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Road Safety GB Board of Directors Annual Report 2015
08 Fall
Table of Contents
Introduction 1 -‐ Background to the report 1 Structure 1 Business and Organisational Development 3 -‐ Finance; Charity Matters; 3 -‐ e-‐Management System 4 -‐ Academy Administration; Secure Filing System 5 Academy – Education and Training 6 -‐ Courses 6 -‐ Training Figures; e-‐Learning Modules; City and Guilds Renewal and new course accreditation
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-‐ Skills Gap Analysis, Framework and Course Development 8 -‐ Future Framework; Communications; Signposting; Membership 9 -‐ Partnership and Promotion 10 -‐ Training Development Officers (TDO’s) 10 Projects 11 -‐ Global Road Safety Week; Older Driver Forum and Taskforce 11 -‐ Illuminated Stop Sign Trials; SCANIA Project – Stay Safe on the Road 12 International Activities 13 -‐ Geneva, Switzerland 13 -‐ Warsaw, Poland 14 -‐ Seoul, South Korea 14 -‐ Australia 15 Website and Communications 15 -‐ Website and Communications Team; Website Statistics; Media Statements and 15 Interviews 15 -‐ Social Media RSGB Connect; Think Communications; RSGB Knowledge Centre; RSGB Update
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Conferences and Seminars 17 -‐ Annual National Road Safety Conference 17 -‐ Young Driver Focus Event 17 Awards 18 Sponsors 18 2020 Vision 19
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Road Safety GB Board of Directors -‐ ANNUAL REPORT 2015
1 Introduction
1.1 This report sets out the activities and achievements of the Road Safety GB Board, through the Policy and Management Committee with the support of the individual volunteer officers, working groups, specialist advisers and partners throughout the period November 2014 to October 2015. The report also discusses the aspirations of the organisation, and what processes have been put in place to achieve its goals, aims and objectives, efficiently and effectively.
1.1.1 The report will be presented to, and seek approval from, the Annual General Meeting on 18th November 2015
1.2 Background to the report
1.2.1 Road Safety GB began trading on 1st April 2014 as RSGB Ltd. Road Safety GB is a limited company with
charitable status. The organisation incorporates the Road Safety GB Academy, which seeks to provide professional training and support to the road safety profession.
1.2.2 The Board of Directors is tasked with ensuring that the ‘company’ as a charity delivers the tasks and policies as set out in the articles of association and in line with its charitable objectives and legal responsibilities as a limited company. This report forms part of the process and will inform members of how the business is being delivered and what achievements have been made since the inception of the company in 2014.
2 Structure
2.1 As a limited company, a Board of Directors who also form ‘Heads of Service’ in particular areas of the
business, oversees the business. Representatives from each of the 12 regions across the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, form the Policy and Management group, which meets on a quarterly basis with the Board to discuss company business, and road safety issues both on a regional and national level.
2.2 Within the regions, Local Highways Authorities (LHAs) form the corporate membership. The numbers of LHA corporate members in each region vary, and the governance of the regional groups also has regional variations. However, in most cases the individual regional corporate members meet at timely intervals, to discuss local and regional issues that may be brought to the attention of the Board, through the regional representatives, at Policy and Management level.
2.3 The organisation offers individual memberships to the Road Safety GB Academy. Up to ten
membership places are offered to each LHA Corporate Member as part of the Corporate Member annual fee. This is known as ‘fast track’. Requests for membership over and above the 10 places are charged for at a nominal fee. The organisation also provides individual membership to individuals who work within the road safety profession and who do not work for a LHA Corporate Member. These individuals must apply for membership to the Academy, and pay a nominal annual fee.
2.4 The organisation has a strategic seat at the Government’s Road Safety Delivery Group, which the Chair of the organisation usually attends.
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2.5 In accordance with the company’s articles of association, the current Chair, Honor Byford, is due to step down and the Vice Chair. However, due to personal circumstances, Ron Paterson, is unable to take over as Chair but has offered to remain as Vice Chair for a further 12 months. The current Chair has offered to serve an additional 12 months subject to the agreement of the Board and Members.
2.6 James Gibson, Director of Communications will step down this year. James has been a very
enthusiastic board member for a number of years and his dedication to the organisation has been extremely valuable, in developing the organisation further and helping to make Road Safety GB a prominent player in the road safety profession. The Board expresses its gratitude to James for all of his hard work during his time as Director of Communications, and wishes him every success in the future. Nomination papers have been issued to seek a new Director of Communications to replace James, post November 2015.
2.7 New director roles have also been identified and agreed during 2015 to help with an ever-‐expanding
workload. The board has agreed that the organisation would benefit from a second Vice Chair role, to assist with the general activities of the Chair and to ensure there is succession to the Chair after the 2-‐year tenure. The board has also agreed to a new Director of Research that will essentially look at securing funding and commissioning of new areas of research that will support the work of the organisation and assist in achieving its charitable objectives. A new Director without Portfolio role will support the board in selected activities, when required. Nomination papers have been issued to the membership regarding these new posts.
2.8 The board as of November 2015 will comprise:
• Honor Byford, Chair • Ron Paterson, Vice Chair • Second Vice Chair to be confirmed at AGM • Judith Billingham, Company Secretary • Sam Merison, Director of the Academy • Theresa Casbard, Director of Finance • Director of Communications, to be confirmed at AGM • Director of Research, to be confirmed at AGM • Director without Portfolio, to be confirmed at AGM
2.9 The Board will continue to be supported by the Business and Operations Manager, whose role
includes; developing business strategies, creating delivery plans to ensure Road Safety GB is best positioned to achieve its aims of promoting and sharing good road safety practice, and supporting road safety professionals and the wider community to help to reduce casualties. The day-‐to-‐day activities include supporting the business process and the board of directors, working with the wider road safety related business sector to forge new partnerships, and to engage in activities that will enhance the organisation both professionally and financially. Whilst it is important that the company is financially viable, the main driver for the organisation is to support the profession in a number of ways that are set out throughout this report.
2.10 The role of Business and Operations Manager has proven to be invaluable, as it has enabled the organisation to expand and extend its reach into the road safety and business world, at a manageable rate, increasing brand awareness both in the UK and abroad, and opening up further business opportunities in particular for the Academy. Therefore, at a meeting of the Board of Directors in February 2015, it was unanimously agreed to extend the contract for the Business and Operations Manager for a further 2 years, in line with the original recruitment criteria, to be reviewed in February 2017. The contract consists of a set monthly fee and half yearly performance related bonus payments.
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3 Business and Organisational Development
3.1 Finance
3.1.1 The Director of Finance, Theresa Casbard has worked closely with the Business and Operations Manager during the current business year to ensure the efficient and effective use of funding and that all accountancy and legal procedures are adhered to. There have been a number of key changes to the financial processes due to the expanding business and the new systems being introduced that will be outlined further in the report under 3.2.
3.1.2 The introduction of a new e-‐Management system (discussed under 3.4) has led to the development of an online payment system using WorldPay to facilitate the payments. This means that in future, all payments to the organisation will be processed electronically, unless the payee does not have access online, or has other payment requirements.
3.1.3 However, the bookkeeping and accounting processes have come under review as part of the Charity
Scrutiny Review, which is discussed later in the document. 3.1.4 In terms of the annual accounts, RSGB Limited started the year with a relatively healthy balance
comprising monies transferred from Road Safety GB and IRSO. 3.1.5 Financial support for 14/15 was received from DfT for the website, Keltic Clothing towards the
Newsfeed and Colas for the Road Safety Knowledge Centre. Other income included commission on sales of First Car Magazine and Good Egg materials, for use by members. Funding towards the Young Driver event and course development was received from RSS. The Board extends its gratitude to all those who have supported the organisation.
3.1.6 The Corporate and individual membership subscriptions provided further income, together with
course fees, particularly from TfL, for the provision of professional development to members and others involved in road safety education.
3.1.7 During this financial year, RSGB successfully bid for a Road Safety Grant from DfT to develop the RSGB
Academy and professional training and development.. 3.1.8 Expenditure was mainly on the provision of information and communications through the website and
Knowledge Centre, training costs including insurance, and business management. 3.1.9 RSGB commissioned Neil McCallum Associates to produce a report and guidance on Commercial
Collaboration. Regular payments commenced to WorldPay for the ability to process online payments for membership and courses.
3.1.10 The final approved accounts were circulated to members prior to AGM. 3.2 Charity Matters
3.2.1 Submission of Accounts and Scrutiny Report
3.2.2 As a charity, the organisation is bound by a number of regulations set out by the Charity Commission.
One of theses requirements is to produce an external scrutiny report, which has a deadline of by January 2016. The report is a review of the charity’s processes, such as governance, finance, and
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decision-‐making processes. The review has been undertaken by Neil MacCallum Associates and associated documentation is attached as appendix B.
3.2.3 The key issues brought out by the review are:
a) Due to the increase in commercial activity the number of financial transactions has increased significantly, and the workload has becoming increasingly difficult. The review recommends that the organisation should now procure the support of professional financial services, that will manage financial transactions, bookkeeping and accountancy functions.
b) The growth in the organisation has taken it to a position where it is now imperative to
develop a procurement framework for the currently engaged contractors and for all future contractual work.
3.2.4 In light of the issues brought out by the External Scrutiny Report, the Board has considered all areas of
the business and identified those that require further development. 3.2.5 In terms of managing finances, the Board agrees that the growth in this area of work cannot continue
to be carried out by the current Director of Finance as the work has become difficult to manage. Therefore, the Board has instructed Neil MacCallum Associates to seek suitable service providers that would bid for this work.
3.2.6 In terms of procurement, whilst the organisation is not legally bound to conduct formal
procurement/tendering processes, the Board considers that it would be prudent to develop in-‐house guidance on such matters that would satisfy any challenges from prospective clients/contractors, and to satisfy the needs of the Corporate Membership. To that end Neil MacCallum Associates, working alongside the Business and Operations Manager, has been commissioned to develop guidance for procurement of goods and services that will sit comfortably with the charity, the company/organisation and its members.
3.2.7 It is expected that both areas of work, should they be approved, will commence immediately after
discussion and ratification at AGM, and be complete within the first quarter of 2016. 3.2.8 The full Scrutiny Review report will be made available to members as soon it has been completed.
3.3 e-‐Management System 3.3.1 Members will recall that in the Annual Report 2014, it was reported that the Board had approved e-‐
Driving Solutions to develop a proposal for a learning management system (LMS) that will provide a vehicle for future e-‐learning modules, and that would also handle training logs, certification, payments and many other aspects that will benefit the on-‐going management of the Academy and its back office. The system would also be required to provide automation of invoicing to corporate members and individual members.
3.3.2 The proposal was discussed and approved at Policy and Management in December 2014.
3.3.3 As the organisation is developing, in particular with the recent growth of the Academy, it has become more and more apparent that an online/electronic management system is required. The current system is manual and involves processes such as: handling corporate and individual membership application and renewal; management of training courses -‐ students and tutors; invoicing both corporate and individual members; certification and so on. The system has naturally developed to a point where it has become difficult to manage on a manual basis.
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3.3.4 The new system will largely automate the current systems, but will still need a significant level of human input. Whilst the Academy and Finance are functioning with the full support of individuals both functions will need extra support in the future. It is clear that the organisation urgently needs to explore ‘accountancy services’ on a professional basis. There will be an obvious cost to this, however, there is a risk that the current processes may not be sustainable into the future as the business grows. This will be explored following the Scrutiny Review.
3.4 Academy Administration
3.4.1 Due to the increase in the number of training courses and places through the Academy, the back
office administration has become unwieldy for the small number of staff that serve the Academy and who also have full time employment in their respective local authorities. It was suggested that a person be recruited on a part time basis, either on a 10-‐hour or a 20-‐hour week to carry out part or all of the administration functions thereby relieving the workload on the Academy Head of Training and the Membership Officer. However, the board discussed the benefits and limitations of the proposal, in view of the introduction of the new e-‐Management system, and agreed to first trial the ‘outsourcing’ of the processes to gauge the number of hours required and the potential costs. It was agreed that the team at STENNIK, due to their relatively in-‐depth knowledge of the existing processes, would carry out the trial for an initial period of 6 months, utilising the newly created e-‐Management System, after which the process will be reviewed an evaluated.
3.5 Secure Filing System 3.5.1 Security of the company’s records and processes is vital, and the Board has considered how security
and backup can be achieved. The company is in the position where it has no physical premises and operates through a virtual office space. The Directors work together from their own remote work places. As such the company does not have a secure server that it can utilise to store its documentation and important information, as a local authority or a premises based business would normally have.
3.5.2 Some storage is available through the company website, however, it is not set up to provide secure filing, and a good working process for exchange of information between users.
3.5.3 Therefore, it was agreed to seek a secure system that would be sufficient for the needs of the
company, and one that would be cost effective. This has now been achieved through ‘Drop Box for Business’. This allows the company to have a safe and secure filing system with full guaranteed backup, and file sharing facilities between designated users. Files can also be shared with anyone outside of the immediate user group, however access from outside is restricted to the user group.
3.5.4 The user group comprises at this stage of: Director of Finance; Company Secretary; Business and
Operations Manager. 3.5.5 The system also allows users to access documentation remotely and securely on smart phone and
tablet, where there is Internet access, for example in meetings and other gatherings where access may be required. The system, which was implemented in June 2015, has an affordable annual fee of £350 (charity rate).
3.5.6 The only difficulty with the system is that users who work within local authorities may have some
issues with access due to local/internal restrictions being placed on their I.T. system, however, they can access the Drop Box system on a personal smart phone with internet access, at home on a private PC, or other places outside of the local authority domain.
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4 Academy -‐ Education And Training 4.1 Courses
4.1.1 Road Safety Practitioner’s Foundation Course (RSPFC) 4.1.2 The RSPFC continues to be delivered through the year, in various parts of the UK and feedback from
students is excellent. The course delivers the basic skills, knowledge, and understanding required to deliver a road safety intervention. It provides participants with an overview of the whole process from identifying a road safety issue to developing an intervention and through to evaluation.
4.1.3 Students attending come from a range of backgrounds including: local authority road safety,
sustainable and active travel staff; Fire and Rescue personnel; Police Officers; Approved Driving Instructors; Teachers. Individuals from other road safety related organisations, such as DfT and Highways England have also attended. Discussions have taken place with Highways England to progress a selected number of Highways Agency Traffic Officers (HATO’s) to attend a bespoke practitioners course, and it is hoped that this will be achieved in the near future.
4.1.4 Two tutors are currently utilised to deliver the course: Alan Kennedy (Business and Operations
Manager) delivers day 1 and 2, whilst Ian Edwards (eDrivingsolutions) delivers days 3 and 4. A third tutor is currently being assessed to deliver day 1 and 2.
4.1.5 As a reminder, the cost to attend a RSPFC course is £350 plus VAT for Academy members, and £500
plus VAT for others, and more information regarding the course and Academy membership can be obtained via the website or directly from Cheryl Evans, Head of Training.
4.1.6 Behavioural Change Course 4.1.7 The Academy launched a new one-‐day behavioural change course, on 13th May 2013. Behavioural
change is key in making significant improvements to the way people use our roads, and in making significant reductions in road related incidents and injuries.
4.1.8 It is estimated that around 95% of all road traffic collisions are due to road user error. These errors
may be due to a range of issues including lack of experience, observational issues, distraction, the influence of others, or the influence of substances. Qualified drivers and riders are deemed to have the basic skills required to drive safely, as they have demonstrated their skills through a driving or riding test. Many hundreds and thousands of children are now trained in safer cycling and safer walking.
4.1.9 Many road safety interventions are based around improving road user skills. However, there are other
factors that must be considered such as social context, personality, and journey related issues that cause road users to fail to cope with their environment.
4.1.10 What and how we teach in road safety is extremely important if we are to ensure we do not create
unintended consequences with our road using public. 4.1.11 This course explores how we as human beings create our own realities based on our experiences, how
we make decisions, how we interpret messages, how we need to deal with conflicting multiple attitudes, how we are often in conflict with our own beliefs, and how we are influenced by many other factors.
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4.1.12 The course is designed to give road safety practitioners an insight into the world of behavioural change models and techniques, and how interventions can be developed that will look at the underlying issues associated with risk related behaviour, and ultimately collisions.
4.1.13 Experienced as well as new road safety practitioners will benefit from this one-‐day course, which can
be used as a pre-‐cursor to, or an extension of, the RSPFC. 4.1.14 The one-‐day Behavioural Change course is assessment based and will soon be accredited by City and
Guilds. 4.1.15 The fee for attendance is £110 (+ VAT) for Road Safety GB Academy members and £170 (+VAT) for
non-‐members.
4.1.16 Client Centred Learning Courses (CCL) 4.1.17 Members will be aware that on 7th April 2014 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
introduced a simpler three grade Standards Check for instructors in order to improve driver tuition and to help learners and their parents identify the best instructors. The new Standards Check means that Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) will now need to demonstrate a wider range of techniques in their delivery of driver training that demonstrate it is ‘client centred’ – delivered in a way that best suits the individual client.
4.1.18 The Academy’s Client Centred Learning (CCL) course is helping the UK’s ADIs meet the requirements
of the DVSA’s new grading structure. 4.1.19 Road Safety GB’s intention is to help corporate members (local authorities) become sustainable and
even profitable; to help support other services, and the board is inviting members to become CCL service providers. This means that a local authority can become an approved Road Safety GB service provider, delivering CCL to ADIs in the local authority area, or wider. The service providers’ benefit by generating income through course delivery, and expanding their network of influence with learner drivers through their driving instructors. Road Safety GB also benefits from income through a licensing fee arrangement with the service providers.
4.1.20 Whilst Road Safety GB members manage the courses locally, they are required to use qualified ADIs
from their area to deliver the CCL course. The selected ADIs must attend a ‘Train the Trainer’ course delivered by Road Safety GB.
4.1.21 Road Safety GB provides all of the associated systems and paperwork to promote and deliver courses;
manages the certification process for ADIs who have completed; maintains a database of courses and individual completions; and ensures the course standards are maintained across the country through an audit/monitoring process.
4.1.22 A number of Road Safety GB members are now equipped to deliver the new CCL training course. To
date they are: • Birmingham City Council • Cambridgeshire County Council • Durham County Council • North Yorkshire County Council • Nottingham City Council • Peterborough City Council
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4.1.23 There are gaps in service provision, particularly in the London, South East, South West, Scottish and Welsh regions. The Board is very keen to receive CCL Service Provider applications from authorities in those areas. Member authorities that are interested in becoming a CCL Service Provider should contact Alan Kennedy (Business and Operations Manager)
4.2 Training Figures 4.2.1 Foundation Course – 10 courses in 2015 with one already planned for 2016. 115 people have passed
so far with a pass rate of 54% (figure will rise as assignments are completed and marked) 4.2.2 A new Trainer is currently being trained to deliver the Foundation Course modules. 4.2.3 Behavioural Change Course – 5 courses booked, 29 delegates so far not including the original pilots. 4.2.4 CCL – Figures not compiled yet for the Train the Trainer course. Fifty one (51) ADIs have now
completed the CCL course, and feedback from attendees has been excellent. 4.2.5 The WRTS (Walked Routes to School) and SCP Training course was successfully delivered in Northern
Ireland by TMS. 4.3 E-‐Learning Modules 4.3.1 A number of enquiries have been received regarding the development of e-‐learning modules aimed at
lower level delivery such as that delivered by staff from other organisations, for example, the Fire and Rescue Services, the Police through the PCSOs, and the College of Policing. This is now being progressed with the advent of the LMS/MMS, and a draft resource has been viewed. It is hoped that first e-‐module will be accessible before the end of the year.
4.4 City and Guilds Renewal and New Course Accreditation 4.4.1 The Academy team has completed the required documentation for the City & Guilds (C&G)
Accreditation renewal. Year 1 was a big success with many delegates citing the accreditation as a reason to attend the course. As part of the renewal, the C&G inspectors will be visiting future course to examine delivery and will be carrying out an audit of back office systems.
4.4.2 The Behaviour Change Course is currently going through the accreditation process and there are plans
to put the CCL through once the database has been integrated into the Electronic Management System.
4.4.3 The Academy is in discussions with TMS Consultancy with regards to achieving C&G accreditation for
the WRTS (Walked Routes to School) and the SCP (School Crossing Patrol) Training Courses. 4.5 Skills Gap Analysis, Framework, and Course Development
4.5.1 The road safety professional landscape has changed in varying degrees around the UK in recent years
due to the effects of austerity measures and changes in the political viewpoint. More and more disciplines are being combined to provide a ‘whole service’ approach, for example Public Health; Active Travel; and Road Safety are combining in some authorities and in others the Fire and Rescue Services are becoming the main service providers.
4.5.2 In an effort to understand the future needs of this changing profession, Road Safety GB along with Road Safety Analysis (RSA) and Road Safety Support (RSS) has undertaken a national survey aimed at practitioners to help understand the make up of the profession. Alongside this, a desktop study has been commissioned to look at how the road safety profession compares to others in terms of training
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and qualifications. A third stage will be a more detailed survey seeking specific information about training needs.
4.5.3 The completed project will enable the Academy to complete the national training and qualifications
framework by providing advanced level modules and other levels of courses based on the needs of the industry. It is hoped that the initial framework will be completed by the end of 2015 after which work will begin on developing the advanced modules, in-‐house, with the support of other training providers.
4.5.4 CCL course is a good income generator for LA’s however, it requires far more promotion. This is
currently being explored as part of the Academy support processes and in discussions with ADI support organisations.
4.5.5 There are several new courses, delivered by various service providers, which have been put forward to
be approved and included within the Academy framework, and others that have requested C&G accreditation. These matters are currently in discussion.
4.5.6 This work has been supported and partially funded by the Department of Transport to aid the further
professionalisation, development and provision of road safety education, training and publicity.
4.6 Future Framework 4.6.1 The Academy Team has been discussing a framework for external providers to deliver courses. This
framework would create a simple day rate charging model which remains in line with current courses, would enable evaluation to take place, streamline potential C&G accreditations and also make promotion of courses more straightforward. The details of this charging model look at a day rate for the provider with a percentage of any surplus being returned to RSGB.
4.6.2 Deviations from this model would still be permitted if the course had significant costs in delivery
and/or it is beneficial to members and the profession. 4.7 Communications 4.7.1 The website and communications are managed centrally from the RSGB Web & Comms group. The
academy website has been incorporated into the main site this year and has received various adjustments and updates in particular regarding training courses.
4.7.2 Team members attended the Emergency Services show, held Birmingham NEC, in an effort to
promote Academy courses and membership. The Foundation, BCC and CCL course literature was available and two free course places were offered as part of a business card draw. The stand was well attended.
4.8 Signposting 4.8.1 Signposting to non-‐Academy courses that are on offer is achieved via TDO’s and the Website where
appropriate. The plan going forward is to formalise these arrangements and either accredit, CPD or place as ‘other’ for courses that the Academy does not own.
4.9 Membership 4.9.1 Membership of the Academy is growing steadily. Members are recruited primarily through their
involvement in Academy training courses; however, others join the Academy by a simple application process. Membership breakdown is set out in table 1.
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Organisation Public 588 Private 178 Retired 5 Overall Membership 766 Regional Area Memberships Scotland 20 Northern Ireland 10 Ireland (Eire) 1 North East 43 North West 70 Yorkshire and Humberside 83 Mercia 65 Wales 7 Eastern 72 East Midlands 79 London 84 South West 83 South East 132 Unknown 1 Overseas 7 Total 766 Table 1: Academy Membership Breakdown
4.9.2 Corporate members will be aware that 10 places per authority may be taken as part of the corporate
annual fee, currently £350 + VAT, through a fast track system. Details of the fast track system can be found by contacting Sally Bartrum via the website.
4.9.3 The fee to join the Academy as an individual member is £35 + VAT per annum 4.10 Partnership and Promotion 4.10.1 The Academy has entered into a partnership with Road Safety Analysis (RSA) and Road Safety Support
(RSS) to promote good practice and to provide training to the profession. The Skills Gap Analysis has already been discussed in this report, however, the three parties also exhibited at the RSS Conference in Manchester at the end of September 2015, where leaflets regarding each organisation’s courses were available. A number of delegates showed an interest in the foundation and behavioural change courses.
4.10.2 The Academy team also exhibited at the Emergency Services show at the NEC in Birmingham on 23rd
and 24th September 2015. Information about the Academy courses was disseminated to a large number of visitors to the exhibition, in particular to Fire and Rescue personnel.
4.11 Training Development Officers (TDO’s) 4.11.1 In order to facilitate training at local and regional level, the Academy utilises the expertise and
experience of a number of key people around the UK who act in a voluntary capacity as TDO’s. 4.11.2 The TDO role is to promote the Academy and its training courses in their own particular region, and to
encourage practitioners to avail themselves of lower cost, high value training. The TDO’s also assist in the setting up and promotion of regional courses.
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4.11.3 To date the Academy has 8 regions from 12 fully staffed with TDO’s. The TDO’s have been extremely helpful this year in organising and promoting courses in their areas and also sourcing course venues.
4.11.4 The role is vital to the success of regional delivery, however, not all regions enjoy the benefits of
having a TDO to call on. The board would wish to encourage those regions that do not currently have a TDO to discuss the matter at their partner meetings.
5 PROJECTS
5.1 Global Road Safety Week
5.1.1 In the spring of 2015, Road Safety GB led a consortium of leading UK road safety stakeholders (ACPO,
AIRSO, Brake, CFOA, CIHT, DoENI, DfT, Highways Agency, PACTS, RoadSafe, Road Safety Support, Road Safety Wales, RoSPA and Transport Scotland) to support Global Road Safety Week 2015 in an effort to highlight the need to reduce the number of child casualties that occur on roads across the globe, but in particular in developing countries.
5.1.2 Using the slogan #SaveKidsLives, the third Global Road Safety Week (4-‐10 May 2015) highlighted the plight of children on the world’s roads in a bid to generate action to better ensure their safety.
5.1.3 The centrepiece of the #SaveKidsLives campaign was a child declaration, developed with input from
children around the world. Road safety policy-‐makers and advocates across the globe were encouraged to “sign it”, “show it”, and “deliver it” to those in charge of road safety during the Week.
5.1.4 Activities for the UK to support Global Road Safety Week included production of a series of simple
guides to help schools and other organisations to implement low or no cost activities to enhance pupils’ road safety skills and awareness. The Week also saw a series of online forums and discussion sessions where road safety professionals around the world were able to interact with each other and share experiences and ideas to help improve child road safety.
5.1.5 During the week, a number of UK based schools linked with schools in other countries online and
pupils compared their journeys to school. 5.1.6 A combination of Road Safety GB funds and a Department for Transport grant supported the work
around Global Road Safety Week and the continuing updates to the website.
5.2 Older Driver Forum and Taskforce 5.2.1 Following Road Safety GB’s involvement in the setting up of an ‘Older Driver Forum’ to examine the
needs of older drivers and service providers, in particular with regard to assessment, referral and support, the government has set up the Older Driver Taskforce, led by John Plowman. One of the aims of the Taskforce is to distinguish between medically at risk drivers and healthy older drivers and champion the needs of older drivers by pushing for roads, vehicles and technologies that make life easier and safer for them, ultimately enabling the older driver, to drive safely for longer.
5.2.2 The Taskforce group has set up three working groups to look at:
1. The Evidence base. 2. Vehicle, Road and Information Technology. 3. Support and Self Help.
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5.2.3 Sgt Rob Heard of Hampshire Police has been appointed as the Chair of Group 3, looking at Support and Self Help. This fits well with Road Safety GB’s involvement, as the Older Driver Forum has essentially become Group 3 of the Taskforce. The RSGB Business and Operations Manager will attend and support both the Group 3 meeting and the Taskforce main group with the specific aim of assisting the work of the taskforce.
5.2.4 As this project is moving swiftly, it is intended to report on the activities at timely intervals throughout the life of the project through the usual Road Safety GB communications channels.
5.2.5 A subgroup of Working Group 3 has been set up and chaired by Alan Kennedy to look at national
guidelines for stage 1 assessments. The group, which involves experts form local authorities, academia, and mobility centres, has formulated a framework for the process of assessment and referral. However, further work needs to be done to add detail to some of the processes, such as risk assessments and assessment criteria for the driving element of the assessment. This work is on-‐going and will be completed in line with the time frames of the Older Driver Taskforce.
5.3 Illuminated Stop Sign Trials
5.3.1 Development of the long awaited illuminated stop sign for School Crossing Patrols (SCPs) has been
held up due to new materials being brought into the market, which will provide a better end product. A working model, using LED technology as opposed to the original electronic paper, was produced in October 2014. The sign showed high levels of luminosity, however, it also showed ‘ghosting’ which may have caused some difficulties in the clarity of the word STOP and the child image. Therefore, it was agreed to find an early solution to the issue so that trials could be undertaken during the winter months (November 2014 – February 2015). The search for a solution to the ‘ghosting’ led to the discovery of improved materials for the disc and the sign went into a further phase of design, which overran the time allocated for the trials. Due to some difficulties with the production company, the future development of the sign is now being managed by Teesside University and it is hope that a working model will soon be available for trials during the coming winter, 2015/16.
5.3.2 Further to this, the team is now working on a Stop Sign that incorporates GPS technology, and coupled with geo-‐fencing, will enable managers to identify School Crossing Patrol sites via a map, such as Google Maps, and measure a number of actions such as the time when the sign is deployed at the site and when it is removed, and how many times the sign is presented in the road, for example. This will be trialled with a small number of authorities to enable decisions to be made about its future usefulness.
5.4 SCANIA Project – Stay Safe on the Road
5.4.1 The Academy was approached by Phil Sampson of SCANIA trucks for assistance in the development of
a national road safety resource aimed at children in transition from primary to secondary school around staying safe near trucks. The Business and Operations Manager took up the challenge of developing the resource using behavioural change models, and intervention planning tools from the Foundation course, to demonstrate the professional approach of the Academy to SCANIA.
5.4.2 Following initial discussions around the scope of the project, it was agreed that Road Safety GB would
develop the lesson plans, and SCANIA would produce the artwork, printing and distribution. 5.4.3 The resource is made up of four elements: 1) A tutors guide – containing information on the
behavioural change model used, the lesson plan content, and tips on how to deliver the theory and practical sessions where there is a truck present. 2) Student pre and post evaluation sheets to measure knowledge immediately before and after the intervention. 3) A student workbook to be used after the event, which serves as educational maintenance. 4) Student goodie bags with items that will serve as reminders.
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5.4.4 Further to the initial tutor guide, a second guide has been produced that will work alongside a
PowerPoint presentation with video content, when a real truck is not available. 5.4.5 It is intended that the resource will be made freely available, through SCANIA’s 92 service centres.
SCANIA may contact a local school or road safety officer, to set up a visit and the lesson will be delivered jointly. However, the lessons can be delivered by anyone with suitable qualifications and skills to deliver it, with or without a real truck.
6 International Activities
6.1 Geneva, Switzerland
6.1.1 In March, at the Invitation of RoadSafe, the Chair of RSGB, Honor Byford, attended the 21st UN Road
Safety Collaboration hosted by the World Health Organisation at their HQ in Geneva, Switzerland. RoadSafe kindly funded the costs for this representation. This was enlightening for a number of reasons:
6.1.2 Firstly as an insight into the way in which these high level international events are organised and the
way in which countries and organisations can be involved. It is diplomatically choreographed – there are conventions and politeness of address and procedure that seem arcane at first but they do provide a framework within which contributors from throughout the world can find their place and make their case.
6.1.3 Secondly, some of the presenters from sub-‐Asian, African and South American countries brought
vividly to life the human meaning of the enormous statistics that we have all seen about the numbers of people especially children who are killed and injured on the roads of the world every single day. This is many, many times the total death toll from, for example, the Ebola outbreak and yet the world’s media seem blind to this far greater issue.
6.1.4 Thirdly, it was encouraging to see the very effective programmes that are being developed and that
really can make a difference amongst these huge numbers. Some third sector organisations such as the Global Road Safety Partnership and, newly addressing road safety as an issue: Save the Children International. These major charities are using their profile and influence to recruit major corporations to fund and support road safety programmes such as Johnson & Johnson funding the provision of lightweight moped helmets as part of school uniform for children in South East Asia.
6.1.5 However, the clear gap in all this discussion was any reference to road user education. When asked
why this was, the response was “it doesn’t work”. Further challenge achieved the admission that this actually meant “we have no simple evidence to show how it works and to what extent”.
6.1.6 There is clear scope and great need for significant research that will help to define the role, scope and
importance of road user education, training and publicity in the wider context of reducing casualties and preventing collisions. This is a work in progress but we have gained commitments of support from a number of organisations and respected individuals and will endeavour to start this ball rolling very shortly.
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6.2 Warsaw, Poland
6.2.1 Shortly after the UN conference in March, the British Embassy in Poland invited Road Safety GB and
the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) to take part in a Road Safety Week in Warsaw to share knowledge and good practice. RSGB Chair, Honor Byford, attended along with Chief Constable Suzette Davenport of Gloucester Police who is the national lead for the NPCC on Roads Policing. Both took part in a conference and seminar, making presentations and answering many questions as well as asking many of their own.
6.2.2 Road Safety Education in Poland is led by the Police and by some municipal highways authorities. With
no clear statutory duty allocation, there is significant duplication of effort and, inevitably, gaps where there is no provision from any agency. The cultural hangovers from the Communist era mean that the vast majority of people see the police as agents of the state rather than as a public service there to assist and protect the individual. Similarly, one’s best means of survival and advancement under the communist regime was for the department within which you worked to be the largest. This led to intense competition between agencies, which continue to this day. If the primary aim of competition were to achieve the greatest reduction in collisions and casualties, this might be a positive influence but that is clearly not the case and there is much waste of effort and repetition.
6.2.3 Meanwhile, Suzette and Honor explored Warsaw as they visited a number of venues and events and
were frequently warned by local people to take real care crossing the roads, not to trust the green man but watch the traffic as vehicles often do not stop for red lights.
6.2.4 However, the energy and commitment evident amongst local highways staff and police officers was
impressive and, at the ground level, practitioners were doing all they could to cut through departmental politics and get the job done.
6.2.5 The college based moped training programme that is run by bikers from the Harley Davidson Chapters
was particularly impressive providing strong positive role models of safe and skilful road riding to young novices and is something being followed up in the UK.
6.3 Seoul, South Korea
6.3.1 The General Insurance Association of Korea (GIAK) invited Road Safety GB to speak at an international road safety seminar regarding Policy Development for Pedestrian Safety on 15 September 2015. The conference, which took place in Seoul, was aimed at seeking solutions to enhance road safety in Korea, through the input of Korean academics and professionals from other countries, such as the USA, Switzerland and the UK.
6.3.2 The Conference was established in collaboration with Ministry of Public Safety and Security and other
relevant research institutions, and examined the risk factors that pedestrians are exposed to, road accident causation and preventive measures, amid the rising concern about road safety in South Korea.
6.3.3 The South Koreans believe that the UK is a country that has advanced policy and practice and that the
pedestrian friendly road environment is attributed to the years of efforts that include development of road safety legislation, expanding the expenditure, and promoting public awareness of road safety.
6.3.4 Alan Kennedy represented RSGB at the conference and gave the UK view, with respect to policy,
legislation, national budget and funding and communications with the public. Whilst the UK has a good overall road safety record, Alan informed the conference of the poor pedestrian safety record in comparison to the rest of the EU. However, he also discussed the various types of facilities that are provided for pedestrians, including some of the limitations, and talked about the need for better road
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safety education for all road users, in all age groups. He also emphasised the need to have wider public information programmes that focus on positive messages that encourage the public rather than threaten, or scare.
6.3.5 The response from the academics and government officials was very positive and clearly they
understand that they may have made some fundamental mistakes in terms of city planning and road design, and that much more needs to be done in terms of education and communications.
6.4 Australia
6.4.1 During the summer, the Board provided support and information to an Australian researcher, Dr
Reece Hinchcliffe, who was undertaking research into Knowledge Transfer through an international Churchill Scholarship. Dr Hinchliffe was comparing how research is translated into policy and practice in four leading countries, in road safety terms: Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom. One of his three recommendations to improve and further develop road safety practice and casualty reduction is the establishment of an Australian Road Safety Academy modelled on the RSGB Academy. This is a terrific international recognition and endorsement of the Academy concept and how it works in practice. We will be publishing Dr Hinchcliffe’s report on the Knowledge Centre.
7 Website and Communications 7.1 Website and Communications Team
7.1.1 The team in the past year has consisted of: James Gibson, Director of Communications, Alan Kennedy,
Business & Operations Manager, Iain Temperton and Matt Staton who both manage the RSGB Twitter feed, Nick Rawlings website editor and Bill Smith of DBDA. Bill stood down from the group during the summer of 2015 when he left DBDA and took a role with Scotland TranServ. RSGB gave their thanks for the input Bill provided to this group.
7.2 Website Statistics 7.2.1 The number of people using and visiting the website continues to flourish. • Over 25k monthly visits (20k in 2014)
• Over 16k unique visitors per month (13k in 2014) • Over 1640 newsfeed subscribers (1,700 in 2014)
7.2.2 The monitoring of this data remains important as it is used to develop the organisations business
cases for funding from DfT and to secure funding from our commercial partners. In 2015/16 THINK! has provided funding to fully cover the running costs of the newsfeed. The Board is extremely grateful for this sponsorship and will look to secure further funds for 2016/17.
7.3 Media Statements and Interviews 7.3.1 During the past year, 41 statements have been issued covering a range of subjects promoting Road
Safety GB and in particular the National Conference and Young Driver event. 7.3.2 It is very encouraging to report that during the past year, the Road Safety GB team has conducted
over 55 media interviews (50 in 2014). These include regional TV news, BBC 5 Live, LBC Radio and numerous local BBC and commercial radio stations. This work includes three radio days at studios in
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London. James Gibson, Alan Kennedy and Liz Brooker undertook the days. Thanks are also extended to Honor Byford, Paul Watson, Richard Hall, Sean Carroll and Stuart Howarth who all also gave media interviews during the course of the year.
7.4 Social Media 7.4.1 Road Safety GB has a growing presence on Twitter with over 10,300 followers in 2015. This has
increased year on year since 2011 when followers were only 1,000. Twitter feeds will once again be provided throughout the national conference. Iain Temperton and Matt Staton manage the service – continued thanks go to them.
7.5 RSGB Connect 7.5.1 RSGB Connect is a new online tool designed specially for road safety professionals to allow the
creation and deployment of targeted email communications. FirstCar has teamed up with Road Safety GB to launch this product in order to help road safety professionals become more efficient with their online communications.
7.5.2 Further information regarding the product and the services available can be found on the RSGB
Website at: http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk/connect/index.php 7.6 Think Communications 7.6.1 The communications team has continued to work with the THINK! team during the past year and
there is an on-‐going constructive working relationship with Tim Lennon (Head of the THINK! Team) and the wider team at DfT. Tim has been kindly visiting each Policy & Management Meeting to provide an update of activity during the past year.
7.7 Road Safety GB Knowledge Centre 7.7.1 The visitor statistics for the site proved a little disappointing during 2014. A survey was conducted
with Knowledge Centre subscribers and the results were discussed with Policy & Management. Following this discussion a number of changes to the site have been undertaken. These developments have included removing the need to register to view the site and making the site compatible with mobile devices.
• The site now attracts over 2k monthly visits (just over 1k in 2014) • Over 1,800 visitors per month in 2015 compared to 650 in 2014
7.7.2 Colas continued their support for the Knowledge Centre during 2015/16 and further funding will be
sought for 2016/17. 7.8 Road Safety GB Update 7.8.1 This publication is a useful way of helping Road Safety GB to engage with stakeholders and is also used
by many teams as a way of updating others within their own organisation about the developments within Road Safety GB. Funding has been set aside to produce further editions of Update
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8 Conferences and Seminars
8.1 Annual National Road Safety Conference
8.1.1 The national conference was held at the Grand Hotel in Brighton on 25th and 26th November 2014. Around 260 delegates attended the conference and the post conference feedback shows that the majority of delegates gave it a very good or excellent rating.
8.1.2 Sponsorship for the conference came from COLAS for a fifth consecutive year, AA Drive Tech for a third year, and Sussex Safer Roads Partnership. This vital support enabled Road Safety GB to subsidise the delegate rate for members, enabling more road safety professionals to attend, and to help to cover the costs of staging the event.
8.1.3 The exhibition, which ran alongside the conference, was once again a sell-‐out success with 19 participating organisations.
8.1.4 The conference opened with a presentation from Honor Byford, the chair for Road Safety GB, who is
in her second year as chair of RSGB. 8.1.5 The conference itself comprised six sessions including a focus on ‘Working in Partnership’ and ‘Social
Media’. There was a Question Time session on the Wednesday morning, with high profile guests, which was skilfully chaired by Nick Rawlings.
8.1.6 As well as delegates from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there were also
international delegates. 8.1.7 The Website and Communications team ran a live Twitter feed throughout the conference. BBC Radio
2 picked this up. Also a series of ‘live’ reports from the conference were published on the newsfeed during the event.
8.1.8 The 2015 conference will be held at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham on 18th and
19th November. 8.2 Young Driver Focus Event
8.2.1 Following the success of the 2014 Young Driver Focus (YDF) event held in 2014, a second event was
held at the RAC Club in Pall Mall in April 2015. This event built on the first year success and evaluation of the event was excellent.
8.2.2 The conference comprised four sessions, following introductory presentations by HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO, and Liz Box from the RAC Foundation.
8.2.3 The first session focussed on research and interventions and included presentations by Dr Fiona Fylan;
Emeritus Professor Stephen Stradling; Michael McDonnell of Road Safety Scotland and Dan Campsell and Tanya Fosdick from Road Safety Analysis.
8.2.4 The second session comprised two presentations on the subject of telematics – by Richard King, CEO
of ingenie, and Ian Lancaster, CEO of Twentyci. 8.2.5 The afternoon sessions focussed on driver training, with three presentations by Ian Edwards, director
of eDriving Solutions; Dr Shaun Helman from the TRL; and Mawuli Ladzekpo, managing director of Roadio.
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8.2.6 The closing session comprised a panel discussion featuring some of the day’s speakers alongside
Sophie Morgan, ambassador for Drive IQ and Richard Dredge, editor of FirstCar. 8.2.7 Evaluation of the content, speakers, venue and management/booking process was excellent with 98%
of delegates rating the event as excellent or good. 8.2.8 The processes are underway to stage a third event, to be held once again at the RAC Club in Pall Mall,
on 20th April 2016. 8.2.9 Details of the event can be found at: http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk/pages/conference-‐events.html
9 Awards
9.1 Each year Road Safety GB presents the Lynda Chalker award to organisations or individuals that have contributed significantly to road safety during the year.
9.2 The award is promoted through the website each year and nominations are invited. The Board
receives the nominations and agrees on whether or not the award should be made, and to whom it should be awarded. More than one award may be made in one year or, if nominations are not considered to meet the required standard of achievement or innovations, it may be that no award is made. In 2014, there were no awards made. However, in 2015, five nominations were received, and the winner/s will be announced at the Annual National Conference in Nottingham on 18th November 2015.
10 Sponsors 10.1 Each year, the work of Road Safety GB is supported by a number of organisations in the form of
sponsorship. The Board extends its gratitude to those sponsors listed below, without whom the organisation could not function as it does, nor could it provide the high quality services its members now come to expect. Sponsorship and partnership working is essential when striving to achieve greater development of the interventions, that will ultimately lead to a reduction in casualties.
10.2 Any organisation or Company seeking to support the work of Road Safety GB is first assessed for suitability and financial probity through a scrutiny process. This is to protect the reputation of Road Safety GB and to ensure that the sponsorship is in the interests of the organisation and the profession.
10.3 The Board wishes to thank all past sponsors for their valuable contributions, and in particular THINK!,
COLAS, AA Drive Tech, and Sussex Safer Roads Partnership for on-‐going support.
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11 2020 Vision
11.1 The company is growing in stature at a steady pace and is now a well-‐established entity amongst the other organisational pillars in the UK. However, it cannot become complacent, and must strive for continuous improvement and development, towards achieving current goals, aims and objectives and always stretching itself towards aspirational goals. By adopting this work ethic, this approach to continuous improvement, the aspirations will by and large almost certainly become realities.
11.2 There are a number of aspirational goals that have been set out to be achieved by 2020 and include:
§ The Organisation – Recognised as the leading organisation for professional road safety practitioners delivering road user ETP, providing resources and putting wider policy into practice.
§ Communications – Become one of the major “go to” national organisations when road safety
related stories are in the media, and information, advice or informed comment is sought.
§ Regional organisation – Each region of the UK has a fully functioning, effective and supportive group.
§ Partnerships – To have developed strong partnerships with major organisations such as Highways England and others to assist in the continuous development and implementation of national communications aimed at vulnerable road users.
§ Data Analysts – to provide a professional home for collision and casualty data analysts and to support them in developing their professional development and expertise as a recognised specialism with strong links into government, other organisations and academic and research institutions.
§ Membership – to widen the membership of the organisation to include those in other allied professions whose work contributes significantly to road safety education, training and publicity.
§ Conference and Seminars – To be the provider of the most successful annual road safety conference in the UK in terms of attendance and content.
§ Education and Training – To be recognised as the organisation that leads, sets standards and oversees career structure linked to qualifications.
o To be a major provider of higher level (L5 – Degree) qualifications in the UK. o To provide or signpost to, a full range of topical training programmes (fully evaluated
and accredited) that will serve a number of professions from engineering, enforcement, education and training, publicity, sustainability, active travel.
§ Membership – to widen the membership of the organisation to include those in other allied professions whose work contributes significantly to road safety education, training and publicity.
§ Research – to develop and sponsor research into road user education, training and publicity programmes and practice and to facilitate knowledge exchange – putting research into policy and into practice and linking researchers with practitioners to mutual benefit.
§ Accreditation – to develop a nationally recognised accreditation programme and standards for road safety training, interventions and practice.
§ International – Recognised as a leading provider of standard setting, accreditation, practitioner and professional standards and practice.
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11.3 Clearly, there is much to be done to turn these aspirations into reality. There is however, a great appetite throughout the Board and Policy and Management to work towards 2020 and beyond. The industry has recently undergone some major changes due to the political and economic climate, and there are likely to be changes as we move through the next 5 years towards 2020. However, the profession is made up of people who are motivated and driven, and despite the many difficulties and barriers that are put in the way, it is the ambition of the Road Safety GB Board of Directors that all of these goals will be achieved.
11.4 The Board wishes to extend its gratitude, and congratulations to the Policy and Management Team,
the individual volunteer officers, specialist advisers, its members, both corporate and individual, sponsors, and its close working partners for the huge efforts that have been made during the past 12 months, in assisting the organisation to grow and for improving the road using experience for everyone.
Road Safety GB registered address; The thatched Barn Low Road Wortham Diss Norfolk IP22 1SH T: 01379 651828 www.roadsafetygb.org.uk
