Overall, the quality and performance of road markings in the UK is now back to 2006 levels — with 10 per cent of all markings requiring immediate replacement and a total of nearly a quarter of all road markings requiring scheduled replacement in the next 12 months. The conclusions of the LifeLines Survey are clear: we need investment in the most basic and cost-effective road safety mechanism — road markings, and the network should be brought up to the minimum standard immediately. The true cost of failing to do so is not only financial but is in saving the lives of road users. An amendment to the Specification for Highways Works (SHW) to promote the use of higher specification materials laid 150mm wide should be considered by the Department for Transport. This would provide safer roads with more durable markings. Road authorities need to examine closely the correlation between the quality of road safety markings and the safety of roads. In particular, the Highways Agency needs to do more to ensure that its own technical directives and the standards it has set are met. (Author/publisher)
Abstract