To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many car accidents there were in Huddersfield in each of the last five years; and how many of those accidents resulted in death. (162549)

The information requested is shown in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the relationship between the number of speeding convictions and the number of road traffic accidents in each of the last three years. (162902)

The number of speeding convictions and road traffic accidents in the last three years for which figures are available is shown in the following table.

No assessment has been made of the relationship between the two.

However, extensive research published by Professor Stephen Stradling, Napier university, Edinburgh in May 2006 on behalf of the Midlands Partnership Group, found that drivers who have been detected speeding by cameras are almost twice as likely to have had a collision as those who have not, regardless of age or mileage. Three quarters of drivers reporting four or more points on their licence also reported collision involvement, compared with 42 per cent. of drivers with a clean licence.

Furthermore, the four-year independent evaluation report of the National Safety Camera Programme, published in December 2005 and covering the period 2000 to 2004, confirms that there is an association between changes in speed and casualties. This found that there had been a reduction of 6 per cent. in average speeds, a 42 per cent. reduction in killed and serious injuries and a 22 per cent. reduction in personal injury collisions at camera sites.