Over 70% of car drivers exceed the 30 mph limit in villages and rural roads account for 30% of all road casualties in the UK. The basis of most speed management strategies should be to set appropriate speed limits and to achieve a reasonable level of compliance with those limits. The history of rural speed management in the UK is outlined. The Countryside Traffic Measures Group (CTMG) was set up to support the planning and implementation by local authorities of innovative rural traffic management schemes. TRL was commissioned to monitor the effectiveness of CTMG schemes in Devon, Hampshire, Cumbria, Suffolk, Surrey and Norfolk. Innovative approaches to rural speed management that were used in Norfolk are described. Reactive signs were trialled in Scole, Felbrigg and Felthorpe. Signs giving instructions to slow down were triggered by excessive speed. The self-explaining environment approach was introduced at Starston. Drivers were made more sensitive to the village surroundings using a `self-explaining' road design. Similar schemes were introduced at Blakeney, Stiffkey and Wiveton. The Norfolk Quiet Lanes pilot network has been developed to preserve the character of some country lanes and manage them for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and motorists to share.
Samenvatting