Diesel Spills (Safety Campaign)
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S1M-3430, in the name of Brian Adam, on a safety campaign on diesel spills. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes with regret the distressing number of motorcycle accidents and fatalities caused by diesel spills and believes that the Scottish Executive should run a road safety campaign to highlight the dangers of over-filling diesel tanks and introduce other measures to reduce diesel spills.
The background to my request for the debate is that there are a significant number of accidents that involve motorcycles. Indeed, there are far too many, some of which, unfortunately, result in fatalities. Up to 10 per cent of those accidents are believed to have been caused as a direct result of diesel spills.
We can start to tackle the problem in a number of areas. Clearly, the matter is a safety issue, and some such matters are covered by other legislatures. In that respect, I accept that the role of the minister will be to encourage his colleagues elsewhere. I advise the chamber that a European directive governing the matter is on its way, and I encourage the minister to take an active interest in the development of that directive. The regulation of vehicles is a matter for Westminster, but the Executive has a role in general safety and environmental issues and it takes an active interest in many aspects of road safety. The aspect that we are discussing is a highly particular one, and I do not suggest for a minute that the bulk of accidents on the road are caused by diesel spill, but it is a cause of accidents that can be addressed. I believe that the Executive has the powers to do that and I will suggest one or two specific measures.
I want to highlight some of the reasons why I have raised the issue. Obviously, I have been lobbied. Various motorcycle interest groups, including the United Kingdom Motorcycle Action Group, have approached me, and I have been lobbied by the parents of a young man who, unfortunately, was killed as a consequence of slipping on a diesel spill while on his motorcycle. In the past year or so, a couple of incidents in the north-east of Scotland have been drawn to my attention. I received an e-mail from someone who is actively involved in the Motorcycle Action Group, which mentions that a relative of his was the driver in a recent incident on Speyside in which a motorcyclist was seriously hurt. There are obvious implications for the individuals who are hurt in such accidents, but there are also implications for people who are innocently involved by being the driver of a car.
Diesel spills do not affect only motorcyclists, although they are affected more than other road users. A fairly serious incident to the south of Aberdeen in which a couple of cars went off the road was a consequence of a major diesel spill. The minister is probably aware that legal action might be pending on that matter.
I believe that the Executive can take action through safety campaigns. The Executive rightly runs regular safety campaigns on issues such as drink driving, drug driving and speeding. I encourage the Executive to consider a public campaign on the dangers of diesel spill. The campaign should encourage motorcyclists to be aware of potential hazards and where they are likely to occur. The hazards are often at petrol or diesel station exits and at roundabouts. I am sure that members have regularly observed motorcyclists going almost right across roundabouts, closely hugging the centre. The reason is not just so that they can go, "Vroom, vroom," and create a bit of speed; it is because diesel is spilled on the extreme outside of roundabouts. If caps on diesel tanks are poorly fitted, are not fitted at all or leak, driving round corners and, in particular, roundabouts leads to leakage from the tank, and diesel gathers on the edges of roundabouts. The minister can address that issue.
The minister could also attempt to enforce the current legislation under which it is an offence to spill fuel—he could encourage the law to be used fully. In the light of his announcement today about the road haulage modernisation fund, which highlighted the grants that are available to hauliers to retrofit their lorries with new technology that reduces emissions and cuts pollution, I suggest that we also require a sensor to be fitted that can determine whether diesel caps are in place and whether they are effective. That would significantly reduce pollution, increase fuel efficiency and—most important—increase safety. I encourage the minister to draw on the fund, which has a parallel south of the border, for use elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Lorries and buses, which are the primary offenders, do not originate only in Scotland. In fact, they can come from anywhere, and when we get legislation from Europe, there will be many foreign lorries on our roads.
We ought to target the safety campaign at the major fleet users of diesel. We should encourage them to live up to the International Organisation for Standardisation's standard 4001—I think that that is the correct standard, but the appropriate people will, no doubt, correct me if I am wrong. A number of organisations are good at enforcing such legislation. I point the minister in the direction of Transco, for instance. We should try to make use of the best practice that exists.
I ask the minister to consider various aspects of the safety campaign. I also ask him to consider using the road haulage modernisation fund, which he announced today, to fund retrofitting of sensors to identify the presence or otherwise of fuel caps.
I commend the motion to the Parliament.
I thank Brian Adam for bringing the issue before the Parliament. It is one of those that go unnoticed unless they are highlighted.
Motorcycle fatalities on our roads are increasing. We need to address that. I was most concerned to learn that, in 2000, 605 motorcyclists were killed on the roads and a further 6,769 were seriously injured.
We are all aware of a number of campaigns that have been run to increase motorcycle safety, particularly those run to increase car drivers' awareness that motorcyclists might be on the roads, but I do not recall diesel spillages being highlighted. However, when I did some investigation, it was clear that the issue is real for the motorcyclists to whom I spoke. Indeed, in various motorcycle groups and on websites, diesel spillages are highlighted as one of the key hazards that motorcyclists face, and various pieces of guidance are given.
To give guidance to motorcyclists on avoiding diesel on the roads is one thing, but the most appropriate way to tackle the issue is to try to ensure that the diesel is not on the road in the first place.
We are highlighting the dangers of diesel spillages to other road users, but such spillages also have a significant environmental impact. Indeed, in the region that I represent, there was, on 4 December last year, a major diesel spillage near the village of Newcastleton, which not only created a major road hazard, but leaked into water supplies that were used as a private source of drinking water. The presence of diesel on the roads can be not just a hazard; it can have an environmental effect, too.
I was interested to hear what Brian Adam said about roundabouts and junctions. Diesel out-spill from vehicles can also be a problem at corners. I understand that the Institute of Advanced Motorists launched a campaign targeted at British lorry drivers to tackle the problem, and that it issued thousands of stickers for trucks' fuel tanks. The campaign was supported by the Road Haulage Association. However, it is one thing sticking a sticker on a tank; it is more important that the tank has an effective seal so that the fuel does not spill out on to the road.
If tonight's debate can achieve anything, it will highlight the issue and put the focus on stopping spillages taking place in the first place instead of concentrating resources on the accidents suffered by motorcyclists. If we can avoid having diesel on our roads and forecourts, we will avoid many unnecessary accidents.
I, too, congratulate my colleague Brian Adam on securing the debate, and I concur with the points that he made. Diesel spills are a matter of significant importance to a minority, but they impact upon the majority in a variety of ways.
If I may transgress slightly and deal with more general matters, I point out that, if it were not for the inception of this institution—although it takes a great deal of criticism—debates such as this would have been difficult to secure. The Scottish Parliament, for all the brickbats that are flung at it, at least presents an opportunity for such matters to be debated, for a response to be given by the Executive and for individuals to have their views aired.
As has been said, diesel spills concern not just motorcyclists; the problem affects drivers of other vehicles. Difficulties with black ice are, to an extent, similar to those that are experienced with diesel spills, but the effects of spills can be just as dangerous and, because they not caused by the vagaries of the weather, we can do something about them.
It is to the minister's credit that attempts have been made to enhance road safety. Indeed, such attempts were also made by his predecessor. Clearly, transport policy is not all about the construction of a road infrastructure, not does it all relate to massive capital investment in roads and rail. Action can be of relatively minor significance, but can have massive ramifications. That brings us back to a point to which my colleague Brian Adam alluded.
The issue that we are discussing this evening may affect only a few people in terms of the number of road deaths that it causes, but that is of little comfort to the bereaved whose loved ones have been killed in accidents. However, it is to be hoped that the problem can be addressed and that action will be taken as a result. We must tackle the problem. The numbers involved may be few, but for the individuals concerned, the effects are significant.
Tackling the problem would not require masses of legislation. That is the benefit of dealing with such matters by way of a members' business debate. Brian Adam referred to using the road haulage modernisation fund, and doing that would not require legislative change; much more carrot, rather than stick, would be required. We are trying not just to educate the motorcyclist with regard to the actions that they should take to avoid areas where spillages are most likely, but to target the drivers of the vehicles that cause the incidents in an attempt to ensure best practice.
I welcome the fact that the minister was promoting the road haulage modernisation fund earlier today. As Brian Adam said, the fund offers an opportunity to deal with the specific issue of diesel spills and the difficulties that they cause to motorists, but we must promote best practice across the board in response to the knock-on effects of spills in other respects.
We must pay tribute to Brian Adam for bringing this matter to the attention of the Parliament. I hope that the Executive will take it on board. We do not need to spend a great deal more money than is already being spent to provide training in a variety of areas. This is a matter of ensuring that those who are involved in the distribution of diesel, in particular, follow best practice. People who work in garages should take steps to ensure that spillages are dealt with. We should follow best practice when training those who use motorcycles—an activity in which I do not claim to participate.
The debate offers the Parliament an opportunity, through the democratically elected Executive, to bring about significant change—albeit for a minority—that will have substantial benefits. That will ensure that the Parliament delivers what the people of Scotland voted for.
I would like to highlight two issues. Two years ago, I received representations in respect of general concerns about sloppiness in the transfer of fuels. Those concerns related both to the loading and unloading of fuel tankers and to the amount of fuel that escapes through evaporation. In confined areas, evaporating fuel, which contains benzines and other aromatic carbons, can have damaging effects on health.
My second concern relates to the policing of the upkeep of lorries and buses. Do the police produce regular reports on instances that they have discovered of poor maintenance of lorries and on the issue that Brian Adam raised this evening—that of ill-fitting caps on diesel tanks and diesel transport lorries? It strikes me that a simple design change could be made to the tanks of big lorries, whose fuel caps tend to be at the side, so that the tanks could be filled up easily. If a cap is poorly fitted, diesel can slop out through it when the lorry goes round a corner. If the cap were raised by a foot or 2ft, fuel would not be spilled when the lorry went round a corner—it would go up and down the fuel pipe. The industry could consider providing a screw-on addition that could be fixed in place, or the change that I have suggested could be a design feature of future tanks, to reduce the possibility of spills occurring.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to address this issue and I congratulate Brian Adam on securing the debate. I suspect that the speeches that have been made reflect a broad consensus that such issues ought to be addressed. Although primary responsibility for this matter lies elsewhere—as Brian Adam said—aspects of it are relevant to the Executive and, therefore, of interest to the Parliament.
I want to put my response in the context of our general road safety policy. Members will be aware that we have set a target for a 40 per cent reduction by the end of this decade in the number of people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads, compared with the average figure for the years 1994 to 1998. We have made significant progress towards achieving that target. By 2001, the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads was 22 per cent below the baseline figure. We are moving in the right direction, but major issues remain to be addressed. One or two of those have been mentioned specifically in today's debate. Any road death is one too many.
Rightly, our approach to road safety strategy is based on partnership with our United Kingdom colleagues in the Department for Transport. We share responsibility for measures to address specific issues relating to motorcycle safety and, as has been said, for road safety education and publicity.
We recognise that, as Brian Adam said, oil or diesel on the road constitutes a danger to road users and that motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable in such circumstances. The figures that Brian Adam cited on the proportion of road accidents in which oil or diesel on the road was involved are different from those that I will cite later in my speech. Nonetheless, I recognise the significance of any accident that is avoidable and of measures that can be taken to avoid such accidents.
Clearly, Brian Adam has brought an important issue to the attention of the Parliament. Will the minister comment on the law with regard to diesel spillages? If such spillages are illegal, have there been any prosecutions in the past year or two?
A number of pieces of legislation are in place, but Richard Lochhead's question highlights one of the difficulties in this area, which is securing enforcement. Brian Adam referred to a legal case that relates to a diesel spillage. To support the police in securing the enforcement of legislation, we require the co-operation of all road users. The witnessing of an offence by a police officer, or the reporting of an offence to a police officer, is the only way in which enforcement can be secured and we encourage all road users to take that seriously.
Primary responsibility for ensuring that road users are responsible lies with the Driving Standards Agency. Matters relating to spillages on the road are included in the syllabus for the theory test for road-vehicle drivers. The theory test for motorcyclists includes the dangers of oil and diesel on the road.
David Mundell mentioned the sticker campaign that the Institute of Advanced Motorists launched with the support of the Road Haulage Association. Such initiatives are welcome and can help us highlight those issues for road users.
This morning I announced that we will support, through the Scottish road haulage modernisation fund, a number of important schemes that we identified as priorities in partnership with the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association, the Transport and General Workers Union and the Road Haulage and Distribution Training Council.
Reference was made to technical aspects to do with evaporation and other emission issues, which Robin Harper raised, rather than to do with spillage, but I take the points that were made. This morning we announced a number of training schemes for road-vehicle drivers, which could be of benefit in that area.
All that was available to me was the minister's press release. I made the technical point that, presumably, it would be feasible to have retrofit devices that would identify whether a cap was in place. Will the minister take up that point as part and parcel of the modernisation fund and will he discuss it with colleagues south of the border?
I am happy to discuss those technical matters with those in the UK Government who have responsibility for the technical standards that are applied to freight vehicles. As I said a moment ago, the training provision in the fund, which we will fund to the tune of £5 million over the next three years, will include measures to secure cost savings and greater efficiency in the use of fuel. Part of that will be to identify how fuel spillages can be avoided, which we welcome.
The industry has been invited to continue to talk to us about other ways in which road haulage modernisation can be progressed with public support and I am happy to discuss that. We regularly meet representatives of the motor cycling community in Scotland, including the Motorcycle Action Group, the Motor Cycle Industry Association and the British Motorcyclists Federation. They have not raised directly with us the issues that have been mentioned this evening, but they have raised them with the UK Department for Transport, which is considering closely the problems that are posed by diesel spillage. Among other things, the department is considering raising the profile of existing legislation in England and Scotland and it is considering enforcement.
I am happy to draw to the attention of my colleagues in the Department for Transport the issues that have been raised this evening and to have discussions with them, particularly where the issues relate to devolved matters. That relates to the role of the Scottish Road Safety Campaign, to which I will come.
I mentioned that the figures that we have do not indicate that a large proportion of serious and fatal motorcycle accidents are caused by diesel spills. In 2001, out of a total of nearly 15,000 accidents involving injury in Scotland, there were 33 accidents in which oil or diesel on the road was identified as a significant component. Nonetheless, we take on board the fact that such accidents occur.
One of the issues that the Motorcycle Action Group raised with me was the method of gathering statistics. I said that up to 10 per cent of all accidents involving motorcycles were due to diesel. That figure, which came from the Motorcycle Action Group, related to studies that have been done across Europe. I cannot imagine that the situation elsewhere is significantly worse than it is here. Specific measures should be developed to identify the role of diesel spills in accidents. That is a matter for the Government south of the border, rather than for the Executive.
The Scottish Road Safety Campaign works with the Motorcycle Action Group in identifying issues of concern and in promoting the "Bikesafe Scotland" training initiative, in which the Scottish police forces co-operate.
The Scottish Road Safety Campaign has to found its decisions on major publicity campaigns on the available evidence. As has been mentioned, drink-driving, drug-driving, excessive use of speed and the inadequate use of safety belts are the key issues on which major publicity campaigns have been conducted.
The Department for Transport is considering enforcement and raising the profile of existing legislation, and we will pay close attention to its conclusions. Last year, the UK Government ran a publicity campaign on motorcycle safety in Scotland, as well as in the rest of the UK. I understand that further screenings of that campaign are planned for this year. We welcome that.
We will continue to liaise with the UK Government on the relevant issues and to look for ways of reducing the number of motorcycle accidents. We will also pay attention to the European directive as it develops. Our efforts will focus on raising public awareness. In doing that, I am sure that we can count on broad parliamentary support.
Meeting closed at 17:32.