Committed to Increasing Safety & Reducing Congestion
Welcome to the safermotorways.co.uk website.
Each month we highlight key issues that affect safety and congestion on UK motorways.
Our long running campaign to speed up the replacement of steel barrier on motorway central reserves continues in 2008 although we do expect to see a greater take up of concrete step barrier this year. Concrete step barrier is proven to virtually eliminate crossover incidents and the need for the endless repairs to steel barriers that cause so much congestion on our motorways and major trunk roads.
Meanwhile, whilst we all wait patiently for this revolutionary product to be rolled out across the country, the death toll continues to mount.
A staggering 34,000 people die on Russia's treacherous roads every year – ten times more than in the UK. This is particularly shocking when both countries have approximately the same number of vehicles on the road. Now, with the help of British firms, the Kremlin's long-term ambitions may finally be realised with plans set for a £250 billion road building programme... read on >
On The Scrap Heap
Tens of thousands of cars will be reduced to nothing more than their scrap value now that Alistair Darling has decided to rip up the old car tax system and raise road tax on older car models with higher carbon dioxide emissions by up to £245 a year.
During this year's budget the Treasury quietly 'scrapped' the exemption from higher road tax rates for cars that emit more than 225g of CO2 per km and were registered between March 2001 and March 2006. The new system is set to affect families who will see their vehicles rapidly lose value as road tax could now cost half as much of the value of the vehicle itself... read on >
'Concrete Utd' 40 - 'Steel City' 12
That's quite a score isn't it? Now convert these numbers into years and you have the life expectancy of Britain's biggest players in safety barriers. Yes, steel barriers need replacing after just 12 years whereas concrete step barriers last 40 years. Although the Government has now chosen to swap steel for concrete, the upgrading work of this every-day life saver is being criticised for being far too slow.
Each year scores of motorists are dying due to the Government's lead-footed approach to replacing steel with new concrete barrier systems. Month after month we are seeing newspaper articles reporting on yet another death in which a happy family has been tragically torn apart. All too often it is a death which could have been avoided if only a high containment concrete barrier had been installed at an earlier date.
It is a sad fact that over 400 cross-over accidents occur on Britain's roads every year. In 2005, independent research led the Highways Agency to start using concrete instead of steel barriers and it was decided that all of England's 2013 miles of motorways would be upgraded. Unfortunately, since 2005 a dismal 62 miles of concrete barrier has been installed throughout England... read on >
SIGN UP TO OUR
FREE NEWSLETTER
Receive the latest
news,
updates and features direct
to
your inbox every month
for free.
