Road Traffic Act 1974

8 Duty of local authorities to promote road safety

(1) For subsection (2) of section 38 of the 1972 Act (powers of local authorities as to giving road safety information and training) there shall be substituted the following subsections:—

“(2) Each local authority shall prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety and shall have power to make contributions towards the cost of measures for promoting road safety taken by other authorities or bodies.

(2A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, in pursuance of their duty under that subsection each local authority—

(a) shall carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads or parts of roads, other than trunk roads, within their area ;

(b) shall, in the light of those studies, take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents, including the dissemination of information and advice relating to the use of roads, the giving of practical training to road users or any class or description of road users, the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of roads for which they are the highway authority and other measures taken in the exercise of their powers for controlling, protecting or assisting the movement of traffic on roads; and

(c) in constructing new roads, shall take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to reduce the possibilities of such accidents when the roads come into use”.

(2) In consequence of the amendment effected by subsection (1) above—

(a) in section 38(4) of the 1972 Act for the words " arrangements made " there shall be substituted the words " measures taken ";

(b) in section 39 of that Act for the word " arrangements ", in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted the word " measures " and for the word " made" there shall be substituted the word " taken "; and

(c) in Schedule 2 to that Act for the word " arrangements ", in each place where it occurs, there shall be substituted the word " measures " and for the word " made ", in the first place where it occurs in paragraph 1(1) of that Schedule, there shall be substituted the word " taken ".