To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in how many accidents involving drivers (a) mobile telephone use and (b) smoking were identified as contributory factors in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [128812]
The information requested is not available as the official road casualty statistics which are collected by the police and reported to the Department using the STATS 19 accident report format does not currently include information on either smoking or mobile phones.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) passengers and (b) crew in (i) public service vehicles, (ii) hired coaches and minibuses and (iii) taxis and private hire vehicles suffered fatal accidents in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [129334]
The number of passengers and drivers of coaches, minibuses and taxis who have died in road accidents is given in the tables below. Vehicles are defined by body type.
| a) Passengers | |||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
| Bus or Coach1 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 17 |
| Minibus2 | N/A4 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 5 |
| Taxi3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| b) Drivers5 | |||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
| Bus or Coach1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Minibus2 | N/A4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Taxi3 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
Notes and Definitions:
1. Bus or Coach (with 17 or more passenger seats) and including hired coaches
2. Minibus (8—16 passenger seats)
3. Taxis are defined as vehicles operating as a hackney carriage, regardless of construction, and bearing the appropriate district council or local authority hackney carriage plates.
4. N/A—Data not available prior to 1999
5. No data on crew other than drivers are available