UK Resilience
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.
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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.
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.
| 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. |
National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50
General enquiries: Cabinet Office, 22 Whitehall, London SW1A 2WH.
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