For nearly a decade, Britain has been among pathfinding nations in seeking to systematically measure the risk posed to road users from road infrastructure. Measured risk of death and serious injury on Britain’s motorways and main roads is now available — where over half of road deaths occur. Results have been published annually since 2002 by the Road Safety Foundation, during which time improvements have been tracked, particularly progress in eliminating very high-risk sections of major routes. Simple Measures Save Lives details the challenges and success stories in reducing the most serious crashes. It underlines the importance of designing out hidden surprises with self-explaining and forgiving roads. It shows how affordable investment in simple measures has made major contributions in achieving the best possible safety standards.Just 1% of Britain’s roads have shown a significant improvement in fatal and serious crashes. On the top 15, crash numbers have dropped from 494 to 190 — a 62% saving, an annual cost saving of £56 million. Once implemented improvements to signing, markings and surfacing, and matching permitted speeds to road design and function will protect users from harm for decades with nothing more than routine maintenance required. But the report reveals roads where risk can be 30 times higher than the safest routes. Single carriageways, particularly local routes away from the strategic network, are a particular cause for concern, failing to show the rate of improvement evident for motorways and dual carriageways. The challenge for the next decade is to help authority leaders and the public understand that the tragedy of routine and predictable road deaths need not be accepted. Over the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) we call for minimum safety standards on our busy high risk roads, and will work to demonstrate how affordable investment can benefit economic growth and social well-being. (Author/publisher)
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