DRIVING STANDARDS
AGENCY News Release (DSA 01/09) issued by COI News Distribution
Service. 5 January 2008
* Make road safety
your New Year's resolution
* Call to cut road deaths
* Top tips for safer driving
Motorists are being urged to make safer driving one of their New
Year's Resolutions for 2009.
The Driving Standards Agency's Director for Safer Driving,
Trevor Wedge, is asking all drivers to help reduce the numbers
dying on British roads.
"There have been some significant achievements during the
last few years in bringing road deaths down. Yet in 2007 almost
3,000 people still died on UK roads" says Trevor, who is also
DSA's Chief Driving Examiner.
"Let's all make sure that driving in a safe and
considerate way is one New Year's Resolution that nobody breaks."
Below are several tips for safer driving, which could also help
save fuel and reduce vehicle emissions:
* Plan your journey and route; give yourself plenty of time and
for long journeys make sure that you have regular breaks.
* While driving plan well ahead. Be aware of what is going on in
the distance as well as around you, so you are able to anticipate
what's going to happen on the road.
* Reduce your speed and keep a safe distance between your vehicle
and the one in front.
* Avoid harsh acceleration and heavy braking. Drive at a speed
which is safe for the conditions.
* Ensure your vehicle is prepared for wintry weather - check the
condition of the lights and tyres, and make sure the windows are
clean and clear.
Trevor Wedge adds: "The strapline of the DSA is Safe Driving
for Life - if we want to avoid becoming a statistic ourselves,
shouldn't we all consider adopting this philosophy?"
There was a constant fall from 2003-2007 in those killed in road
accidents. However despite this trend, 2,946 people still died due
to such accidents in 2007.
Road accident statistics for 2008 are scheduled to be released in
the summer of 2009 and will be available at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/
Notes to Editors:
For further information contact Michael Watkinson at the Driving
Standards Agency (DSA) Press Office on 0115 936 6136.
1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency * of
the Department for Transport.
2. The DSA's vision is "Safe Driving for Life"
with an overall mission to contribute towards a Government target
of achieving a 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or
seriously injured in road accidents, in the age group up to 24
years, by 2010.
3. Current information on road casualties is available from the
Department for Transport website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
4. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through
setting standards for drivers, riders and trainers, testing
drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining the
registers of Approved Driving Instructors; Large Goods Vehicle
Instructors; Fleet Trainers; Driving Instructor Trainers and Post
Test Motorcycle Trainers; supervising Compulsory Basic Training
(CBT) for learner motorcyclists; and driver education and the
provision of learning resources.
5. DSA is a trading fund * with an expected turnover of around
£199 million for the year 2008/9, fully funded by fee income and
revenue from its activities.
6. DSA employs over 2,700 staff, of which some 2,000 are driving
examiners based at over 400 test centres across mainland Great
Britain. In 2007/2008 the Agency conducted 1.8 million practical
tests for car drivers, over 95,000 vocational tests and 94,000
motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.7 million theory tests were
carried out at 158 centres. At the end of the year there were
around 43,600 people on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.
7. DSA was one of the first Government Agencies to introduce an
online booking service. Candidates can book and manage their
theory and practical test appointments on line at http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest
* Executive agency:
An executive agency is semi-detached from its parent department
and manages its own budget with freedom from ad hoc, day to day
intervention and much of central, government-wide regulation. They
are run under the organisation and direction of a Chief Executive
recruited through open competition. An executive agency has
accountability for the performance of specific operational tasks
as a corporate unit, including focused performance targets set by
the parent department and personal accountability of the chief
executive for performance.
* Trading Fund:
A trading fund is a means of financing trading activities
undertaken by Government that would previously have been financed
by annual appropriation from Parliament. A trading fund permits
the establishment of a self-accounting unit that remains under the
control and management of Ministers and accountable to Parliament
through Ministers, but has greater freedom to manage its financial
affairs. Effectively that means the trading fund body can use its
income to settle its liabilities and retain year-end cash balances.
Establishing the trading fund does not alter the Agency's
constitutional position and it remains part of the Department for Transport.