Safer roads to beat the holiday traffic
The Easter break is traditionally a time when the UK population hit the roads to visit friends and family, or just take a hard-earned break from work. This year will likely be no different with drivers expected to complete nearly 19m separate leisure journeys by car this coming weekend, according to drivers surveyed by the RAC last week.
Whilst congestion is never great news, the issue is compounded when accidents occur on the network and the resulting delays are made worse by the volume of traffic trying to pass by.
Being a road operator or maintainer there is always the balancing act of ensuring a safe passage on the road versus a pressure on budgets, which tends to result in the need to focus resources on the most dangerous situations first. This means knowing where the danger hotspots could be and putting in place appropriate route safety solutions.
The added challenge is that each situation is unique because of the road layout, topographical considerations, volume of traffic, time of day and so on. This means safety answers are not necessarily ‘out of the box’ solutions.
Over the past few years Clearview Intelligence have been able to work with operators and agencies to develop specific safety solutions where a combination of ideas come together to create a more effective result. It is our innovation and flexible products that are beginning to make a difference across the UK’s accident blackspots.
One example of this is on the A701 at Beattock, Scotland. Several serious and fatal incidents have occurred on the first 20 miles where the A701 passes near the village of Beattock, and a particularly hazardous junction was identified where the B7076 intersects the A701 on a sweeping bend.
Following a safety report on this stretch of road it was recommended that a Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) be installed on the southbound lane. This warning sign is activated when a vehicle is detected on the B7076 waiting to turn, making oncoming traffic aware that there is a vehicle turning ahead. The same solution also shows a ‘slow down’ warning on the same sign when drivers are detected exceeding a set threshold on the A701.
Combining vehicle activated and fixed messages in this way provides clear guidance to drivers on potential hazards on the road ahead. Tailoring the warnings to the situation on the road that the driver is experiencing at that very moment significantly increases the effectiveness of the warnings, ensuring drivers don’t become complacent, adhere to the speed limit and approach the junction with caution.
Clearview have installed many other innovative safety solutions across the country.
