Agenda item
Anti-Social Driving and Road Safety
Councillor Singh to move:
This Council is determined to take further steps to combat the scourge of dangerous and anti-social driving, which has been reported over many years and months, and continues to be a significant issue for communities across the Borough.
Speeding, reckless and dangerous driving is utterly abhorrent and poses significant and unnecessary risks to both road users and pedestrians alike.
As a Council, we have a duty and responsibility to protect all our residents living in the Borough and those visiting or passing through our towns.
This Council resolves to:-
· Call on the Chief Executive to write to the Berkshire Chief Superintendent to ask to take initiatives across the Borough to catch offenders, crackdown on dangerous drivers and provide reassurance to the community.
· Call on the Chief Executive to write to the Berkshire Chief Superintendent to undertake a borough wide initiative to reduce the illegal use of off-road bikes and e-scooters which are a cause of significant anti-social behaviour.
· To ask Council to provide information on its road safety performance on the Council’s website.
· To ask Council to participate in the Road SafetyWeek annual campaign and spread awareness.
Minutes:
Pursuant to Notice, a motion was moved by Councillor Singh and seconded by Councillor Carnell.
The following amendment was moved by Councillor Page and seconded by Councillor Rowland and CARRIED:
‘Delete all after “Council” in the first line of the first paragraph and insert:
“Recognises widespread concerns in Reading about speeding drivers and the lack of any regular visible enforcement by Thames Valley Police (TVP), and welcomes the fact that concerns were raised by councillors and members of the public via questions at last week’s Policy Committee which met with the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Chief Constable (CC) and the Reading Local Policing Area Commander.
Deplores the punitive Government cuts since 2010 which have reduced the resources available to the police and resulted, therefore, in a much lower priority being accorded by them to speed enforcement.
Reiterates our formal RBC policy that calls for the transfer of Police speed enforcement powers to the Council, urges the CC and PCC to support this request, and instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary in similar terms.
Regrets the fact the Government and Department for Transport are failing to provide essential clarity, guidance and legislation to regulate the sale and use of e-scooters by continually extending the so-called ‘trials’. Meanwhile the proliferation of unregulated, illegal e-scooters on the public highway continues to generate complaints and concerns from pedestrians and other road users. This Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Transport regretting the continued delay in bringing forward much-needed legislation to enable the safer use of e-scooters on our pavements and roads.
Recognises that references in RBC committee reports or our website to any specific localised road traffic incidents (even if the data is anonymised) could often be traced very easily back through media reports and is therefore sensitive and identifiable information that would be in breach of data protection regulations.
Notes that a considerable amount of road safety data about Reading is freely and publicly available on:
Repeats its long-standing support for local road safety initiatives particularly focussing on road safety education in primary and secondary schools in the Borough.”’
The amended substantive motion was then put to the vote and CARRIED as follows:
Resolved –
This Council recognises widespread concerns in Reading about speeding drivers and the lack of any regular visible enforcement by Thames Valley Police (TVP), and welcomes the fact that concerns were raised by councillors and members of the public via questions at last week’s Policy Committee which met with the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Chief Constable (CC) and the Reading Local Policing Area Commander.
Deplores the punitive Government cuts since 2010 which have reduced the resources available to the police and resulted, therefore, in a much lower priority being accorded by them to speed enforcement.
Reiterates our formal RBC policy that calls for the transfer of Police speed enforcement powers to the Council, urges the CC and PCC to support this request, and instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary in similar terms.
Regrets the fact the Government and Department for Transport are failing to provide essential clarity, guidance and legislation to regulate the sale and use of e-scooters by continually extending the so-called ‘trials’. Meanwhile the proliferation of unregulated, illegal e-scooters on the public highway continues to generate complaints and concerns from pedestrians and other road users. This Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Transport regretting the continued delay in bringing forward much-needed legislation to enable the safer use of e-scooters on our pavements and roads.
Recognises that references in RBC committee reports or our website to any specific localised road traffic incidents (even if the data is anonymised) could often be traced very easily back through media reports and is therefore sensitive and identifiable information that would be in breach of data protection regulations.
Notes that a considerable amount of road safety data about Reading is freely and publicly available on:
Repeats its long-standing support for local road safety initiatives particularly focussing on road safety education in primary and secondary schools in the Borough.
© 2019 Reading Borough Council