The Government's road safety strategy "Tomorrow’s roads: safer for everyone" (DETR 2000a) has as a key component of its speed strategy the development of a new hierarchy to assist speed management, particularly in rural areas. There is strong support from community-based groups and road safety professionals for the development of such a hierarchy, with some organisations having already produced position papers or reports (see for example ICE, 1996; IHT, 1999; CPRE, 2001). The primary objective of the new rural road hierarchy is to reduce casualties, and this is to be achieved by producing a framework for reducing vehicle speeds in locations where current speeds are inappropriately high. The Government’s speed review (DETR 2000b) highlights numerous research reports showing that lower speeds result in fewer collisions of lesser severity. The rate of traffic growth in rural areas is greater than in urban areas and accident severity is generally higher in rural areas. It would be sensible to address the problems in rural areas now rather than later, and this should be done on a strategic basis, rather than continue with piecemeal measures. At present, the speed limits (for cars and motorcycles) on the majority of nonmotorway rural roads are set at the national limit of 60 or 70 mph. Over the years, some of these roads will have had lower limits imposed for various reasons, and it is to be expected that there are many instances where the national speed limit is inappropriate for the prevailing conditions. The national limit of 60 mph for single carriageway rural roads covers a range of road types, from major inter-urban routes to quiet country lanes, but there is no guidance to distinguish between such roads for speed management purposes. In addition, very little is known about the speeds driven on such roads, although it is clear that on many minor roads subject to a 60 mph limit, actual speeds are generally much lower. The current speed limit system results in a great deal of confusion for motorists. Recent research commissioned by the AA Foundation for Road Safety Research found there was confusion about the maximum speed on single carriageway rural roads, and indeed that speed limits other than 30 mph and 70 mph were not well understood (Silcock, Smith, Knox and Beuret, 2000). The study also highlights criticisms and claims of an inconsistent application of speed limits, and surveys suggested that this was one factor leading to the abuse of speed limits. This study also concluded that the road environment has a major influence on the speed that people choose to drive. In situations where low limits were imposed (30 or 40 mph), but where the roads were wide, straight, with good forward visibility and with little frontage activity, the highest proportion of speeding drivers were found. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting