Skip to main content

Road safety award for average speed scheme

A route enforcement and casualty reduction scheme on the strategic A14 in the UK has won a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. The A14 route between the Midlands and East Anglia operates at the national speed limit of 70mph as a dual carriageway with central reserve and no hard shoulder. The average annual daily traffic figure is 74,000 and with no motorways or other high standard diversion routes along this corridor, journeys can be seriously delayed when congestion or collisio
November 28, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A route enforcement and casualty reduction scheme on the strategic A14 in the UK has won a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.

The A14 route between the Midlands and East Anglia operates at the national speed limit of 70mph as a dual carriageway with central reserve and no hard shoulder.  The average annual daily traffic figure is 74,000 and with no motorways or other high standard diversion routes along this corridor, journeys can be seriously delayed when congestion or collisions occur.  To the east, the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich result in a high number of heavy goods vehicles; these having an impact on speed differentials and traffic flow.

There were a large number of collisions and casualties along this route, even after the installation of eight fixed spot speed camera sites in 2001.  The 503 Highways Agency therefore decided to install average SPECS speed enforcement cameras between Spittals Interchange and Girton, a 22 kilometre control section.

The SPECS cameras have been operational since July 2007.  Analysis of the two year post installation stats19 data shows that killed and seriously injured (KSI) collisions have dropped by 68 per cent, which equates to an average annual saving to the economy of US$6.8 million.  In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that journey time reliability has improved, providing smoother flows, reduced close following, less aggressive driving and better fuel consumption.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TomTom: Congestion costs on UK businesses increase by £148m
    December 14, 2017
    UK Congestion is costing businesses £915m ($1,229m) a year in lost productivity, according to the latest figures revealed by TomTom’s (TT’s) Traffic Index. Findings showed this figure is an increase of £148m ($198m) from last year’s £767m ($1,030m).
  • Gatso to participate in German average speed pilot
    September 11, 2014
    The idea of average speed enforcement, or section control, in Germany has long been discussed by German authorities following its recommendation in 2009 by the 47th German Traffic Court Day. Interior Minister Boris Pistorius has announced a section control pilot project which is scheduled to be operational in Lower Saxony in spring 2015. Instead measuring speed in the conventional at a single point, section control measures average speed over a longer stretch of road. This method usually results in l
  • TfL campaign targets young drivers
    May 23, 2014
    Transport for London’s (TfL) latest road safety campaign ‘Kill Your Speed Not Your Mates’ aims to bring home to young drivers the consequences of speeding. In 2012, 4,684 people in London were injured in collisions involving young drivers. The campaign targets young drivers with the clear message that they should take more care of the people they care about; their friends. This road safety campaign is the latest of a series launched by TfL to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in
  • A future vision for transport in Wales
    November 13, 2014
    A new report by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Cymru Wales, Vision 2035: Cymru Wales, looks to the future and visualises how transport and logistics in Wales would develop, taking account of population changes, technological developments and social and political change. By 2035, Wales will be making decisions on all aspects of transport, including air passenger duty, rail franchising and road policy. There will also be greater government involvement in public transport operatio