HSE publishes final monthly SPAD report

E145:05 1 November 2005

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes its final monthly Signals Passed at Danger report (SPAD) before moving to a quarterly reporting system.

The move to quarterly reporting will enable more statistically significant data to be analysed and presented reflecting the strategic approach now taken in monitoring rail safety performance. The change has the support of the Department for Transport, the Office of Rail Regulation and the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, who were the first to argue for quarterly reporting.

The final monthly report shows that 31 trains passed signals at danger in September 2005, five fewer than in September 2004, but one more than the average figure for the last five years. There were no serious SPADs compared to one this time last year. September's figures contribute to the long-term downward trend in SPAD risk. The full report can be viewed on the HSE website at HMRI Monthly reports on SPADs.

The next report will be published on 31 January 2006 and encompass incidence of SPAD committed between 1 October and 31 December 2005. A monthly total of SPADs will continue to be produced by the Rail Safety and Standards Board and be available from their website.

Overall SPAD risk has reduced by 70% since the introduction of improved driver training techniques and the fitment of the train protection and warning system (TPWS) and TPWS+ at key signals and sites on the network. The new quarterly reports will provide a better way to measure the industry's progress towards its target of reducing SPAD risk by 80% by 2009.

Notes to editors

1. HSE has published monthly SPAD reports since November 1999, which were instigated at the request of the Deputy Prime Minister following the Ladbroke Grove rail incident of 5 October 1999.

2. The first new quarterly report to be published on 31 January 2006 (covering the period: 1 October to 31 December 2005) will be the last report to feature HSE's own SPAD severity categorising system, which ranks the severity of the actual incident. The next report will feature only the new Rail Safety and Standards Board risk-ranking model which analyses the potential consequences of a SPAD and its likelihood of causing a collision or derailment. The two systems have run concurrently since the July 2005 SPAD report. The new RSSB system allocates a weighted numeric value to each SPAD based on subjective analyses of what happened and scores between zero (no risk) and 28 (high risk). Further information on RSSB's work to reduce SPADs can be found at on their website (www.rssb.co.uk) Information on HSE's severity catagorising system is contained in the first SPAD report of for October 1999 on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/railways/spad/oct99.pdf

3. HSE's railway health and safety functions (HMRI and Railway Policy) are expected to merge with the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) during the first quarter of 2006. SPAD reports to the new quarterly system will continue to be published by ORR once the merger has concluded.

4. The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) is a registered charity and an associate Parliamentary Group. Its charitable objective is "To promote transport safety legislation to protect human life". Its aim is to advise and inform members of the House of Commons and of the House of Lords on air, rail and road safety issues. It brings together safety professionals and legislators to identify research-based solutions to transport safety problems having regard to cost, effectiveness, achievability and acceptability.

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