Report highlights cost effectiveness of crash reduction strategy

Local authorities in the UK needs an immediate injection of £200 million to tackle the high risk road sections, according to a new report from the Road Safety Foundation charity and Ageas UK. Called Cutting the Cost of Dangerous Roads, the report reveals that UK motorways and ‘A’ roads on the EuroRAP network make up 10% of the road network that contains half of all road deaths. It found that single carriageway ‘A’ roads have a risk factor seven times higher than motorways and nearly three times that of d
November 21, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Local authorities in the UK needs an immediate injection of £200 million to tackle the high risk road sections, according to a new report from the 776 Road Safety Foundation charity and Ageas UK.


Called Cutting the Cost of Dangerous Roads, the report reveals that UK motorways and ‘A’ roads on the EuroRAP network make up 10% of the road network that contains half of all road deaths. It found that single carriageway ‘A’ roads have a risk factor seven times higher than motorways and nearly three times that of dual carriageway ‘A’ roads while ‘high risk’ single carriageway roads are 67 times more risky than their low risk counterparts.

It identifies the most dangerous roads and says fatal and serious crashes on 10 ‘most improved roads’ roads was reduced by 74% (from 145 to 37) with an annual economic saving of £17m, or £149,000 per kilometre. The top six roads recorded reductions of 75% or above by implementing measures including reducing speed limits and improving enforcement, revised road markings and signage, increased lighting and resurfacing.

The largest single cause of death on the network was identified as run-off road crashes (30%) while crashes at junctions accounted for 30% of serious injury on the network. The report comes against a background of a 4% increase in road deaths (1,730 in 2015 to 1,792 in 2016) with half occurring on non-built-up roads (5% on motorways).

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cost benefit: Wichita eases workzone congestion
    July 8, 2019
    Achieving higher diversion rates has helped one Kansas city to make traffic flow more efficient around workzones. David Crawford examines what’s behind a 10:1 benefit-to-cost ratio in Wichita Around 10% of highway congestion in the US results from delays in workzones, leading to an estimated annual loss of $700 million in fuel costs alone. The lack of accessible real-time traffic information to help motorists minimise their inconvenience – particularly at peak times - is a major contributor. One solut
    Read More
  • One in seven UK drivers would cross a level crossing illegally, says study
    October 5, 2018
    One in seven UK drivers would drive over a level crossing before the barrier or gate has opened, according to new research. Research agency Populus carried out a study on behalf of Network Rail which reveals six UK drivers have been killed at level crossings in the last five years. There are also around 46 incidents every week in the UK involving vehicles at level crossings – a third of which are caused by lorries, followed by cars at 28%. According to the report, one in nine drivers would go over a l
    Read More
  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a
    Read More
  • AV drivers need help for safe handovers, says RAC
    July 19, 2019
    Drivers will need help preparing for unexpected situations where their autonomous vehicle (AV) hands back control, warns the RAC Foundation. RAC carried out a study in the UK with the Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham on 49 people of varying ages using a driving simulator on a ‘commute-style’ journey for five days in a row. During the trial, the drivers demonstrated significant lateral movement (lane swerving) when control was handed back to them, even after being provided
    Read More

Highlighted Content