New reports on UK road accidents show that only 10% of entire road network in the UK is largely responsible for the majority of road deaths. They have also suggested that star ratings should be given to the roads according to their history and safety policy as these ratings will also help in simplifying future road safety policies.
After analysing new reports, Road Safety Foundation wants all A-Roads (such as deadly A9 highway, A243, A24 etc.) to achieve minimum three-star rating while other roads or motorways which have better reputation and relatively clean history to achieve four-star or five-star ratings.
Resurfacing, signage and markings were improved on 15 stretches of roads in the country and it has been reported that these roads have reduced serious crashes by 80 per cent. This improvement was worth £0.4 billion to the economy. Road users face risks on the major roads in Midlands region because of high density of traffic in these areas.
James Bradford, who commissioned the report and stressed on the change, is the engineering manager for the Road Safety Foundation. He further explains that the flaws in the road engineering and safety rules lead to serious accidents and cause deaths of citizens.
“Our understanding has grown in the past few years that the risks on each stretch of road can be measured. The in-built safety of road infrastructure, like cars, can be measured and star rated. We should not be driving five-star cars on one and two-star roads.”
Mr Robert Goodwill, the Roads Minister responded to the criticism and admitted that road safety is a serious issue and authorities will see if the star ratings can help in improving the transportation standards and life on roads. He said, “I recognise the positive impact star rating systems have had on the safety of vehicles and roads around the world.”
However, the roads minister admitted the criticism and gave a green signal to star ratings for roads but did not confirm when these practices will be applied on UK roads and when will we have a 5-star motorway or 4-star dual carriage way. You can give your feedback in the comments below.
