England's roads receive £50m safety boost

David Ross, Editor
Thu, 13 Apr 2023

The Department for Transport has announced a £47.5 million boost to enhance the safety of some of the most high-risk roads in England.

Through the third round of the Safer Roads Fund, 27 new schemes will be delivered, benefiting road users around the country by driving forward safety improvements such as re-designing junctions and improving signage and road markings.

The programme is designed to reduce the risk of collisions, which will in turn reduce congestion, journey times, and emissions.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that while Britain’s roads are among the safest in the world, the Government is always looking for ways to keep drivers and all road users safe. He said the £47.5 million injection will help local councils have the support they need to keep everyone safe, while reducing congestion and emissions and supporting local economies.

To date, £100 million has been provided through the Safer Roads Fund programme to improve the 50 most dangerous roads in England, the majority of which are rural roads. Some of the improvements already made include improved signage, safer pedestrian crossings, and better-designed junctions.

The allocation of £47.5 million to 27 different schemes has been based on data independently surveyed and provided by the Road Safety Foundation. The data analysed is based on road safety risk, looking at data on those killed and seriously injured alongside traffic levels.

According to Road Safety Foundation analysis, early estimates suggest that the £47.5 million investment should prevent around 760 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years, with a benefit to society of £420 million.

Dr Suzy Charman, Executive Director of the Road Safety Foundation said that the commitment and funding announced is transformational for road safety teams in local authorities across the country.

It will allow them to proactively reduce risk and make these 27 roads safer and more inviting for all road users. Changes include clearing or protecting roadsides, putting in cross hatchings to add space between vehicles which provides safer junctions like roundabouts, or adding signalisation and/or turning pockets plus including facilities for walking and cycling.

This additional investment builds on the government’s plans to recruit a specialised team of inspectors to build the country’s first-ever Road Safety Investigation Branch. The team will look at how and why incidents happen and build an enhanced understanding of how we can better mitigate collisions.

It also follows the actions government has already taken to improve road safety, including banning any use of handheld mobile phones behind the wheel and updating the Highway Code to introduce a hierarchy of road users, which places road users most at risk in the event of a collision at the top of the hierarchy.

The 27 schemes receiving funding from the Safer Roads Fund 3 are:

Ask HJ

Road debris has damaged my van - who is liable?

Road debris has caused over £900 worth of damage to my Renault Trafic. It happened on the A48, close to junction 49 on the M4 motorway in Wales. A tree and its branches were on the road and I could not avoid the debris (driving over it). Later that day I decided to go to my local mechanic for him to have a look for any damage, just in case. On the way there the alarm for low fuel came on, where there should have been over 3/4 of a tank of fuel there after filling up the evening before. The mechanic on looking had found that the fuel tank bolt holders had been ripped off. I have dash cam footage of the incident. Do you think I could claim against the agency that's responsible for the

For the claim to be successful you'll need to show that the damage was caused by the negligence of the agency that is responsible for the upkeep of the motorway. South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) is probably responsible for managing this section of road but they can't be held automatically liable for every problem that occurs. That said, the agency is legally required to have a system in place to ensure the road is inspected on a regular basis and that all practical steps are taken to maintain the safety of the road. Given the level of damage to your van, I think it would be worth contacting the agency and demanding an explanation.

Answered by Dan Powell

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