New All-Party Parliamentary Group launched to raise awareness of trailer and towing safety

Today, at the House of Commons, a new All-Party Parliamentary Group has been registered to raise awareness of trailer and towing safety in the UK.

The Trailer and Towing Safety All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is to be chaired by Karin Smyth MP, with Sharon Hodgson MP, Alan Brown MP and Sir David Amess MP standing as elected Officers and the National Caravan Council (NCC) appointed as group Secretariat.

The primary focus of the APPG will be to bring together parliamentarians, industry representatives and consumer groups to discuss and raise awareness of trailer and towing safety. At its inaugural meeting, the APPG will discuss a programme of work for the future as well as reviewing the latest report on trailer safety from the Department for Transport. The National Towing Working Group, chaired by Highways England and including representatives from across the towing community, will also be launching the first ever Safety Framework with the aim of reducing towing-related incidents, both business and domestic related, across the GB road network.

Speaking about the launch of the APPG, Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, said: “Today's launch of the new APPG on towing and trailer safety is a hugely significant step towards protecting road users and pedestrians. It gives the issue the attention in parliament that it deserves and paves the way for changes needed in the area of safe towing over the coming months and years."

Alicia Dunne of the NCC added: “I am pleased that the NCC has been invited to provide the Secretariat for this newly formed APPG on trailer and towing safety. We have consistently been an advocate of trailer safety education and awareness, and the importance of regular professional servicing. We look forward to helping Karin and the group develop practical, proportionate and effective measures aimed at improving trailer and towing safety for all UK road users.”

Road safety data indicates that in 2017 there were 1,329 personal injury collisions on public roads across GB involving a towing vehicle. The cost prevention of KSI (Killed or Seriously Injured) casualties from a collision involving a towing vehicle is estimated to be around £168.4 million. The most common contributory factors assigned to personal injury collisions involving all types of towing vehicle are classed as driver/rider error or reaction factors.

Notes:

– The APPG on Trailer and Towing Safety was established and registered in 2019 to bring together parliamentarians, towing and trailer industry representatives and consumer groups to discuss and raise awareness of towing and trailer safety in the UK http://www.trailerappg.org.uk

– The NCC is the trade association representing the touring caravan, motorhome, caravan holiday home and residential park home industries in the UK. The NCC has more than 550 companies in membership and covers the entire supply chain including manufacturers, dealerships, workshops, holiday/residential parks and suppliers of specialist services and products.

– The National Towing Working Group was formed in 2016 and comprises representatives from across the towing community. The group’s role is to work collaboratively to deliver actions that will help reduce the number and impact of towing related incidents.

– In 2017 there were 1,329 collisions across GB involving a towing vehicle which equates to an average of almost 4 injury collisions a day. These collisions resulted in 1,810 casualties comprising: 41 fatalities (2%), 313 serious injuries (17%), and 1,456 slight injuries (80%). The number of casualties from such collisions represents just over 1% of total casualties on the GB road network; a total of 170,993 casualties were recorded on the GB road network in 2017.