The regulation of travel safety and investigation of transport accidents is carried out in the UK by a variety of public bodies, for most of which Government Ministers are ultimately accountable to Parliament. The House of Commons Select Committee on the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs has recommended that a single independent transport safety authority should be established. This would have far-reaching implications for the present arrangements, and the Government announced in its Transport White Paper that it would review the arrangements for transport safety, including those for accident investigation. The review covers all of the modes of transport, and is UK-wide except for road and rail safety in Northern Ireland, which will be transferred to the local Assembly and Executive. The review is also considering the relationship between investigations and inquiries into transport accidents, and the pursuit of prosecutions. The interaction between these two activities can give rise to tensions, when the need to avoid the risk of prejudice leads to the adjournment of inquiries, and to delay in the publication of reports. This document invites views on how best to reconcile the need to establish the causes and learn quickly from all the circumstances of an accident, with the need to determine any criminal responsibility. (A)
Abstract