Transport Accidents
This section deals with emergencies which arise from transport accidents.
It explains the nature of the risk, and includes links to relevant guidance
and organisations.
On this page:
The Level of Risk
The
Department for Transport (DfT) [External website]
is the lead in Government and it is working hard to raise awareness of
transport safety and ensuring that we have the training, education,
regulation and guidance in place to minimise as far as possible the
occurrence of transport accidents.
Accidents on our roads, railways, and in our air and water spaces still,
however, occur regularly. In 2003, for example, 37 thousand people were
killed or seriously injured in road accidents in Britain. With ever
increasing numbers of people and vehicles travelling in the UK, the risk of
transport accidents inevitably remains.
The UK Government is establishing sensible and proportionate contingency
plans to improve our ability to respond to, and recover from, transport
accidents in the land, maritime and air environments. For the maritime
environment, a rapid accidental sinking of a passenger vessel and a
blockage of access to a waterway (as a result of a maritime accident or
deliberate act) are used for contingency planning purposes.
In the land environment, railways accidents and major road traffic
accidents (including those involving hazardous chemicals or
fuels/explosives) are considered, and in the air, aviation accidents
involving either two passenger aircraft over an urban environment (or one
of the new super jumbo jets), or one at a smaller, more localised, scale
involving one aircraft are used for contingency planning.
Examples
The table below shows some examples of the specific risks which are
assessed as part of the national risk assessment framework. The framework
applies locally, regionally, in the devolved administrations and at the UK
level. Details of the framework and risk assessment methodology can be
found in the risk section of
this site.
Risk Evaluation
|
Type of Risk
|
Risk Categories
|
Outcome Description for Planning Purposes
|
|
Hazard
|
Rapid accidental sinking of a passenger vessel in or close to UK
waters or on inland waterways.
|
Up to 50 fatalities and up to 300 casualties.
|
|
Hazard
|
Local accident on motorways and major trunk roads
|
Multiple vehicle incident causing up to 10 fatalities and up to 20
casualties (internal injuries, fractures, possible burns); closure of
lanes or carriageways causing major disruption and delays.
|
|
Hazard
|
Local accident involving transport of hazardous chemicals.
|
Up to 50 fatalities and up to 500 casualties (direct injuries from
the accident would be similar to road or rail accidents; indirect
casualties are possible, if substance covers wide area). The extent
of the impact would depend on substance involved, quantity, nature
and location of accident. The assumption is based on phosgene/
chlorine.
|
Railways
National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50
Train Companies
-
Network
Rail [External website] - For information on all
the major stations, online timetables, and track updates.
-
National
Rail
[External website] - Timetable and running
information to train companies throughout the UK.
Rail Links
Road Transport
Fuel supply
-
Catalist
[External
website] - petrol station maps, fuel prices
Aviation
Security
UK Airports
-
BAA
[External website] -
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Southampton
airports
Airlines and Tour Operators
Air Travel Links
-
Airsafe.com [External website] Critical
Information for the travelling public
Maritime
Training
-
The Emergency Planning College
(EPC) [External website] is the leading provider
of training for emergency preparedness, attracting delegates with
responsibility for preventing, planning for, responding to or recovering
from a major incident. The EPC runs courses on transport issues as well
as other aspects of civil protection:
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