You’d be forgiven if you thought all we did in the House of Commons this week is bellow at each other during Prime Minister’s Questions and gossip about the results of last week’s elections, because that’s all we’ve read about in the national press. But I want to focus on one announcement this week that has made me think about something most of us do every week – driving a car.       

On Wednesday, the Department of Transport published plans to change the way people learn to drive and how they are tested. Britain’s roads have become much safer over the last decade and accidents and the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents has fallen by a third, making road travel in this country safer than almost anywhere else in the world. However, the casualty rate for young drivers has not changed in this time and newly-qualified drivers and their passengers account for one in five of all car deaths in Britain.  

Virtually every week the Adver carries news of yet another accident involving young drivers, many of whom are newly qualified. It seems young people think they’re good drivers immediately they have passed their test. Reality soon kicks in as many of them experience an accident in the first six months. The new proposals mean a more structured driving syllabus, a star rating system for driving instructors and a revised driving test that looks at the candidate’s readiness to drive and their attitude towards driving, as well as their mechanical driving abilities. You can read more about the proposals and comment on them on the e-surgery part of the website.  

The national concerns about young people’s driving abilities reminded me of a big issue in Swindon. In a poll of important issues, most people would put children’s safety in the top three. It’s certainly something that I receive lots of messages about and the Government has introduced many measures to protect children over the years. Yet on my frequent visits to Swindon schools, I have grown more and more concerned about the physical safety of children on their journeys to and from school. Children make about 400 of these journeys a year and it’s the time when they’re most vulnerable to bad and careless driving. The worst time is the morning, when school journeys coincide with journeys to work. 

Putting more children in cars and driving them to school isn’t the answer. For a start, we all know that childhood obesity has increased at a frightening rate and encouraging children to walk more is one of the best ways to a healthier, fitter life. More cars on the road for short journeys are a disaster for the environment as it means even greater carbon emissions.  

There’s such a wide variation of traffic measures outside schools in Swindon that it’s time the council did a comprehensive survey. Some schools have virtually nothing to protect children, not even flash lines preventing parking outside the gates; others have pedestrian crossings and lollipop ladies or men. I’ve been campaigning over the last six months for 20 miles per hour zones to be introduced outside our schools. Most comments I’ve received support this, and people wonder why they’re not introduced automatically. If you’re driving past a school today, please think about your speed.