Road

Abstract

Road transport is the most common type of transportation worldwide, which inevitably means that traffic accidents, and resulting casualties, are a regular occurrence. Further, the manufacture of cars in recent years, which combine high-speed engines with poor road performance, has a direct correlation with the occurrence of accidents. Consequentially, road safety has become a common interest within all countries throughout the world. In my opinion, road safety can be improved by incorporating relevant geometric, climatic and physical considerations in the design of roads. In addition, the application of an awareness program in education and advertising plays a significant role in strengthening road safety and reducing accidents. On the basis of the foregoing, when one is building a safe road, every factor of safety should be taken into consideration and at every stage of the process, including design.

The main objective of this report is to show the impact of road safety considerations in the design of roads and the management of the road network, and how the aim of decreasing road traffic accidents and casualties influences geometric design, traffic design and structural design in road construction. In particular, geometric design and traffic design are greatly influenced by road safety standards, as evidenced in the geometric design of roundabouts, junctions, and pedestrian and cyclist highways. By relying on a specific case study, this paper will also investigate roundabout design and its interrelation with road safety; for instance, whilst roundabouts are likely safer than intersections because they encourage a reduction in vehicles speed and conflict points, it has been found that roundabouts with signalisation are safer for both cyclists and pedestrians. For these reasons, it is clear that the improvement of road safety requires the inclusion of safety in road design and management procedures.

Introduction

The road network is a systematic structure, which is constructed on invariable criteria for the purpose of road transportation and designed with certain considerations (such as traffic, climate condition and the environment) in mind. It is used by the majority of people worldwide, which is unsurprising considering the volume of traffic accidents and road related deaths and injuries. Indeed in recent times, this is often seen as a global phenomenon, with the number of road related deaths ranging from between 0.75 and 0.8 million annually[1]. Unfortunately, it also appears that this number is increasingly rising; indeed, a 2008 publication of the World Health Organisation (“World health statistics”) estimated that the death rate from traffic accidents globally is 2.2%, and that due to the manufacture of car engines capable of higher speeds and the development of the economy in developing countries, it is anticipated that this figure will dramatically increase to about 3.6% by 2030[2]. Likewise, road traffic accident costs are expected to increase.

There are three main factors which contribute to road traffic accidents: “road and engineering deficiencies; road user errors (“human factors”); and vehicle defects”[3]. Indeed, a UK study from the 1970s demonstrated that the human factor plays an unfavorable role in 95% of accidents, whilst 28% and 8% of accidents are at least partly caused by environmental and vehicle shortcomings[4]. For these reasons, it is not logical to focus solely on one single factor. It is clear that the fact that road user errors feature in the majority of accidents proves that the human factor is the principle cause of traffic accidents; however, if the construction of roads was geometrically improved, this may not be the case. Indeed, according to Restructuring road institutions, finance and management engineering[5], engineering is one of four factors that influence road safety (along with enforcement, education, and climate). By focusing on the impact of the engineering factor on road safety improvement, the objective of this report is:

To demonstrate and define the concept of road safety.
To explain the incorporation of safety features in road design and management.

This report consists of 6 parts: methodology; an explanation of road safety, road design, and road management; the impact of road safety factors on the geometric design and management of roads; a presentation of a case study on road intersections, cyclists and pedestrian safety at roundabouts; a discussion; and finally, a conclusion

2. Methodology

To demonstrate the effect of the road safety considerations on road design and management, this paper will investigate road intersections through a case study linked to geometric design, and then discuss the safety of cyclists and pedestrians in relation to roundabouts. See Figure 1.

3. Road safety

According to Oxford Wordpower Dictionary[1], safety is defined as “the state of being safe; not being dangerous or in danger”, whilst road safety is defined as “the prevention of road accidents”. The purpose of roads is to provide facilities for safe travel and transport, and improved road safety can be achieved in the design and management of road management by incorporating safety orientated “design criteria, design values and interventions”[2]. Such an approach could not only lead to a decrease in road related deaths and accidents, but it could also make roads more accessible. Indeed, as outlined in the DTMRQ manual[3], such an outcome can be achieved with the application of certain factors:

Improving road network safety using a risk management approach;
Designing for safer travel for all road users;
Providing safer access to the road system for cyclists and pedestrians;
Ensuring work site safety; and
Co-ordinating with other government agencies in partnership.

As stated above, road users errors is the main factor which contributes to road accidents. However, it has been observed that the enhancement of engineering design and management can influence drivers’ behavior positively and reduce the number of such errors[4]. It should be noted that no road is absolutely safe and that the safety of a road is often measured on the volume of accidents on it. For that reason, it is logical to indicate that the construction of a road involves the use of a nominal safety level[5]

4. Road design:

According to Oxford Wordpower Dictionary[6], design is defined as “to plan and make a drawing of how something will be made”. The three aspects of design that must be considered in the construction of roads are geometric design (which relates to physical elements such as “vertical and horizontal curves, lane widths, clearances, cross-section dimensions, etc”[7]) traffic design and structural design. Good road design standards involve a combination of these three variable aspects to produce efficient and safer road.

4.1 Geometric design:

Road geometric design involves horizontal and vertical alignment and road cross-section, with the determination of these elements based on the criteria of road safety[8]. The reduction of the road accident rate is significantly influenced by these elements meaning there is a clear relationship between road design and road safety. For example, it has been found that junctions that are geometrically designed with road safety in mind see a smaller number of road accidents. Sound geometric design can involve a reduction in the number of conflict points (with the construction of channels). Indeed, it has been found that the use of roads with two lanes, which are each 3.7m wide, are safer than roads with one lane that is 2.7m wide[9]. In addition, it is felt that the presence of the median reduces the cross-median accident rate, even where it is narrow, and that the inclusion of safety fences at the outer edge of roads plays a significant role in road safety[10].

Road Management:

According to Robinson (2008)[11], road management is defined as “a process that is attempting to optimise the overall performance of the road network overtime”. This involves action that affects or can affect the road network quality and efficiency during the service lifep and which facilitates trade, health protection, and education by enhancing accessibility. Further, the improvement of road efficiency, effectiveness and safety can lead to increasing economic well-being as a result of lower commodity prices. Road management is affected by a number of factors, but the dominant is “accident levels and costs”, which is directly related to road users and economic infrastructure[12]. As a consequence, road management action can involve the policing of vehicle speed in order to improve safety. Additionally, it can also include such activities which are conducted on the road itself and the surrounding environment, such as road maintenance. As Robinson (2008) states, the aim of road maintenance is to make roads safer because it contributes to the geometric factors in the areas of:

Pavement and footway surface;
Carriageway marking and delineation; and
Signs, street lights and furniture.[13]

In this way, road safety can be incorporated in road management; for example, the continuous repair of pavements reduces vehicle operating costs to be reduced and the rate of accidents on the road.

Road intersections

Road intersections are a significant part of the road network structure, and in spite of their simple function, they contributes more than 20% of fatal road accidents in the EU[14]; and even though it has been reported that about 31% of serious accidents occur in non-built-up areas, 65% occurred at built-area junctions in 1984 in the UK[15]. According to the Federal Highway Administration (2006)[16], road intersection safety has become a considerable problem in the USA because more than 45% of approximately 2.7 million crashes that occurred there in 2004 happened at junctions. Unfortunately, despite the fact that junction design and traffic standards have seen a significant improvement generally, it has not caused a significant reduction in the rate of accidents per year. For those reasons, the FHWA supported the concept of converting intersections to roundabouts in order to decrease the rate of accidents and to provide increase safety.

Rate of fatal casualties in EU at junctions and other locations of roads

Case study

A study was carried out in 8 States of the USA in 2004 for 24 junctions before and after conversion to roundabout. It resulted in a 39% reduction of overall crash rates, with a 90% and 76% reduction in the fatal and injury crashes, respectively[1]. See Table 1.

Reduction of crashes following roundabout conversions at 24 U.S. junctions

In 8 states in USAReduction In Crashes %
In 2004OverallFatalInjury
-39%-90%-76%

Table 1: the information from FHWA, 2006

Discussion

The reduction in the level of road traffic accidents in the case study proves that replacing junctions with roundabouts is the logical decision in the USA because it is clear that such a course of action increases overall safety. Unfortunately, the study sample is small as it does not cover all safety aspects, and the safety of the cyclist and pedestrian is not clarified because the crashes categorized are only based on motor vehicles. It should be noted that approximately 75% of cyclist accidents occur at roundabouts[2]. For that reason, the impact of roundabouts on passengers and cyclists is worthy of investigation.

8.1 Roundabout and road design

According to Fortuijn (2003)[3], the majority of cyclist-car accidents occur when a cyclist is circulating in the roundabout and a car either enters or exits from the roundabout. It has also been said that roundabouts that are charactarised with a significant design feature (e.g. a requirement to reduce vehicle speed to 30phm, use of a central island, a right angle connection between roadways and circular roadways, or a right of way traffic movement) serve to reduce crash rates and cyclist accidents. Another characteristic that improves road safety at roundabouts is the reduction of conflict points to about a quarter of the number utilised at other junctions.

8.2. Roundabout and road management

Modern roundabouts are recognised with high capacity, low speed, and non-use of signalisation. The use of roundabout signalisation is typical dependant on traffic volume and safety. Nevertheless, the roundabouts that don’t use signalisation are still safer than junctions[1]. Further, the maintenance of traffic signs, lights and pavement surface serve to increase road life service and safety.

The manufacture of vehicles with higher speed engines may serve to reduce the efficiency of roundabouts and increase the safety hazards to cyclists and pedestrians, especially at times of high traffic volume. According to the findings of the London Road Safety Unit (2003)[2], the roundabouts with signalisation are safer for both cyclists and pedestrian, based on a study which was conducted in 2003 for a number of roundabouts, before and after signalisation

Conclusion:

This report has sought to demonstrate the impact of road safety in design and road management by defining and analysing the relevant concepts, with particular attention paid to cyclist and pedestrian safety. The following points were also concluded:

Road accidents occur due to three main factors: road users, environment and engineering.
The level of road safety measures that are utilized depend on the volume of accidents.
Road safety is incorporated into road design and management through incorporation of safety considerations.
Road safety is improved through road maintenance.
Roundabouts typically serve to reduce vehicle speed and conflict points, which in turn can reduce the road accident rate, and increase the safety of cyclists and pedestrian.
It is believed that the road design and management plays a significant role in road safety enhancement through the interaction of safety criteria with the road efficiency.
Signalisation at roundabouts can increase the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, and a cyclist right of way can reduce the rate of car-cyclist accident
References:

Robinson, R., & Thagesen, B. (2004). Road engineering for development, 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis. London.

Moller, M., & Hels, T. (2008). Cyclists’ perception of risk in roundabouts.Accident Analysis & Prevention, 40(3), 1055-1062. [online] https://wiki.cecs.pdx.edu/pub/ItsWeb/BikeBoxes/Moller_Hels_2007.pdf [accessed October 19th 2013]

Fortuijn, L. G. H. (2003). Pedestrian and Bicycle-Friendly Roundabouts; Dilemma of Comfort and Safety. [online], Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. http://www.mnt.ee/failid/SlowTrRoundb.pdf [accessed October 19th 2013]

Antoniou, C., Tsakiri, M., & Yannis, G. (2012). ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS IN JUNCTIONS USING 3D LASER SCANNING. [online] http://www.nrso.ntua.gr/geyannis/images/stories/ge/Publications/Papers-Conferences/geyannis-pc144.pdf [accessed October 16th 2013]

DTMRQ, (2010). Road planning and design manual: design philosophy. [online], Brisbane, Department of Transport and Main Roads of Queensland. http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/Business%20and%20industry/Technical%20standards%20and%20publications/Road%20planning%20and%20design%20manual/Current%20document/RPDM_Chapter2.pdf[Accessed October 14th 2013].

DTMRQ, (2010). Road planning and design manual: road planning and design fundamentals. [online], Brisbane,Department of Transport and Main Roads of Queensland. http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/Business%20and%20industry/Technical%20standards%20and%20publications/Road%20planning%20and%20design%20manual/Current%20document/RPDM_Chapter3.pdf[Accessed October 17th 2013].

FHWA, (2006). Priority market-ready technologies and innovations. Problem: intersection crashes account for more than 45 percent of all crashes nationwide. [online], U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/safety/saf_7rnd.pdf [accessed 18th October 2013].

Fouladvand, M. E., Sadjadi, Z., & Shaebani, M. R. (2004). Characteristics of vehicular traffic flow at a roundabout. [online] Physical Review E, 70(4), 046132. http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0309560.pdf [accessed October 14th 2013]

Grime, G., 1987.Handbook of road safety research.Bodmin: Butterworths.

Hauer, E, (1999). Safety in geometric design standards. [online], Toronto. http://portalantigo.cefid.udesc.br/ciclo/workshop/Hauer.Safety.GeoDesign.pdf [Accessed October 17th 2013].

London Street Management-London Road Safety Unit. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/SignalsatRoundabouts-TransportationProfessiona-Article.pdf

Ministry of Transport, (1966). Roads in urban areas. Ministry of transport: Scottish development department. London.

Oxford Wordpower Dictionary, (2013). Oxford University press,

Persaud, B N and others, (2000). Crash reductions following installation of roundabouts in the United States. [online]. https://www.dot.ny.gov/main/roundabouts/files/insurance_report.pdf [Accessed 21th October 2013].

Robinson, R, 2008. Restructuring road institutions, finance and management, volume 1: concepts and principles.Totton: University of Birmingham, Birmingham.

Slinn, M., Matthews, P., & Guest, P. (2005). Traffic engineering design. Principles and practice. 2nd ed. Arnold, London. [online] httpwww.amazon.comTraffic-Engineering-Design-Second-Editiondp0750658657 [accessed 20th October 2013]

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Project Rationale

One of the key questions that scholars, policy makers, and practitioners face today is that of the future outlook and role of NATO. Pivotal moments in the past fifteen years mark the events of 9/11, the operation in Afghanistan and ISAF’s involvement there, the US invasion of Iraq and the following stabilisation efforts (to which NATO contributed too). They have reshaped the security environment not only of a few regions in the world, but they have also had a global impact on generations to come. In this context, the Alliance needs to incorporate new strategic developments, meet the demands of constantly transforming and evolving security practices, and examine the issue of enlargement.

The dissertation will look at the ‘road’ of Georgia to a NATO membership and will investigate challenges to and accomplishments towards it. The key question the project will aim to answer is what factors influence the decision whether Georgia becomes a full-right member of the Alliance or not. Thus, the main hypothesis concerns the unlikely occurrence of a quick Georgian accession (Zdenek & Shevchuk, 2011). In doing so, this dissertation will reflect the delicate balance of military and strategic interests of America, the European Union and their neighbours to the east. It will also raise questions on the impact of power relations, particularly in the case of the US and Russia, on the foreign affairs with former Soviet republics (Andreev, 2010). Lastly, internal dynamics of the Alliance will be studied to draw insight on the vision for future scope of action and structure of the organisation (Gulnur & Moore, 2010).

The topic is situated neatly in the broader considerations within the discipline of security studies – namely the development of new security threats with global impact – terrorism, cyber security and complex emergencies. The limitation on the scope of research do not allow for a more extensive look at all current areas of collaboration between NATO and Georgia that might influence decision-making. In acknowledging that, however, the study undertaken prioritises the above-mentioned three spheres of bilateral cooperation as producing the main effects on membership consideration.

Having conducted a preliminary literature review on the topic of NATO enlargement, one of the key findings that stood out was the fairly recent and relatively few attempts to specifically address the issue of Georgian membership. Most works so far have tackled the issues concerning the ‘search’ for a new strategic vision for the Alliance (Gulnur & Rebecca, 2010), or enlargement to the east with regards to the attitude of Russia towards the accession of states from the former Soviet bloc (Andreev, 2010). Thus, this research will seek to contribute to the discussion by examining the bilateral relations between the Alliance and Georgia, the potential implications of accession from technical and military practitioner’s view, as well as the different perspectives of NATO member states on various courses of action.

My reasons for choosing the topic stem from my personal interest in the subject of security and my firm belief in Georgia’s interest to become part of NATO and thus contribute to the global peace and stability. Furthermore, as a Georgian national I have witnessed first-hand the importance of the discussions surrounding membership in the Alliance on the development of Western-oriented identity of the Georgian authorities. Therefore, the dissertation represents an effort to build upon my academic preparation and satisfy personal curiosity.

Summary of the Project Objectives

The key objectives this research aims to fulfil are as follows:

1. To identify key factors and prove their role in the consideration for potential membership in NATO, as well as to assess their applicability to the case of Georgia.
2. To test the application and validity of rationalist approaches to security and examine their relevance in the discourse of power relations between the US and Russia.
3. To highlight tensions within the strategic dynamics of the Alliance member states in terms of new members, the vision for expansion of the organisation or the adoption of new roles in delivering regional security.
4. To examine if the accession of Georgia in NATO would pose a challenge to the implementation of the current strategic concept of the Alliance and if any amendments of Georgian military objectives are needed to accommodate a potential membership.
5. To establish the argument within the methodological framework of political science case study research and to point towards the need to incorporate several conceptual tools to achieve a more comprehensive understanding.
6. To draw a strong solution and relate it to matters of policy-making between NATO and Georgia.

Literature review

The focal point of analysis in this section aims to consolidate the question which revolves around the different explanations behind the likelihood or reluctance towards a Georgian membership in NATO. After the Summit in 2008 in Bucharest a clear message was put forward with a promise for membership of Georgia in the Alliance. However, the actual steps taken towards that have only sent mixed signals to the timescale of accession (Collins, 2011; Razaoux, 2009). This part of the proposal endeavours to shed more light on the issue by reflecting four different views and bringing insights from several different theoretical perspectives. The reviewed works are: Collin’s book ‘NATO: a guide to the issues’, Kamp’s article ‘NATO Enlargement Reloaded’, He and Feng’s ‘Why is there no NATO in Asia?’ and Gordon’s book ‘NATO’s Transformation’.

Firstly, Collin’s work is a valuable asset when examining a membership process though a historic lens. The author pinpoints several important historic events that have had a significant impact on the transformation of the Alliance. Therefore, a parallel can be drawn between the strategic consequences of accession today and the consequences of the past membership paths. Additionally, key strength of the book is its strong contribution in terms of analysis on the international developments of the past fifteen to twenty years. A constructivist approach on the topic would direct the main argument to the matter of shared identities and the notion of collective security. The last two enlargements of NATO in 2004 and 2009 are placed in the broader consideration on the aftermath of the invasion in Iraq and in amid the operation in Afghanistan. Thus, the main thesis on expansion is explained through the ambition of the Alliance to form and sustain new partnership in order to address the possible threats.

Moreover, the constructivist arguments Collins advances also tackle the view on forming a collective defence identity by looking at the past NATO Security Concepts (SC) and the NATO 2020 report. Although the latter is not categorised as a Security Concept, it does play a significant role in shaping the strategic approach of the Alliance (Collins, 2011; Kamp, 2012). Focusing on the last two SCs issued in 1991 and 1999, the author develops the argument on the evolution of the collective defence idea and postulates that it is built to accommodate changes so that it would achieve strategic and political gains: ‘NATO would also increase its dependence on multinational forces because doing so would demonstrate political solidarity’ (Collins, 2011, p. 92).

The next text chosen for the literature review represents a fantastic opportunity to investigate a more optimistic view on NATO’s expansion. Kamp (2012) advances a supportive view of wider enlargement of the Alliance in the Western Balkans and to the east. What is more, his analysis does comprehend the peculiarities of the case with Georgia in terms of the current political position of Russia and the fact that Russian troops are still on the territory of Georgia following the war of 2008.

Basing his argument on statements by officials (US State of Secretary in particular), Kamp (2012) provides an insightful view on NATO enlargement. He supports the position that future enlargement is not only possible but probable and still on the agenda for policy-makers on domestic and international level. After the Bucharest summit and the promise for membership little has been official achieved towards accession. Nonetheless, the author uses transcripts of statements by Hilary Clinton (2012) and Rasmussen (2012) to stress NATO’s commitment to complete the membership process. In his work, also acknowledged are the tensions within the Alliance on the topic of Georgian membership which is seen as a point of disagreement between the US administration and the west European states. Together with the denial to enter the Membership Action Plan (MAP), this is identified as one of the main factors that question the likelihood of membership.

Bearing this in mind, the main obstacle to Georgian membership that Kamp (2012) examines is the complexity of the Georgian relations with Russia. Apart from the current presence of Russian troops in Georgia, what is emphasised as more problematic are the implications of a potential conflict between the two states. Should Georgia be a member in the Alliance, a conflict would constitute a sufficient reason for Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty to be evoked. Such an occasion could have significant consequences in relation to the role of NATO in confronting Russia militarily and in deteriorating the foreign relations between Russia and the West. In this context, a Georgian membership could also be treated as challenging one of the founding principles of the Washington Treaty of 1949. An accession should ‘contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area’ (Kamp, 2012, p. 7) rather than undermine it significantly. On these grounds a rationalist analysis could dismiss the likelihood of membership.

In comparison with Kamp’s rationalist explanations and the Collin’s constructivist view, the third source explores the thematic view of political psychology and state behaviour to account for the decision-making process on the Georgian membership (He & Feng, 2012). The journal article articulates important perspectives on the factors that can be attributed to the lack of progress on the matter. In fact, the political psychology of the Alliance member states is depicted as the key reason of the current status of the Georgian accession. He and Feng’s argument builds upon insights from the rationalist; however, it demonstrates an in-depth view over the political developments in the US with regards to Europe and Pacific Asia to illustrate the difference in the political approaches to both regions.

Placing the scope of their research in a model of risk management of political power and perspectives evaluation, He and Feng (2012) postulate that the American mindset envisioned Europe after the Second World War as a key actor to be multilateral partners with and thus retain a certain balance of power. The economic and political relations were considered to serve as gains in the long-terms perspectives. In contrast, the American administration viewed their Asian allies as more suitable to establish bilateral agreements. Thus, they would be able to restrict the possibility for a unification of Asian states under a common doctrine and potentially against American interests (He & Feng, 2012). Further, economic and political advantages were easier to preserve when negotiated with one party only rather than on a multi-party front. Bearing this in mind, a transformation can be observed in how NATO leadership has viewed and is viewing a Georgian membership today. In the past two decades the discourse of power influence and identity of Georgia has been redirected towards Europe and less towards Russia and has enabled leaders in the Alliance to consider accession.

The main flaw in the behavioural explanation for the limited positive transformation of the membership process should be acknowledged. It is seen to better accommodate the attitudes of the US, Russia and states of Western Europe, rather than those of smaller members of NATO given that it mainly relies on the analysis of balancing threats (He & Feng, 2012). Therefore, the underlying notion of managing the negative consequences on the relationship with Russia is to be seen as the major variable in the risk assessment of Georgian membership. Further to this, the prospects-based analysis rests upon the idea that collective security is acquired by accession rather than developed after accession.

The final element of the literature review presents a more pessimistic and more pragmatic view on NATO’s expansion in general. In the words of the authors, their efforts establish ‘a framework for thinking about issues, options and trade-offs that the Alliance faces’ (Asmus, et al., 1997, p. 94). In acknowledging the time of writing of the book, much of the written expresses the disillusionment of politicians and scholars on the notion of collective security after the Yugoslav wars. Nevertheless, what is particularly interesting about this book is that it frames the narrative of enlargement around trade-offs and construct the idea around balancing between gains and losses.

From a conceptual point of view, three ‘paths to NATO enlargement’ are depicted to explain choices of decision-makers to include new members in the Alliance. First, the ‘evolutionary expansion’ (Asmus, et al., 1997, p. 94) revolves around the idea that no immediate expansion is needed and if the strategic circumstances require it there can be slow, gradual transformation for accession. Second, the goal to ‘promote stability’ (Asmus, et al., 1997, p. 95) is vested in the practices of military progress, economic development and democracy promotion. Such a view on expansion was created to fill security vacuums after the collapse of the Soviet Union and was directed to shape security practices and regional strategic outlook in Eastern Europe specifically. Third, the ‘strategic response’ (Asmus, et al., 1997, p. 96) approach uses enlargement to address explicit threats, deter attacks or defend Western interests.

These three approaches are well constructed to explain any possible motivation behind expansion. However, there are several conflicting issues to be considered. The timeframe for deciding when a candidate should join the Alliance does rely on long-term consequences but does not accommodate immediate response to events, nor does it reflect strategic losses in the short-term. Additionally, none of those approaches considers the idea that there are various interests within the Alliance and each member state could envision enlargement through a different approach. Although the explanation on three approaches to enlargement is a valuable framework, it does not provide sufficient analysis on the possible implications in case the membership of a candidate is delayed and the motivation to join the Alliance is significantly lost.

Despite the valuable and diverse contributions all these four texts make, the common feature they all display is their importance for raising further questions on the topic of enlargement. Moreover, they imbibe all the contested issues surrounding the future of the Alliance, the possible expansion to the east and its multifaceted relationship with Russia. Existing tensions within conceptual and practical debates further exacerbate the complexity of the geopolitical environment in which a membership process would eventually be completed. Thus, a Georgian membership could stimulate the resolution of these conflicting ideas.

Methodology

The project will employ qualitative methods to defend the key postulation of the dissertation. The research will include both primary and secondary sources. A main element of the hypothesis will be defended by the examination of archival material and documents from the official website of NATO, NATO Defense College, the Ministry of Defence of Georgia. Academic literature (books and journal articles) would complement the analytical contributions of the dissertation. For this purpose, the works of scholars such as Rebecca Moore, Roger Kanet, Stanley Sloan and Brian Collins will serve as an excellent platform to build the argument.

When examining the relations between Georgia and NATO and assessing the factors that influence decision-making, the vast share of information on the topic is extracted from official statements, press releases or the texts of agreements and protocol meeting between official representatives from Georgia and the Alliance. However, in order to better address the research aims and objectives of the dissertation, interviews will be taken from Georgian government officials and foreign ministers from the member states of the Alliance as well as official NATO representatives from the Georgian-NATO Commission (GNC) that have first-hand exposure and experience of working on the bilateral relations between the two parties. The drawn conclusions will take into account the country of origin of the people interviewed as well as the length of the period for which that have been at that particular professional position. This is done to achieve the highest level of objectivity when applying the answer obtained during the interview process. The questions and scripts of the interview process will be enclosed as appendixes of the completed dissertation together with the signed ethical approval forms.

Following that, the scope of research will address the academic literature on the issue of NATO enlargement and will present some of the key theoretical views on the matter. Instead of narrowing the main postulations around one theory from IR scholarship, the dissertation will attempt to use and draw comparisons between realist, liberal, constructivist and rationalist justifications for finalising or delaying the full membership status of Georgia in the Alliance. In doing so, the key analytical effort recognises the complexity, and the often overlapping or clashing ideas invoked by the topic of the Georgian accession. This would also allow for the examination of the conceptual evolution of the security agendas of NATO member states especially in relation to countries with geopolitical influence and impact in west and central Asia. Lastly, the contributions of the dissertation would raise important questions on the theoretical underpinnings of the literature on expansion of the Alliance.

Conclusion

This section will summarise the different factors attributed to the likelihood of accession and the scenarios that precede it. The most probable identified will stress the ‘maintenance of the status quo’ (Razaoux, 2009, p. 6) as a priority for the Alliance.

Preliminary Bibliography

1. Andreev, A., 2010. Russians’ Views on Foreign Policy after the Caucasus Crisis, Russian Politics and Law, Vol. 48(6): pp. 7-18
2. Asmus, R., Kugler, R. & Larrabee, S., 1997. NATO Enlargement: A Framework for Analysis. In: P. Gordon, ed. NATO’s Transformation: the changing shape of the Atlantic Alliance . London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., pp. 93-120.
3. Brown, M., 1997. The Flawed Logic of NATO Enlargement. In: P. Gordon, ed. NATO’s Transformation: the changing shape of the Atlantic Alliance. London: Rowman & Littlefiled Publishers, Inc., pp. 121-140.
4. Burnham, P, Gilland, K, Grant, W and Layton-Henry, Z (2004), Research Methods in Politics, Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.
5. Burnham, P., ed., 1997. The Research Process in Politics, Washington D.C.: Pinter.
6. Clinton, H., 2012. Clinton on Georgia-US defense cooperation and NATO membership. [Online]
   Available at: http://www.acus.org/natosource/clinton-georgia-us-defense-cooperation-and-nato-membership
   [Accessed 24 February 2012].
7. Collins, B., 2011. NATO: a guide to the issues. Oxford: Praeger.
8. Gordon, P., ed., 1997. NATO’s Transformaion: the changing shape of teh Atlantic Alliance. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc..
9. Gulnur, A. & Moore, R., ed., 2010. NATO in search of a vision, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press
10. Harrison, L (2001), Political Research – An Introduction, London: Routledge.
11. He, K. & Feng, H., 2012. ‘Why is there no NATO in Asia?’ revisited: Prospect theory, balance of threat, and US alliance strategies. European Journal of International Relations, 18(2), pp. 227-250.
12. Kamp, K.-H., 2012. NATO Enlargement Reloaded. Research Paper NATO Defense College, Rome, Volume 81, pp. 1-8.
13. Rasmussen, A. F., 2012. Joint Press Point. [Online]
    Available at: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/opinions_91286.htm
    [Accessed 24 February 2012].
14. Razaoux, P., 2009, What future for Georgia?. Research Paper NATO Defense College, Rome, Volume 47, pp. 1-8.
15. Sloan, S., 2010. Permanent AllianceNATO and the transatlantic bargain from Truman to Obama, London: Continuum
16. Zdenek, K. and Shevchuk, Z. 2011. Georgian readiness for NATO membership after Russian-Georgian armed conflict, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 44(1): pp 89-97

CAUSE AND EFFECT PARAGRAPH -CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS Car accidents are something that has become common in human life. Almost everyday car accidents happen around us within anytime and anywhere around the worlds. It harms everyone without exception to anybody. The tragic part of car accidents is when it involving fatal. It is very unfair for every living body to die in the car crash and it such a wasted.

Furthermore car accidents are something that can be avoided if we altogether concern about the factors that can lead to the crash. First and foremost, careless driver is one of the factors of car accidents. They are not paying 100% attentions on the road while driving. Some of them are talking on the phone, and controlling the car with only one hand. This actually increases the risk of getting involved in car accidents. There are also driver that are not in proper condition to drive.

As example, the driver does not getting enough sleep to be able to drive safely resulting in falling asleep while driving and may lead to car accidents. Secondly, poor road conditions also contribute to car accidents. Irregularly surface of road can cause driver to lose control on the car. Unclear road signs that are hard to be seen especially during night and improper placed of speed bump are really disturbing the driver and thus car accidents are more likely to occur.

Finally, bad weather is also the causes of car accidents. Heavy rain, storm and snow limit the driver’s visibility and put themselves and others on risk. As example, when it is raining heavily, the road become slippery and car’s tyres have fewer grips on the surface of road. Consequently, the cars will collide with each others. As a conclusion, peoples especially drivers should take note the factors that cause the car accidents as they will beware when driving and thus can help avoiding car accidents.

Traffic congestion is when a vehicle is at longer trip of time, slower speeds and vehicular queuing or road. When vehicles stopped for period of time and can also lead frustration to drivers. When many vehicle travel in slower speed that the road cannot handle. When the volume of traffic is high and not enough space. It is also known as traffic jam and road are being closed. It can lead incidents such as accidents or a single car breaking heavily in a previously smooth flow and ripple effects like cascading failure.

The problem in Metro Manila are lack of infrastructure and not construct more roads that can cause traffic congestion. The number of vehicles in Metro Manila are increasing and hardly reduce. There is also about the development of vacant public lands and selling it to others who would use it to make different kinds of buildings, malls, and structures which can use shortage road infrastructure.

It seemed that the government had declared a policy against making these vacant spaces into green public parks. The government are raising millions or billions from the sale of vacant spaces to use and make as a commercial projects instead of infrastructure of roads. In fact, they lost the opportunities and the deal. According to some estimates, the NCR’s road network of 4,755 kilo meters should be doubled to accommodate the vehicle population.

That means that the additional of roads that are being built or widened are eaten up by existing demand, which continues to outpace infrastructure development. Also for those illegal settlements or vendors who are display their products where it is near the streets and they hope that the remaining vacant lands would not be sold for the developers of commercials, but instead for the development of open and green parks for the people.

It’s should not be lack of infrastructure and construct more roads. The numbers of vehicles should reduce and large or small cars are separated in different roads. Illegal settlements or vendors are not allowed to display near the street where it is in the way of vehicles. Drivers must attend seminars and follow the policies or protocols that are implemented. It must be more on vacant space and avoid selling vacant public lands for those people who are developers of making buildings like mall or etc. Also prevent from selling vacant public land for commercial projects, but instead that the governments would implement road infrastructure projects in order to solve traffic congestion.

Therefore, there should be traffic in forcers in different crossed way from time to time and which is the one who will guide or organize the drivers. There must be an action of the government and cooperation of the people in the society. The government should be wise and think what is better for the environment. Building a mall, structures, and commercial projects must reduce in Metro Manila so that the traffic congestion would be prevented.

Road Safety is essential in our daily life. Thus to observe the traffic rules is an important activity to ensure road safety. Road safety should first of all begin at home by teaching and instructing children about the traffic rules with some good hints on the do‘s and dont‘s. Children should also be taught the highway code and advised to follow them strictly. Hence safety rules is everybody‘s business. Statistics has time and again shown that a great proportion of the people involved in road accidents are school children.

It cannot be denied therefore that improper education is one of the major causes of accidents. There are cases where accident are caused by children running across the road without much attention, crossing behind parked vehicle, cycling two or three abreast carrying pillion riders, alighting from moving buses and cycling without due care. Therefore, they should be thought the important the road safety both at home and in schools. Exhibitions by the schools and demonstrations by the police authorities can do much in instilling in the children in a greater awareness of the dangers on the roads.

As for the drivers on the road, they should always concentrate and study the situation ahead. It is very important that they anticipate road movements. They should drive safely showing consideration for others road users. The drives of heavy vehicles especially, should exercise greater consideration for those of smaller vehicles. Motorist and taxi- drivers should not exceed the speed limits and should always think of the safety of the passengers. A good driver should also know how to assess the speed and the distance of the oncoming traffic.

Dangerous of overtaking has been cited as one of the major causes of road accidents. Drives in their enthusiasm or impatience overtakes other vehicles and end up in the head-on collision with other oncoming vehicles. Drives should always exercise caution and show more road sense. Motorcyclist should always wear safety helmet for their own safety. They should remember that prevention is better than cure. The government on their part should distribute pamphlets which warn and instill fear in road-users who are careless and inconsiderate.

Posters in ivid pictorial terms which tell of the dangers and the consequences of careless reckless driving should also be imposed to act as deterrents to negligent driving. Unroadworthy vehicles such as vehicles whish are very old and in state of despair, vehicles which do not be allowed on the road until the defects are corrected. Finally all roads until the defects are reflectors should not be allowed on the roads until the defects are corrected. Finally all road-users should cultivate the virtues of consideration, tolerate, patience, caution and a respect for the highway code for everybody‘s benefit

The Cambrian De Phaedra owned by the Recollects was used as the iris church of Dissimilar upon its division while the residents were constructing a new one. The town of Dissimilar became a bloody battlefield during the Revolution in 1896-1897. After capturing the town on February 25, 1897, the Spaniards burned all the houses and buildings in the Publication except the Catholic Church. In 1905, during the early American Regime, the town of Disarming became again a barrio of Emus and remained a part of the said town. In that year, the name Perez was dropped or deleted through the efforts of Cap.

Placida Campus.

Francisco Barbara and Feline Tirana. The growing congestion and outward urban expansion of the Metropolitan Manila Area has set-up a favorable devoted atmosphere for the town. As one of Cavities lowland towns situated within the Metro Manila urban influenced area the improvement of growth corridors and road linkages converged within the area. The changing outlook of the town as a traditional agricultural town to a fast urbanize town serves a telltale a sign of its fast-paced development. Now, with a population of about 442,572 people and with the development of the resettlement areas virtually give impetus for a new town.

The town now is experiencing the establishment of several large educational and health institutions, the influx of industries and subdivision developments.

B. PHYSICAL AND NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS

1. Geographical Location The Municipality lies on coordinates 14 degree 20′ latitude and 120 degree EYE longitude. It is situated in the northeastern part of Cavity province along the eastern provincial boundaries with Laguna. As such, it is at the center of the COLLABORATION sub-region within the regional Jurisdiction of Region IV. It is bounded on the north by the municipalities of Emus and Factor.

The municipality is about thirty (30) kilometers room Metro Manila, the country metropolis; (32) kilometers from Calm, the regional capital and (12) kilometers from Trace Martinez City, which is the provincial capital. It is accessible from all points and growth centers via a network of concrete national highways and provincial roads. The town is landlocked. However, it is thirty (30) kilometers away from the coastal town of Rosaries, Kuwait, Factor, Novelette and Cavity City. It is about twenty-seven (27) kilometers from the Resort City of Takeaway and its famous Tall Lake and about the same distance from Puerco Gaul resort complex. .

LAND AREA socio economic analysis By orientation bargains of which twenty-six (26) bargains are old bargains further subdivided due to increase in population and the forty-seven (47) bargains which are old resettlement areas established into regular bargains, of which three (3) are in Burro and forty-four (44) are generally include under the Dissimilar Banyan file a resolution creating two or more bargains namely Victoria Rexes and H-2. It is now file at the Sanguine Penalizing for approval.

3. CLIMATE

Dissimilar has two pronounced seasons; wet season and dry season.

Wet season covers the period from May to December and dries from January to April. The east- south monsoon prevails over the area from December to May while southwesterly winds blow during rainy season from June to August with heavy downpour.

4. SLOPE AND TOPOGRAPHY

The municipality are generally lowland with areas having slope 0-18% accounting for about 81% the total land area while the remaining 19% are with 18% are above. The topography is generally sloping, undulating hills distributed in all bargains of the municipality.

Practically all slope classification of land area is present in all bargains. Except in some portion at bargains Burro, Lankan, Palladian, Scalawag, Compact and San Austin, which are strongly sloping, and hill, all others are level, too gently undulating to moderately sloping or rolling terrain.

5. ROAD NETWORK

The municipality of Dissimilar has a more or less total road network of 790. 731 kilometers, as of 1990. These are classified into provincial, municipal, baring, and subdivision roads traveling within the town’s Jurisdiction.

The National Highway, which includes Signaled Highway, Congressional Avenue, Assailant-Scalawag Road,Scalawag-Million and Governor’s Drive are the central development spine that links Disarming to its neighboring municipalities. These major roads are asphalt and are under good condition, compared to before, there has been a lot of major renovations on road networking. There are still some parts of disarming which are not yet in concrete, but acts for improvements have been done, and will hopefully be finished in the near future. There are now more than 35 bridges that connect the road network in the municipality.

All of which are made of concrete.

6. TRANSPORTATION

Disarming is accessible by land transportation going to manila through Emilio Signaled Highway, from the north, towards Takeaway City to the south. It is almost a -hour drive from metro manila going to Disarming. Same with going to Takeaway and Laguna. The basic mode of transportation to different places in Disarming is the Jeep and the tricycle. Most of the population in the municipality is composed of commuters and pedestrians. The main part of Disarming where you can get an easy ride going outside the municipality is in “Dismal Banyan”.

It is where you can find Don Placida Campus Avenue, and along those road is the Immaculate Conception Church, Disarming Elementary School, and the municipal Library which are the main Landmarks in the town of Disarming. You may usually find public utility Jeepers going to baccarat, capote, Emus, sailing, trace, and GAMMA, in this part of Disarming. This is the reason why Dismal Banyan can also be considered as the capital of the municipality Disarming itself. Through time, the number of public utility vehicles has increased, which made Disarming accessible from several parts of Luzon. Now, air-con and non-air-conditioned buses.

This also gives the reason for having a greater population of residents transferring from other provinces, and foreign residents, especially the growing number of Koreans residing all over Disarming. The availability of public transportation also explains why students in La Sale- Disarming are now partially composed of transfer students from different parts of the country, especially Metro Manila.

7. SUPPORT FACILITIES

Support facilities like power, water, and transportation are present. The electricity is provide by ANAPHORA thru Manila Electric Company (MORALE). Water is being supplied by Disarming Water District (DID).

In terms of communications, the whole town relies on PLOT, Globe Telecoms, Digital, Philippine Postal Communications, Bureau of Telecommunications, and all mobile companies. This also includes internet rousing. Though there are still other areas wherein only some of these telecommunications companies, were able reached them.

Demography

8. POPULATION STATISTICS

The first NCSC official census of population for the municipality was conducted in the year 1903 recording a total population of 3,028. This figure increased to 262,106 by the year 1995, almost a hundred-fold increase over 93 years.

The town exhibits a significant population increase with an annual growth rate of 13. 96%. This can be attributed to the influx of urban families from Metro Manila to the resettlement areas of Tasmania.

9. DIALECT SPOKEN

Being geographically located in the tagging region, the dialect predominantly spoken is Toga. This constitutes about 76. 49% of the total household population. There are however several dialects spoken in the area such as Cuban, holidaying, Allocation, wary, bucolic, banana, pompano, and other local dialects of very minimal percentage.

This can be attributed to in-migration corollary to the presence of socio-economic activities as well as the resettlement activities of urban families from Metro Manila to Disarming.

10. RELIGION

The municipality of Disarming is predominantly Roman Catholic, constituting about 88. 4% of the total household population. The remaining percentage, consists of the Giggles in Kristin, Born again Christians, Protestants, The Baptist Church, and Muslims which are mostly found in the resettlement areas.

11. MARITAL STATUS

Out of the population, 10 years old and over, 50. 5% are married while 4. 59% are single and never married. The remaining percent are widows, 3. 62%, and separated, 1 . 19%. This can be explained by the Filipino culture on family ties. It makes it difficult for other family members to depart from their family.

LABOR FORCE

Labor force is the economically active population, compromising 1 5 years old and above who are either employed or unemployed. Current labor force (1995) is 137,575 or 52% of the house hold population 5 years old and above. Of this figure, 124,608 are employed, and 12,967 are unemployed.

Showing that availability of Jobs in Disarming are low, considering the number of population. Still, this does not hinder people from residing in Disarming, because as mentioned earlier, Disarming is accessible going to different places. LAND USE The total area of 9,013 hectares of the municipality s divided into four land uses: urban/built-up areas, agricultural areas, open grasslands and water bodies. Refer to Table 90 on Existing Land Uses + urban / built-up areas).

BUILT-UP AREA

Urban development as evident in the built-up areas, which constitute about 48. 06% of the total land area.

These comprise of residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, parks and recreational as well as cemetery, roads, dumpiest and Special Use or Planned Unit Area. Built-up areas are present in all bargains with the largest concentration on Disarming Basing Banyan (DB’S) Resettlement Area, Zone l, I-A, II, Ill and IV portion of Baring Scalawag, Palladian l, II, Ill, Gasbag and San Jose are fast evolving in residential areas with new subdivision locating therein. DB Resettlement Areas composed of 44 bargains dominate the central portion. Influence areas include Assailant Ill and IV and portion of Compact ‘V.

The key focus has been on the sustainability and travel modes of the children and adults during the investigation. Table of Contents Introduction Destination travel plans were the start of the evolution of travel planning which mainly focused on the reduction of car Journeys to the workplace , tourist spots and schools were also considered to be particular destinations . An example can be taken from the structure of residential travel plans where Journey starts from house to the various destinations.

Since travel plans has played a major role in delivering benefits to the regional and local authorities by enchanting accessibility and deducting the level of traffic has brought role of travel plans into a limelight of developing importance which can be achieved through a planning process under a national policy where travel plans can be monitored and improved (controversialists. Co. UK). ‘ School run’ is one the key issues which gave rise to School Travel Plans in the wake of rising peak traffic congestion , security concerns and air pollution damaging the environment.

If school run is eliminated through various travel policies , it can then provide opportunities to children benefit from a healthy habits achieved by cycling and walking to the school. (ghastliest. Gob. UK). In the UK , there are 1. 2 million cars are eyeing driven extra miles to cover the Journey to schools and a million extra on roads during the peak time congestion resulting in increase of carbon emissions and tones of carbon dioxide being produced.

It is assumed that the school Journeys only account to a small percentage of total travel Journeys around the I-J and but has a major affect on the large scale (Birmingham. Gob. UK). Norfolk was the first one to achieve an award of being the only county with every school running a travel plan. Programmed were installed both in rural and urban parts of the region resulting in the decrease shift of 17% of car use throughout the area. Norfolk managed to achieve its goals by getting involved with around 6000 children into a habit of cycling , walking , bus use and car sharing (schools. Norfolk. Gob. UK).

Literature Review Consolidating literature within the field of travel plans it was discovered that travel plans were first introduced in Government Green Paper in 1996 as part of national policy (Potter et al, 1999). Factors such as location, company cars and organizational policy are all considered when devising travel plans (Names and Sandburg, 1996; Banister and Gallant, 1999). In the sass the travel plans have been recognized significantly and this led to a increase in interest and reforms within departments such as Transport and the regions DETER , Department of the Environment (DETER , 1998 ).

Regarding employer travel plans, Potter et al (1999) outlines negative traits in views and attitudes towards the travel plans and were more inclined to implement cycle facilities. However it has been noted that the cycle facility initiative will not bring about any major change to the impacts suffered to the environment, although acknowledging the benefits in health and increase in safety levels Monoclinic and Shackle (1996). The encouragement of physical activities has been identified as essential to tackle the rise in obesity amongst children (Salmon et al 2004).

Salmon et al suggest that schemes such as Walking School Bus’ would assist in cultivating and changing behavioral habits and be beneficiary to health of pupils. They also indicate that active travel in no way raises any health risks and with the increase of various education programs, aimed at educating pupils on minimizing risks when taking public transport, walking and cycling. Often with regards to travel plans the focal point is placed upon the role of the employers to tackle the issue of minimizing car travel routines to work, to combat problem of peak hour congestion (Methamphetamine County Council, 1995).

This is further exemplified through the actions of Brighton and Hove City Council assist companies by devising various travel plans to take an initiative on this influential problem. To put into perspective, travel plans are considered a priority in various countries, for example in Australia various studies have commenced measuring the correlation in the mode of travel to their schools, with a considerable rise from 25% o 89% within a 30 year period of pupils being driven to school (Consultation Planning Survey Services, 1974 and DOI 2005).

Australia also takes a similar stance in educating their pupils about transport awareness by a national plan named ‘The School Travel Planning. Research conducted by Pied and Somerville Road & Transport Research (2006) suggested that within the periods in which this plan was implemented, 2007-2008, there was a decrease from 60% to 10% in Journeys to private travel to schools. This was a direct consequence as to the impetus and focus the Australian government placed on public transport, walking and cycling, which the search indicated substantially increased from 2007 to 2008.

The United Kingdom soon followed suit, initially though the first conceptual travel plans devised by the UK government was regulated within 1997/1998. In 2010 the decision was made to further regulate travel plans with the aim to improve congestion flow around the public and private schools in the I-J. The travel plan has been proved successful. This lies in the fact that within the I-J there are more than 2000 schools which have implemented the ‘School Travel Program’, making the UK a fore frontal focus on the creation and division of effective travel plans, attracting the attention of surrounding European countries.

Yet with all this success has lead to large investments with a total of El 55 million spent on school travel plans between 2004 and 2009. However it is important to note that EYE million were spent on salaries of school travel advisor and about IEEE million went to the capital investments. A particular scheme that was successful was the Walking School Bus scheme’ which was installed in various schools in September 2000. By consolidating the literature within this field has provided the foundations in which to interpret the theories and notions that surround ‘School Travel Plans’.

External factors that may influence school travel plans have been identified from the literature such as the demographical information, congestion, traffic flow, road works through the means of public transport, cycling and walking. Methodology Research aims – Desk research has been conducted in the project. It covers subject matter from all type of sources ranging from published articles to websites of county councils across The United Kingdom. The document of how to a write a successful plan published by Havening London Borough been taken as a base structure for the school travel plan analysis.

The reason behind of this approach is to target specific areas of the research questions which are literary in nature. ProJect sets out with a broad introduction to the travel planning and its origin to understand the base of the investigation. Research questions have been arranged in an order to connect with the information as follows – Why school travel plans are important and what are the benefits ? Mainly focuses on the advantages of the school travel plans and benefits to the environment and the society.

How to structure and what should be included in a School Travel Plan ? To recognize the structure and the requirement of school travel plans supported by examples from 5 different schools to understand every phase of the plan. Which travel policies under The School Travel Plan been successful in reducing congestion outside schools and promoting greater use of sustainable transport ? Two of the main travel policies has been brought into the light to examine issues related to traffic congestion. Which other countries took initiative in promoting school travel programmed ?

Three western countries have been taken into account to acknowledge wider aspects of the school travel plans on an international level. What are relationships between school travel plans and other travel plans ? Residential and employer travel plans has been taken into consideration to examine and compare the characteristics of the School Travel Plan. Why school travel plans are important and what are the benefits? School run is the Journey parents make to and from school in order to provide transportation to their children by car.

These school Journeys are significantly less compared to the total demand of transport but major effects the peak traffic flows leading in congestion and impact on the environment. In order to reduce congestion , t is required to promote walking and cycling to school within the youth which will going to enhance their social skills , independence and self confidence. This will not only going to benefit them in terms of bodily movement but also going to help children getting accustomed to their local environment (Birmingham. Gob. UK).

According to Durham county council , it was necessary to create a travel plan by 2010 and following to that , target was achieved by 97% of schools in Durham , obtaining one million pounds to be disburse on the refinement of school Journey projects and promotion of sustainable mode of transport. Enhancement of current parking facilities and better pedestrian access points are one of the few examples of these schemes. Let is important to install school travel plans and encourage active travel through campaigns, initiatives and promotions to teach students about travel sustainability from their childhood (Durham. Ova. UK). The key victims to the school run are usually people living next to schools as they are affected by difficulties created by the drivers by parking in inappropriate places , generating pollution and risking safety of cyclists and pedestrians around the area of the school. During the peak ours , 1 out of 5 Journeys are made by drivers on the school run and usually these journeys are short with a cold engine which produces an excess amount of pollution inside a car which is calculated to be thrice the level of pollution on the pavement which can be quite harmful for children walking to the school(schools. Reform. Gob. UK). As stated by Brighton and Hove city council ” A School Travel Plan ( STEP) is a document which sets out how a school will promote safer , active and sustainable travel to school , with the main emphasis being on reducing the number of children being driven to and from school” . Discussion with parents , local people, governors, teachers and students is vital in developing a good STEP and to overcome the problem changing situations , the plan should be assessed and reformed on a regular basis.

A school travel plan stimulates active travel which results in reduced congestion and traffic which can be advantageous to people living around the area of a school , school community and the entire city . School Travel Plan can be benefited by different sections of society (Brighton-hove. Gob. UK). Today’s period , obesity is a major issue and it is crucial to promote physical exercise within the youth and make them ware of benefits of sustainable transport and exercise which will help them to make healthy decisions in the future and ameliorate their fitness levels.

As suggested in studies , children suffering from anxiety and stress are the ones who are driven and the children likely to be more alert during the class are the ones to choose walking and cycling to the school. It is important for a school to Implement sustainable travel habits such as road safety skills and hazard awareness within the children. Advantages of not being driven to school will provide children with an opportunity to enhance their social skills by interacting with their parents and guardians along the journey and get to know more about the community.

By shifting to sharing a car , cycling and walking from short car Journeys will help families to be more economical and save cash over a year or a term (schools. Norfolk. Gob. UK). Students will benefit in better fitness levels by indulging in physical activities such as cycling, scooting and walking. It will refine their knowledge about road user skills and travel awareness and enhance their perception of their surrounding.

Schools will see a boost in better feet and less congestion around the campus with the implementation of schemes which will initiate safer cycling routes and walking areas and be part of policies such as Healthy and CEO-schools in of various other schools in the region(Brighton- hove. Gob. UK). For parents , it will help them develop greater connection with schools and better relationship their children with the increase in interaction time and relieve the tension of facing congestion while driving to and from the school.

Local Communities will take advantage of reduction in noise and air pollution and enchanted road safety and walking routes(Brighton-hove. Ova. UK). Worldwide , it has clearly been recognized by transport planners around in Japan , Europe and Australia , the need of changing travel habits of an individual from private to public mode of transport . It is realizes because of negative impacts being held on social life and health due to increase in congestion in traffic , land use patterns , reduction in use of public services such as rail and buses and increase in the air ; Attaining,A. 2006). How to structure and what should be included in a School Travel Plan? According to Transport of London , the concept of School Travel Plan commonly now as Steps is to benefit the community by implementing travel plan in schools across the country. Steps contain various information and ideas to strengthen areas of transportation across the school with an aim of bringing a change to the environment and the society.

The key endeavourer to achieve by Steps is reduction in car Journeys to and from schools , motivating adults and young people to adapt the idea of active travel over the private transportation and to develop appreciation between school communities towards options of travel available to them . The reason Enid the existence of STEP is not only to achieve these aims of improving the flow of travel around school but also to provide benefits to the environment by reducing congestion and pollution by promoting sustainable transport . T has already been proven the advantages of including School Travel Plan in schools (Transport For London). According to Leister council , travel plans has no definite national format and each plan is considers type of developments and sites as it reveals characteristics such as unique location , accessibility and operation which are required to be carried out on that site. Aim of a travel plan is not only to cover traveler’s Journey but also address people commuting between residences and business premises (laics. Gob. K). Stages in development of a School Travel Plan – Characteristics of a school Step – 1 It is first required to identify in which area school specializes which means whether it is primary , secondary independent/voluntary or school for special needs . Then moving on to considering the size of the school by finding out how many students are enrolled and what are the age groups and number of staffs employed(havening. Gob. UK). Step- 2 This step would include the description about the location where the school is established .

Some key information required are description of the area including a map , school entrances , local public transport links for an example bus routes and stations(havening. Gob. UK). Step- 3 It is required in this section to focus on existing policies of the school which can be for instance school trip and healthy and safety policies and how they can be link to the school travel plan. If school is involved in promoting environmental activities and considered to be healthy can also be highlighted (havening. Gob. K). Step- 4 In this step , details of any activities in which school take part regularly and relates to the School Travel can be included for an example : Walk to School Week activities, cycle storage , student’s cycle training , sustainable transport policies , walking bus and other related activities (havening. Gob. UK). An example of phase 1 can be seen in the school travel plan prepared by the Devon county for The Manor Primary school in Jan 2005 where it mentions about the characteristics of the school.

First part of the step can relate to the school introduction where it mentions that it is a primary level situated in the middle of a sousing development in Bridge. It holds a capacity of 35 staff members and 300 students. As shown in their school travel plan , there are 12 car parking space and a single entrance but there is no initiative taken to promote walking school bus, no CATV , cycle storage or cycle training plans which can relate to step 2 and 4 of the phase 1 (Devon. Gob. K) Phase-2 Issues at the School Step-I This part of step would identify issues by carrying out survey results of the entire school which should answer the following main questions : What date survey was undertaken? How many students were surveyed? How do students travel to school? Besides this , extensive surveys with pupils and parents can be included and any relevant data from the previous surveys conducted which could present progress report would be beneficial in the creating a plan. Surveys should be not be older than 12 month period (havening. Gob. UK).

For instance , to get clear view of step-I , an example of Randal Cramer Primary School’s survey analysis can provide a basic understanding of survey results. In their STEP, findings are shown of two different surveys being carried out with a gap of two years to monitor progress. The survey conducted in the year 2008 proves that the liking is a dominant method over car use and 31% of students are willing to adapt cycle travel. Survey was conducted again in 2010 where it shown a difference in the figures rising Upton 13. 3% for the walking method and a drop of 14. 91 in the use of car .

These surveys included in STEP helps school to address their issues efficiently (hackney. Gob. UK). This Step addresses the problems and issues of a school in a written description which explains the need of developing a plan . This section should be separated from the survey results. Issues mainly to acknowledge can be ones identified by arenas , staff , students and from surveys. Some of the issues are such as ones related to school gate parking , barriers to sustainable transport or road Junctions which are considered to be not safe for pupils (havening. Gob. UK).

Phase-3 Involvement Step- 1 This step covers evidence of everyone’s involvement from individuals to groups within and outside the school in bringing plan into action. Section must include the people who were interviewed and how their ideas and opinion were directed towards the plan . Details can be sought by mentioning about the meeting of governors/PTA here plan was discussed and about any procedure or involvement of School Council which has been conducted. Other key information to be involved are about any discussions in the classroom or assemblies and curriculum projects.

This can be not very easy with students with various learning difficulties and effort should be put in getting as much opinion as possible (havening. Gob. UK). This section carries out any relevant information about letters being sent to local residents or parents or newsletters shared and displays being projected to actively persuade people to share their opinions regarding the travel plan . It should be clearly understood and noted that evidence would not consider hands up surveys on favored means of Journey (havening. Gob. UK).

An example of this Phase-I can be vividly understood by the School Travel Plan of Hill Top First Community School for the age group of 3 to 9 years. This school majority focuses on the well being of its pupils and has involved itself with their opinions and suggestions. Here are the few examples of children and parents sharing their thoughts about the school travel :- Comments by children- “The best thing about going to school ( by car ) is listening to the radio. The worst thing is the traffic lights because I like going to school .

I’d like to come to school on a bike” “The best about my Journey(walking) is I get to see lot of different things. My journey is safe but not always when I cross the road” Comments by parents- “Too many cars pull up by the school gates” ” We’ve nearly been run over by cars reversing out of the school drive at drop off time” These are one of the few comments of the pupils studying in Hilltop school . This proves that the school is involving children and parents in initiating their travel plan and tackle any issues (rubs. Gob. UK). Phase-4 What are Plan’s objective?

This step identifies various objectives, project is intend to achieve such as reduction in number of car trips and during peak hours and promote use of public transport walking/cycling to and from school . These initiatives will result in improvement of health of people within school communities (havening. Gob. UK). To explain the criteria of this phase of a plan , Bishop’s Hull Community Primary School’s school travel plan can be considered as an example. By evaluating their objectives set up after carrying out survey results. They concluded that cycling needs to be safer for children and remote greater use of walking instead of use of car.

Parents should be motivated to share private vehicles to avoid congestion during peak times. These ideas are held together in a their school travel plan to overcome travel issues and promote sustainable mode of transport for the well-fare of the community and children (environmentalism’s. Co. UK). Phase-5 Action Plan This part of the step sets out actions required in the plan to achieve these objectives. Actions required can be described in an action plan at the stage of approval (havening. Gob. UK). This section covers about the key ingredients required to establish an action plan.