RSF calls for road safety improvements

Date: 16/10/2012

The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) has called for improvements to be made to the UK's road network in order to boost the safety of both road users and pedestrians.

In its annual GB EuroRAP report 'Engineering A Safer Future', the RSF calls on the government to ensure that minimum road safety standards are at the centre of any reforms of the country's road networks.

According to the research, the economic benefits to be gained from low-cost safety engineering would be significant.

The data indicates that single carriageways are now six times more dangerous than motorways, and goes on to point out that safety engineering measures on ten stretches of UK road led to a 50 per cent reduction in the number of deaths and serious injuries sustained between 2001 and 2010.

Road authorities responsible for these sections reported that measures implemented during the most recent survey period were aimed at reducing crashes at junctions involving loss of control and at speeds higher than the posted limit.

Speed enforcement with fixed and mobile cameras and speed limit changes were reported on all but two of the most improved roads, the report indicates.

Another common feature involved changes to the layout and traffic management at junctions, with measures including the installation of traffic signals to control traffic flow and restricting turning movements onto roads with high traffic levels or poor visibility.

Other measures included widening entry and exit lanes with associated changes to the lining and signing, advanced warning signs, and installing high friction and coloured surfacing.

The report also revealed this year's persistently higher risk roads - a list topped by the A537 between Macclesfield and Buxton, known nationally as the Cat and Fiddle, which has featured at the top of this list for the past four years.

This year's second highest risk road is the A5012 between Pikehall and Matlock; a 15km single carriageway, non-primary A road through the Peak District National Park which saw a 21 per cent increase in crashes between survey periods from 19 to 23.

According to the RSF, in addition to a continuous package of resurfacing and signing improvements along the stretch, speed awareness campaigns aimed at all road users are currently being rolled out.

Posted by Mary Treen

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