Driving: "Respect on the Road"

Chapter 7: What Can Be Done to Encourage and Recognise Good Driving

7.1 The messages that need to be conveyed are hardly new: they have been obvious since the early days of motoring, and they applicable to a greater or lesser extent to all users of the roads. They centre on taking pride in driving; concentration; understanding the consequences of one's actions; patience, tolerance and consideration. The problem is that they sound pious and can sound pompous when delivered in anything sounding like an official pronouncement. The challenge is, therefore, to get these messages over in a new, up to date way - and in doing so, to raise progressively the standard of competence and behaviour of the whole driving population, including those not yet able to drive.

7.2 There are a number of different messages, to be got over to a wide variety of people. It will be necessary to use a wide variety of means to convey them, and to be subtle and ingenious in going about it. People do not like to be preached to or patronised; and those most in need of change are least likely to recognise that they need to change.

7.3 One should bear in mind that evaluation of methods of persuading people to change their behaviour is extremely difficult. We do not know what works. It should be the objective therefore to use a very wide range of methods and to try to evaluate results by doing different things in different areas and using control groups.

7.4 Our recommendations on how these problems might be tackled are set out in the following paragraphs.

Communication between drivers

7.5 We have noted above that the vocabulary which drivers can use to communicate with one another is extremely limited. Drivers are cocooned within their own vehicle and rarely communicate directly with other drivers. This relative anonymity might, we suggest, lead drivers to treat others with less respect than if they met face to face: it might tend to depersonalise the relationship between drivers.

7.6 Moreover, even the limited vocabulary at present in use is ambiguous - and potentially dangerous. It is common practice for drivers to show that they are giving other drivers the right of way, and to thank other drivers for having given way to them, by flashing their headlights. But the Highway Code specifically says that headlights should only be flashed to let other road users know that you are there. This is the way that police drivers use their headlights. There is no officially recognised way for drivers to indicate that they are giving right of way to another driver; to thank other drivers for being considerate; or to apologise when one has caused inconvenience or danger. It seems to us a pity that the building blocks of elementary human communication are missing.

7.7 This is an area the DfT should consider exploring further. A first step might be to establish by public consultation or polling whether there are gaps in the recognised vocabulary. This might lead to a discussion about how any such gaps might be filled.


Influencing behaviour

7.8 We recommend:

  1. a continuous series of campaigns focusing on different messages for different groups at different times. The current DfT 'Think' campaign is a good example of this, and the absence of an overt Government involvement seems helpful;
  2. we should try to get other groups involved at national and local level. The medical profession is one example of a group who has a lot to gain given the fact that road accidents are a main cause of death and injury in the younger age groups; and that medical advice is probably the most effective way of communicating with the older age group;
  3. for children, we should try oblique methods as well as the conventional classroom instruction eg computer games, such as the on-line road safety game Roadie Runner launched in October 2006. Some general teaching on road sense in the Schools Curriculum could also be useful;
  4. for young adults, we should look for role models - directly (eg Schumacher) or indirectly (eg Dirty Pretty Things) who have experience that gives them credibility to raise consciousness of particular messages. We do not envisage that one figure can be the focus of this third-party advocacy - the person selected needs to be appropriate for the group being targeted and to have the necessary cachet to address the group;
  5. for everyone, we should try to get messages into Soaps, both through situations in which accidents occur and by using well-known characters who have almost become family members. This may need a small special unit;
  6. we should try to create community involvement at local level to supplement and strengthen the efforts of Road Safety Officers.
    Local communities asking for more enforcement, or speed reduction measures in their local communities can be asked to promote and sign up to Make the Commitment Campaigns (called Making the Pledge in some areas). This commitment requires drivers within a local community to respect other people's speed limits by always driving within the speed limits themselves. This commitment can be signed up to by individuals, companies, communities and can apply to both drivers and passengers.
    There are also in some areas community groups that give young people experience in working on old cars: safe driving would fit in very naturally with this work.
    Local conservation and civic groups could also be involved in some aspects of road safety. Such groups would best be approached at a local level.
  7. Professional sportsmen and women, particularly footballers, are looked up to by many young adults. Many professional clubs now recognise that they have a community responsibility and already engage in activities with their local community. For example, Charlton Athletic FC use football as a learning vehicle and their community scheme has entered the classroom with football literacy and numeracy programmes and healthy lifestyle programmes. Sporting clubs could be approached, either individually or through their ruling bodies, to help raise awareness in this field.
  8. For those who drive as part of their work, employers should be encouraged to have a Health and Safety policy dealing with the risks of work-related driving in place, have a top-level commitment to work-related road safety in an organisation, have adequate systems in place for carrying out risk assessments and delivering training and monitor performance to ensure that a work-related road safety policy is effective.

7.9 Much of the activity we recommend needs to be initiated and coordinated locally, by professional people with imagination and clout. There a case for strengthening the Road Safety Officer role and in improving the status of the profession; giving them more resources to implement and evaluate initiatives; and having a national framework for exchange of information about evaluation and things that work. We propose a bigger role for DfT in disseminating and encouraging best practice.

Training and testing

7.10 The driving test was initially introduced in the United Kingdom in 1935. And it remains important because it is the one opportunity Government has to ensure that new drivers are capable of being safe road users for the rest of their lives and also because it gives an opportunity to test a candidate's attitude and behaviour, as well as vehicle control skills.

7.11 Since the test's introduction, several amendments have been made to the test during the intervening years to keep it up-to-date and make it relevant to producing drivers capable of being safe road users in the 21st century. But there remain doubts about the whether the current test meets current needs as well as it should and we recommend that the test should be reviewed to see if it is the best that can be devised to ensure that people who pass are capable of driving in current conditions, and are likely to remain so.

7.12 The current theory test has about 20 questions that cover driver behaviour/attitude, although these questions are essentially designed to look at outcomes rather than attitude per se. We recommend that the content of the theory test should be looked at to see whether more questions can be asked that would illuminate the attitudes and behaviour of candidates.

7.13 The driving instructor industry is a very diverse sector, ranging from the 'one-person' operator through to the national driving schools that have many hundreds of instructors operating under their franchise. Standards of instruction obviously vary widely.

7.14 The role driving instructors play in teaching new drivers is crucial and it is essential that the quality of instruction given by each instructor should be constantly monitored. Tighter standards need to be put in place to weed out those with inadequate teaching skills and unsuitable attitudes. Driving instructors themselves need to be taught the importance of proper attitudes and behaviour, and how this should be dispensed to their pupils, in their own training.

7.15 We also see merit in the suggestion put forward recently by the Association of British Insurers that there should be a more structured programme of learning for young drivers before they take the driving test. This could be underpinned by requiring learner drivers to have a completed logbook showing that the necessary stages in learning had been completed. There have been trials of such a scheme in the past. There are many details to be worked out, not least the question how the logbook is authenticated. But we think the idea is worth considering.

7.16 Drivers, having passed their driving test, typically continue to drive for over 50 years without ever getting any further training. Their skills, powers of concentration and physical abilities may deteriorate without their noticing. Many drivers, as they grow old, adapt what they attempt to their capabilities - for example, they may give up driving at night or making long journeys. We think it should be an objective to encourage drivers of all ages to look critically at their performance, and to consider regularly whether some aspect of their performance is in need of improvement by retraining.

7.17 Retraining courses exist, but they are not well publicised, and drivers are not regularly reminded of their existence and their value. We suggest that how to achieve the objective would be worth further study by the DfT with road safety organisations, representatives of driving schools, insurers and motoring organisations. The study could cover such questions as the length and content of the courses, including the setting of standards; how attitudes might be brought in; evaluation; publicity; and how incentives might be given to encourage their take-up. We do not recommend that such re-training should be compulsory except where ordered as a result of enforcement action but we would hope that responsible drivers would come to recognise the value of updating and refreshing their skills generally or perhaps at important points in their lives which change the amount or kind of driving they do - for example when they change jobs, have children, retire and so on.

7.18 Older drivers are perhaps most likely to be influenced by their relatives or doctors - the latter especially as older people are more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash as their bones are more brittle and their physique is generally weaker than when they were young. It would be desirable for older drivers to be able to take an advisory test of competence which would enable them to make up their own minds when they should take the step of giving up driving - which can mark a significant loss of independence. This is a subject of growing importance as the number of older drivers is expected to increase.

We recommend:

  • a review of the driving test to see if it is the best that can be devised to ensure that people who pass are capable of driving in current conditions, and are likely to remain so;
  • the content of the theory test should be looked at to see whether more questions can be asked that relate to the attitudes and behaviour of candidates;
  • driving instructors should be taught the importance of proper attitudes and behaviour, and how this should be dispensed to their pupils;
  • consideration should be given to a more structured programme of learning by young drivers underpinned by the completion of mandatory logbooks; and
  • continuing training for drivers should be available and publicised. Further work should be done on the content of courses and incentives for drivers to take them.

Enforcement

7.19 Active, consistent and visible enforcement effort is essential for improving driver behaviour. Much more use is now made of automatic methods such as safety cameras and cameras to catch motorists contravening red traffic signals. These cameras cannot however have any influence on other forms of bad and dangerous behaviour such as tail-gating and swerving between lanes. A road police presence is necessary to discourage such behaviours, and the evidence is that when a police car is visible, drivers in general behave better.

7.20 Police forces have many priority tasks, and we are not suggesting that police effort should be diverted to road policing from activities such as counter-terrorism, tackling violent crime or neighbourhood policing. On the other hand, the fact that none of the targets set for police forces relates to road policing (except a singular 10 year performance indicator to reduce the number of those killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions) suggests that it has a low priority. We suggest that the Home Office should set for police forces Performance Indicators in relation to road policing with an emphasis on targeting serious and serial offending to improve public safety and deny criminals the use of our roads.

7.21 The total resources available for policing are determined by Ministers in their periodic decisions on public expenditure. They could no doubt be increased if a strong case were made. We suggest that it would be useful to carry out a study of the cost-effectiveness of increasing the resources devoted to road policing by, say, 20%, both in relation to its effectiveness in reducing casualty rates and wider criminal behaviour and its effectiveness as opposed to education and other road safety matters.

7.22 The Transport Committee's recently issued report on Roads, Policing and Technology[14] states that roads policing requires specialised knowledge and skills, specific training and equipment. It notes that while the practice of treating roads policing as a secondary or additional duty of officers engaged in other activities offers Chief Constables a high degree of flexibility in how they use their officers, there is a significant danger that it will lead in the longer-term to a reduced priority for roads policing. The Committee concludes that the special role of roads police officers must be recognised and protected, and the high standards of roads policing - which have helped the UK's roads to be among the safest in the world - must be maintained. In our view, the case which the Committee puts forward would be strengthened by the study we have recommended of the cost-effectiveness of increasing the resources devoted to roads policing.

7.23 It is clear to us that there is a motoring underclass who are not prepared to obey road traffic law and who wilfully flout the law as regards registering, taxing and insuring their car and driving whilst properly licensed. Those who commit serious motoring offences also tend to be people with histories of serious mainstream criminal behaviour - see paragraph 2.15.

7.24 Enforcement needs to be targeted where it will give best results. For example, a recent Roads Policing Operation Report[15] confirmed that on-road insurance enforcement will also catch unlicensed drivers and those with no MOT. New enforcement measures, such as extending the powers to seize vehicles, should be introduced. Government should not shy away from taking such action as a means of imposing quicker and more appropriate justice for those who deliberately drive outside the law.

7.25 When a person is involved in a road traffic incident and evidence is collated by the police which indicates that they have been driving without due care and attention or reasonable consideration to other road users, the person involved is given an option to either have the incident referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, where they may receive a fine and penalty points, or an opportunity to attend a Driver Improvement Course. Similarly, those caught driving a little over the speed limit can be offered the opportunity to attend a Speed Awareness Course.

7.26 Evaluation of such courses is still in progress since they are a fairly recent development. But there are indications that attendance on properly designed and conducted courses can have a positive effect on offenders, who respond to the opportunity to improve their driving, rather than simply being punished. We recommend those Police Forces who have yet to introduce Speed Awareness Courses should do so at the earliest opportunity.

7.27 Some police authorities also now conduct joint Enforcement/Education days at locations where accidents or a level of offending have been identified. Police stop drivers who are not complying with a range of traffic laws, eg not wearing seat-belts, using a mobile phone. Drivers are either given a fine or offered the opportunity to go to a mobile classroom for a one to one or a group session with Road Safety Officers. The Officers provide information relating to the offenders' behaviour and challenge their attitude to offending.

7.28 More attention should be given to the psychology of serious traffic offenders and repeat offenders. Driving is a privilege which must be earned, not an inalienable right. Some repeat and serious offenders should be banned from driving for life, with very severe penalties for disqualified drivers.

We recommend:

  • the Home Office should set for police forces Performance Indicators in relation to road policing with an emphasis on targeting serious and serial offending to improve public safety and deny criminals the use of our roads;
  • a study should be carried out of the cost-effectiveness of increasing the resources devoted to road policing by, say, 20% both in relation to its effectiveness in reducing casualty rates and wider criminal behaviour and its effectiveness as opposed to education and other road safety matters;
  • the introduction of new enforcement measures, such as extending the powers to seize vehicles;
  • greater use of Driver Improvement Schemes and Speed Awareness Courses; and
  • greater use of life bans by the courts for repeat and serious offenders.

Incentives

7.29 Incentives can be just as effective as punishments and persuasion in helping to influence behaviour. The insurance industry has a key role to play as its everyday business involves assessing risks associated with particular individuals. It already offers incentives for motorists to undertake effective training courses and to drive safely but we hope that the industry will continue to develop new insurance products that encourage, and reward, careful driving and continual improvement in driving skills.

7.30 Through the legal system, the State punishes those who break motoring laws. However, it does not reward those who have unblemished records. We see no reason why incentives should only be given by private organisations. Safer, more responsible, driving is in the interests of society in general, and we suggest that the Government might consider whether this could be recognised through the taxes that motorists have to pay. For example, drivers who maintain a clean licence for 10 years might get a year's free VED. Obviously any scheme would present problems that would need to be solved; our point is that the Government should recognise that incentives can play a useful part, and should consider what incentives it can offer to safe and responsible drivers.

We recommend:

  • the insurance industry should continue to develop new insurance products that encourage, and reward, careful driving and continual improvement in driving skills; and
  • Government should explore the incentives it can offer to safe and responsible drivers.

Self help

7.31 The Literature Review commissioned by the Forum drew attention to work that had been done on how to avoid becoming a victim or a perpetrator of road rage or aggressive driving. There are also a number of 'self help' websites which show drivers the best way to avoid road rage. These include not only motoring and safety organisations but also firms such as Microsoft. We commend this interest in reducing conflict on the road, and we hope that more firms and organisations will follow suit.

7.32 We have included some of the relevant advice at Annexes C to F as they contain a series of practical measures that drivers can take to calm aggressive driving.

14: Roads Policing and Technology: Getting the right balance.
15: V79 - 2006. Roads Operation Report 31 March 2006.

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