IAM NEWS
Ten year road safety blueprint welcomed by IAM
Ambitious Government proposals for road safety targets over the next ten years – with important
new targets to save lives - have been greeted by the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists), the
UK’s largest independent road safety charity.
“The Department for Transport’s new targets are impressive. There is no hint of complacency
here and we believe that the declared aspiration - to have the safest roads in the world by 2020
- is excellent,” said IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger. “We can expect a more rigorous
examination of what works for road safety, and what doesn’t. “Reducing the number of people
killed and seriously injured by 33 per cent will take a formidable effort,
but it’s good to hear that the will is there,” said Mr Rodger.
But earlier suggestions of a blanket 50mph speed limit have been dropped from the proposals,
with an emphasis instead on targeting. “No two rural roads are the same - there are places
where it makes no sense to reduce the limit,” said Mr Rodger. And moves to help new drivers
tackle the difficulties of rural roads are particularly needed. “While 20mph zones outside schools
may seem a simple fix, there is little evidence that children get run over there. To explore careful
use of 20mph limits in primarily residential areas makes a lot more
sense,” said Mr Rodger. “Conversely, deaths and serious injury on the UK's rural roads are the
top road safety issue facing authorities and road users over the next ten years, as we have
argued for some time.”
Research by the IAM and EuroRAP (European Road Assessment Programme) in 2007 showed
that rural roads can be star-rated for safety and appropriate speed limits applied at the worst
locations. Those roads with bends and twists, hidden junctions and poor overtaking
opportunities should be the
prime candidates for a wholesale review of speed limits.
"A detailed review by local authorities to assess every mile of rural road should not result in a
simple application of an arbitrary lower speed limit that conveys no obvious message to the
driver," said Mr Rodger. "Even at 30mph some rural roads can be lethal – while others are
perfectly safe at 60mph."
"A joint programme of road improvements, campaigns to raise awareness, more enforcement,
encouragement to take extra training and including rural roads in the new driving test will
ultimately deliver results."
Bikers given permanent entry to bus lanes after fall in KSIs
Plymouth City Council is to allow motorcyclists to use bus lanes on a permanent
basis after a successful 18 month trial.
The council introduced an experimental order in October 2007, following a sharp
rise in the number of collisions involving motorbikes, despite a significant drop in
the number of road accidents generally. It hoped the trial would make bikers
more visible to car drivers and reduce ‘weaving’ in and out of traffic.
After monitoring accident statistics and traffic flow before and after the trial, the
number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured across the city fell from 22 in
2006 to 14 in 2008.
Road safety officer Tom Jenkins said: ‘Bikers have been heeding our advice
about not using the bus lanes as “fast tracks” to beat traffic queues, and have
been driving considerately and sensibly.’
[Courtesy of The Surveyor 23 April 09]
