TRANSPORT
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With traffic accidents continuing to take a heavy toll of human life and property, the promotion of road safety is of great importance. The Road Safety Division drafted a new Highway Code in collaboration with other government departments, participated in the production of traffic education teaching kits for schools, advised target groups on road safety campaigns, and provided technical advice in connection with road safety legislation. At the end of 1983, there were 243 Road Safety School Patrols comprising 10 000 members whose main function is to ensure safe crossing of roads by school children on their way to and from school. The Road Safety Council, an advisory body, was reconstituted and strengthened in early 1983.
Tackling Congestion on the Roads
The 1974 White Paper on Transport predicted that with the continuing increase in the number of vehicles and the inevitable limitation on growth of the road system in the urban areas, it would become necessary, as one of the measures to relieve overall road congestion, to restrain the rate of growth of the vehicle fleet. In May 1982, measures were introduced for transport policy reasons doubling the first registration tax for private vehicles, broadly tripling their annual licence fees and raising the duty on petrol. In February 1983, the Annual Budget included increases for fiscal reasons in vehicle licence fees and the duty on petrol and diesel oil. Disabled drivers were exempted from all measures except the fuel duties. As a result, the number of new private cars licensed during 1983 dropped by six per cent compared with growths of 11 per cent and two per cent in 1982 and 1981 respectively. The number of private cars licensed at the end of 1983 was 201 000, compared with 214 849 at the end of 1982. For motorcycles, the figures were 26 000 and 27 434 respectively.
Although the objective of the May 1982 measures was to restrict the rate of growth in private vehicles to five per cent, the economic recession accentuated its effect. Past experience has shown, however, that as the economy picks up again, and as the effect of increased taxes and licences wears off, growth will resume. Details are at Appendix 32. The government believes that such fiscal measures, although necessary and effective, are not the most equitable way of dealing with congestion, and an exhaustive examination of alternatives was carried out during 1982 and 1983 with the aim of reducing vehicle usage in congested areas, at peak periods in particular.
As a result, and following consideration of a feasibility study carried out by the United Kingdom Department of Transport, the government approved a pilot stage of an Electronic Road Pricing System (ERP). ERP, by charging for the use of busy roads at congested times, aims to reduce traffic volume by the margin necessary to achieve satisfactory traffic flows by discouraging users who can make journeys at less congested times or by public transport. It is equitable because it does not attack the ownership of vehicles, as each motorist can decide on an individual economic basis how much he wishes to use congested roads, rather than all motorists paying the same levels of taxes and licences, with some using congested roads a great deal, some not so much and some hardly at all. The potential benefits of the system for all vehicles (private, commercial and public transport) and to the community are significant in terms of improved traffic flows, the economy, the environment, and to a lesser extent, safety.
The system involves the identification of each individual vehicle by an electronic coded device - an electronic number plate (ENP) - installed underneath the vehicle. When a vehicle passes over electronic loops in the roads, the ENP responds to the loop and transmits a signal which is relayed to a central computer. This signal records the unique electronic code of the vehicle and the time, date and location of passage. Tariffs will vary