To ask the Minister of the Environment for his assessment of the urgent need for progress on the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill, in light of the recent road fatalities in Coleraine and Belfast.

My Department is taking a broad range of actions to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Our work centres around the main factors that cause collisions – excessive and inappropriate speed, drink/drug driving, and driver carelessness. It also focuses on groups which are over-represented in the casualty figures. This commitment is reflected in the Road Safety Strategy to 2020.

The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill is critical to delivery of a number of the Strategy’s commitments. The Bill addresses key road safety challenges, as seen in the numbers of casualties which involve drink driving and young and novice drivers. Its final provisions will be subject to Environment Committee scrutiny and Assembly approval. However, the Bill as drafted provides for:

lower drink driving limits and new powers for police to stop and test drivers at the side of the road;

a new graduated penalty regime to match the penalty to the amount of drink taken;

a new graduated driver licensing regime with fundamental changes in how new drivers are trained, tested and gain experience.

The Bill is currently at its Committee stage. The Environment Committee is receiving evidence from key stakeholders and over the next few weeks my officials will be briefing the Committee on the detail of the Bill’s provisions.

I am of course anxious to avoid any slippage in the legislative passage of this important Bill. At the same time, however, I am conscious of the need for effective Committee scrutiny and Assembly discussion. Once Committee stage has concluded, I will be seeking to schedule Consideration Stage of the Bill as quickly as possible.