Skip to main content

Clearview Intelligence: The UK failing to embrace innovation to tackle road safety

60.3% of the 2,000 road safety professionals who attended the premier highway event at Highways UK revealed in a survey that new technologies and road safety innovations are vital to improving driver behaviour and road safety. However, 44% of the attendees are not adopting new road safety innovations today, according to the latest research conducted by Clearview Intelligence (CI).
November 10, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
60.3% of the 2,000 road safety professionals who attended the premier highway event at 8268 Highways UK revealed in a survey that new technologies and road safety innovations are vital to improving driver behaviour and road safety. However, 44% of the attendees are not adopting new road safety innovations today, according to the latest research conducted by Clearview Intelligence (CI).

 
Upon the current barriers to implementing the technology, 42% said that the most significant obstacle is due to the lack of available budgets for highways projects combined with government constraints on infrastructure spending. In addition, 32% felt unwillingness to change and aversion to risk were key challenges.

The results suggest that these factors could put the pace of innovation within the highways industry at risk over the next five years. One in 10 highways professionals are still not planning to invest in road safety innovations over this period despite initiatives such as the Government’s Road Investment Strategy, which aims to ‘help prevent over 2,500 deaths or serious injuries on the network’ by 2020.

Nick Lanigan, managing director, CI, said: “Direct from the Highways UK event, this research proves that, against the backdrop of financial restraints and the sector’s general risk aversion, the highways industry acknowledges the need for innovative solutions to our road safety challenges - both today and into the future.

“Whether you're from 8101 Highways England, a local authority or road contractor, all those involved in operating the UK road network ultimately want the same thing: smarter, safer and more efficient roads - and the solution is actually staring everyone in the face. There are tried and tested technologies which can be combined to deliver effective solutions that are proven to reduce road fatalities and injuries on UK roads.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • One in twenty UK adults involved in a road accident last year
    August 8, 2013
    One in twenty UK adults was involved in a road accident in 2012, according to road safety charity, Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). Using information from the National Travel Survey published by the Department for Transport it shows that 5.2 per cent of the population admit to having been involved in an accident, meaning that 2.4 million people were involved in a road crash last year, with around 800,000 actually injured. In the vast majority of these crashes those involved were car occupants. Figure
  • Making connections without compromising security
    November 10, 2017
    We listen in as global experts discuss connected vehicles and cybersecurity. By 2019 there will be almost 44 million connected cars globally and by 2022 that figure will be nearer 70 million; some 40% will be electric powered, according to market analyst Frost & Sullivan. But its report said the issue of end-to-end security for the new technology is still under debate, as vehicle OEMs engage with vendors to test specific security application areas for both over-the-air and vehicle-to-exterior services.
  • AI ‘won’t live up to the hype’, warns thinktank
    October 16, 2018
    Governments must gain the trust of their citizens when it comes to increasing the use of artificial intelligence (AI), warns a new report. The Centre for Public Impact (CPI) thinktank, which was founded by consultant Boston Consulting Group, said that public trust in AI is low. While AI has the potential in mobility to make public transport responsive to traveller needs in real time, for example, the influence of AI is viewed negatively by some. Launching an action plan for governments at the Tallinn Digi
  • Mexico City seeks solutions to improve air quality
    December 6, 2017
    David Crawford ponders prospects for one of the world’s most congested and polluted cities. In 1992, the United Nations named Mexico City as the world’s most polluted urban centre. In the first half of 2016, following the updating of pollution alert limits to meet international standards, Mexico recorded 115 days where ozone concentrations exceeded the acute exposure health limit.