Road safety

ORR prosecuted employer after two men died in road crash

The UK government has published a review promising a £5m cash boost following safety criticism

Road traffic accidents take around 1.35 million lives globally every year and cost most countries 3% of their GDP, a recent road safety summit in Sweden revealed.

Since its introduction nearly two decades ago, telematics – the combination of telecommunications and infomatics – has come a long way in reducing the risks of driver distraction.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced a trial that involves playing an artificial sound through speakers on the front of the new generation hybrid and electric buses.

New research from Lightfoot, the maker of the world’s first technology to reward better company car drivers, has revealed that 12% of drivers are citing stress caused by work as the main reason for accidents, with a further 12% pointing to phone calls made during journeys, and 4% highlighting urgent work emails as the chief cause of their accident.

A New Zealand court has fined a concrete pump company NZ$500,000 (£260,000) over the “total lack of regard” it showed for its role in the death of an elderly man who fell from his mobility scooter.

Volvo Group UK has been fined £13,333 after an employee fractured his spine when a truck rolled forward, crushing him at a depot in Glasgow.

The UK government is looking at the feasibility of adding the use of alcohol interlocks to drink-driver rehabilitation programmes.