Skip to main content

TRL wins eighth prestigious international road safety award

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has received its eighth Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its work in improving road worker safety. The Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards recognise achievements in road safety and are presented to the most outstanding road safety initiatives across the world. TRL won the prestigious award for its research underpinning off side signs removal (OSSR), a signing technique for road works which has enabled elimination of live carriage
December 15, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (491 TRL) has received its eighth Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for its work in improving road worker safety.

The Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards recognise achievements in road safety and are presented to the most outstanding road safety initiatives across the world. TRL won the prestigious award for its research underpinning off side signs removal (OSSR), a signing technique for road works which has enabled elimination of live carriageway crossings by road workers.

The project, delivered in close collaboration with 8101 Highways England and the Road Workers’ Safety Forum (RoWSaF), sought to understand the implications of removing central reservation traffic management signs on road user safety. The research programme, technically led by TRL, consisted of a series of simulator and on-road trials which proved that road user safety was unaffected when signs were only installed on the nearside verge.

The research culminated in the release of Interim Advice Note 150/15 in September 2015 by Highways England, allowing omission of all central reservation signing at short-term road works on two, three or four lane dual carriageway roads. As a result, Highways England has been able to reduce the number of carriageway crossings undertaken each year from 3.7 million to effectively zero.

The award was presented to TRL, Highways England and RoWSaF by His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent at an award ceremony at The Savoy in London on the 8th December. Presenting the award, Prince Michael said: “Your commitment and ingenuity deserve the highest praise.”           

Rob Wallis, chief executive at TRL, added: “We’re truly honoured to have received such a prestigious award. The OSSR project has helped to deliver what is recognised as one of the biggest single improvements in road worker safety in the last decade – zero carriageway crossings. This shows the determination and drive we continue to put into saving lives and improving road safety for all.”

The top accolade, the Premier Award, was presented to 1466 Transport for London (TfL) for its CLOCS (Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety) programme, which aims to revolutionise the management of work-related road risk and ensure a road safety culture is embedded across the construction industry. The programme was developed following publication of TRL’s independent report of the construction sector’s transport activities in relation to cyclist fatalities, which was published in 2013.

Related Content

  • May 17, 2012
    Jaime Lerner, urban planning legend, to receive Leadership in Transport Award
    Jaime Lerner, visionary urban planner from Brazil and pioneer of globally successful public transport ideas, is the winner of the first Leadership in Transport Award, created by the International Transport Forum, at the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation for the transport sector that comprises 52 member countries. The award was conceived to honour public figures that have, through exceptional vision and leadership, made a lasting positive impact, resulting in major advances for transport.
  • October 7, 2014
    Recognition for Cubic and Southern Railway smartcard
    Southern Railway’s the key ITSO smart card, developed by Cubic Transportation Systems, has won the prestigious Putting Passengers First category at the National Rail Awards 2014 in London. The award recognises the close cooperation of the two organisations with the judges noting that together, Cubic and Southern have produced the first mass application national rail smart card. It provides passengers with unrestricted travel on most of the Southern network, stretching along the south coast of England, t
  • April 1, 2014
    UK organisations participate in EU green urban transport project
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), along with partners Transport and Travel Research (TTR) and several other leading UK organisations, are taking part in a 42-month innovative demonstration project which is investigating zero emission urban bus systems. The project, known as ZeEUS, is being co-ordinated by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and is co-funded by the DG Mobility and Transport of the European Commission with a budget of US$31 million (US$18.6 million EU fun
  • May 17, 2012
    Two initiatives announced to cut road works disruption in London
    A joint US$1.6 million fund to research and develop new technology to reduce the disruption caused by road works was announced yesterday by UK Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Confirmation of a lane rental scheme for roadworks was also announced at the same time.