AQW 51585/11-16


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 27/11/2015
Answered On Date: 06/01/2016
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of the Environment to detail how he is working with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in regards to the Rural White Paper Action Plan which aims to understand the cause of, and reduce the number of, collisions on rural roads.


Answer:
My Department maintains a close working relationship with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) across a number of areas of mutual interest, such as progressing implementation of the Rural White Paper Action Plan.
DOE is the lead Department for a number of actions. This includes actions relevant to my responsibilities for climate change, waste management, planning policy, and road safety. Progress against my Department’s actions is collated and submitted to DARD each year for reporting on key achievements in relation to implementation of actions during the preceding year. DARD then prepares and publishes an Annual Progress Report which is posted on its website.
In relation to road safety, I can advise that Action 81 from the Rural White Paper Action Plan commits my Department to better understand the cause of collisions on rural roads and to reduce their number.
As such, my Department has established a road safety research programme, involving road safety partners, to help identify emerging trends and provide a sound knowledge base for developing future policies. Much of the research carried out will have a rural element.
The development and introduction of Graduated Driving Licence (GDL) is in line with the aims of the Rural White Paper Action Plan and has the potential to make a significant contribution to the reduction of deaths and serious injuries on rural roads and indeed Northern Ireland as a whole.
Furthermore, campaigns developed by my Department focus heavily on rural areas and almost every campaign produced features many different types of road safety problems in a rural setting. The recent social media campaign, which I launched on 11 December, also has a rural context and it is an anti drink driving message which reinforces the need for motorists to ‘Never Ever Drink and Drive’. Research shows that younger males are most at risk from drink driving and this campaign stresses the impairing effects of alcohol on driving, even from the first drink.