This article discusses the effects of a new set of safety standards for road works, to be introduced by the UK's Health & Safety Executive in late 1992. The Construction (Management and Miscellaneous Duties) Regulations are based largely on the European Commission's Mobile Sites Directive. Whereas responsibility for safety on a British road job has traditionally been placed on its main contractor, it will in future be shared between all parties involved in road works. Contractors will retain their current responsibilities, but clients and designers will acquire additional roles with greater responsibility. Each party to a contract will have precisely defined duties, specified before the job begins. Individual members, from the senior management of each company involved in a project, will be nominated as responsible for health and safety on site. The regulations will ensure the clear tracing of responsibility for hazardous features that result in accidents during construction; those people found responsible will be liable to pay heavy fines. A new attitude will be required among management, to achieve an acceptable balance between safety and efficiency and remove existing concern about potential dangers. Many types of accident, common ten years ago, are still frequent, and special attention will be focussed on the dangers of road widening.
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