| − | Car infotainment systems and mobile phones have contributed to a ‘plateauing' of deaths and serious injuries on Britain's roads, ministers have warned.<br>Officials are alarmed that the rate of casualties has remained unchanged since 2010, despite significant improvements in the safety of vehicles.<br>At the moment, five people die on the roads and 68 are seriously injured every day.<br>The Department for Transport (DfT) yesterday announced a major review to address ‘public disquiet' over the state of road policing.<br>It comes as new figures showed how Britain has the second safest roads in Europe with only Sweden recording fewer deaths per million inhabitants.<br>However, in a ‘call for evidence' document, [https://minhviettrans.com/dich-vu-thue-xe/ thuê xe ô tô tại hà nội] they say the failure to reduce casualties on UK roads could be a result of infotainment systems and mobile phones driving motorists to distraction.<br> In a ‘call for evidence' document, the Department for Transport say the failure to reduce casualties on UK roads could be a result of infotainment systems and mobile phones driving motorists to distraction. Pictured: A driver using an in car touch screen (library image) <br> Officials are alarmed that the rate of casualties has remained unchanged since 2010, despite significant improvements in the safety of vehicles.<br><br>At the moment, five people die on the roads and 68 are seriously injured every day. Picture a graph showing the figure between 2004 and 2018<br>They also admit laws against using mobiles at the wheel are being routinely flouted.<br>It says: ‘Vehicles have become inherently safer with more warning systems alerting the driver to maintenance issues and growing safety focused automation and driver assistance systems.<br><br>At the same time advances in car infotainment systems and mobile phone technology mean that there are increasing sources of potential distraction for drivers.'<br>The Daily Mail's End The Mobile Madness campaign has led calls for tougher penalties for drivers who use mobiles at the wheel.<br>New legislation was introduced in 2017 after our campaign highlighted a spate of deaths caused by reckless motorists calling or texting while driving.<br>However, there are concerns the laws are not being properly enforced because of plummeting numbers of traffic officers.<br> The Daily Mail's End The Mobile Madness campaign has led calls for tougher penalties for drivers who use mobiles at the wheel<br>And although the new rules helped deter the menace, many drivers have escaped punishment because the law only targets those using phones for the purposes of ‘interactive communication'.<br>It means motorists who pick up their phone for other reasons - such as to take pictures, browse the internet or check social media - are technically not breaking the law, although ministers are in the process of updating the rules to close the loophole.<br>Motoring groups have also raised concerns that in-car touchscreens could be just as dangerous as using a mobile at the wheel.<br>In 2018 the chief executive of Highways England, Jim O'Sullivan, criticised ‘touchscreens with small, fiddly buttons' and said the agency ‘doesn't like them from a safety perspective'.<br>Tesla's electric cars are among the growing number of models featuring cabins which are almost entirely controlled through touchscreens.<br> Motoring groups have also raised concerns that in-car touchscreens could be just as dangerous as using a mobile at the wheel.<br><br>Pictured: Two cars crashed (library image)<br>Volkswagen's newer models also use mainly touchscreen controls.<br>While anyone caught using a mobile phone can be given six penalty points and a £200 fine, there are currently no laws restricting the use of infotainment screens.<br>The DfT say the lack of road police is also contributing to rising rates of other crime, including county lines drugs operations and burglary.<br> RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/news/article-8515223/M23-section-M25-closed-ways-motorcyclist-killed-horror-smash.html M23 and section of M25 are closed both ways after...] [/news/article-8514985/Two-men-killed-horror-smash-car-slams-Mitsubishi.html Two men are killed in horror smash after their car slams...] <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>The document says: ‘Whether it is the illegal trafficking of people, drugs or other contraband, the road network will be used by criminals in the furtherance of their socially damaging enterprises.<br>'Offenders will use the road network to facilitate the commission of crimes including smuggling and cargo theft, county lines exploitation, facilitating burglary and crimes of violence.'<br>David Davies, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said: ‘A review of roads policing is long overdue.<br><br>The number of roads police officers has declined considerably, particularly over the past decade.<br>'Those officers remaining often undertaken multiple roles and public safety has lost out.<br> Second safest roads in Europe: Only Sweden recorded fewer traffic casualties per million inhabitants in 2017, according to a new report published this month<br>‘Roads policing is vital, not only to save lives but also to disrupt other criminality.<br><br>There is a strong overlap in these offences and it is remarkable that successive ministers have seemed not to recognise this.'<br>Yesterday new figures revealed how there are 28 deaths a year on the road per million people in Britain, while in Sweden the figure is a slightly smaller 25, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. <br>Eastern regions of Europe have the [http://www.houzz.com/?search=worst%20fatality worst fatality] rates on the road per million people, with Romania propping up the charts with 99 deaths.<br>The EU average for road casualties per million inhabitants is 49, which puts the UK way ahead of the curve.<br>Road deaths have fallen significantly in the last two decades, according to ACEA.<br>In 2001 there were 54,900 recorded fatalities across the EU and that figure more than halved to just 25,300 in 2017 - an average of 69 casualties per day.<br>By continent, it means Europe has the safest of roads in the world. <br><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-88a9d230-c514-11ea-9bd3-279e4553cd80" website info systems and mobiles 'keeping death rate on roads unchanged'
| + | <br>LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Shoppers in England will have to wear face coverings in shops and supermarkets from July 24 to help reduce the risk of a new pick-up in the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said.<br> <br>Johnson said last week that tighter rules on wearing face coverings might be needed but a senior minister - Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove - said on Sunday that wearing masks should be left instead to people's common sense.<br> <br>"The prime minister has been clear that people should be wearing face coverings in shops and we will make this mandatory from July 24," a spokesperson for Johnson's Downing Street office said on Monday.<br> <br>Britain has Europe's highest coronavirus death toll, with almost 45,000 confirmed deaths.<br> <br>In Scotland, which has its own powers over public health, as well as other countries such as Germany, Spain, [https://minhviettrans.com/dich-vu-thue-xe/ thuê xe ô tô] Italy and Greece it is already compulsory to wear face coverings inside shops.<br> <br>The opposition Labour Party criticised Johnson's government for not moving sooner in England.<br> <br>"Given the government's own guidance issued on May 11 advised in favour of face masks, many will ask why yet again have ministers been slow in making a decision ... and why it'll take another 11 days before these new guidelines come into force," Labour health spokesman Jonathan [https://www.sportsblog.com/search?search=Ashworth Ashworth] said.<br> <br>People who fail to wear a face [http://search.un.org/search?ie=utf8&site=un_org&output=xml_no_dtd&client=UN_Website_en&num=10&lr=lang_en&proxystylesheet=UN_Website_en&oe=utf8&q=covering&Submit=Go covering] will face a fine of up to 100 pounds ($126) - in line with existing fines for people who do not cover their face on public transport - which would fall to 50 pounds if paid within 14 days.<br><br>($1 = 0.7935 pounds) (Writing by William Schomberg, Editing by William Maclean)<br> |
