Investment and smarter speed limits can improve our roads’ poor safety rating, says FTA

Thursday 28 January 2010

Leading transport trade body the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called for greater investment in road infrastructure along with a more intelligent approach to speed limits to bring greater safety benefits to all road users. The comments come in response to concern arising from the Road Safety Foundation’s (RSF) report into the safety of England’s trunk roads.

Using a Europe-wide scale the RSF found that two-thirds of single carriageway trunk roads, where head-on collisions are prevented only by road markings, were worthy of just two stars.

Malcolm Bingham, Head of Road Traffic Management Policy, said:

“This report echoes FTA’s calls for greater investment in infrastructure and highlights the need for consistent funding of our trunk road network. We can’t afford to be complacent when it comes to road safety and the Government must see that a continual investment in our roads will save lives not to mention the millions of pounds that are lost every year due to road collisions.

“However, it is not just a case of throwing money at the highways authorities. One way to make an immediate and lasting improvement to road safety would be to equalize the speed limit between cars and commercial vehicles on these dangerous, single carriageway roads where reckless overtaking is a proven killer.”

FTA has been calling on politicians to make infrastructure investment a priority in post-election Britain. Investment in the UK’s transport infrastructure will improve not only the safety of all road users, but deliver greater business efficiency and bring environmental benefits too.

Notes for editors

FTA believes the possible benefits of increasing the speed limit for commercial vehicles on single carriageway, derestricted roads could be:

a reduction in car drivers making dangerous overtaking manoeuvres through impatience

a reduction in stress for lorry drivers – aware they are causing inconvenience for other road users

shorter overall journey times meaning drivers spending less time behind the wheel unnecessarily

improved fuel efficiency and reduced tailpipe emissions

For further information please contact FTA’s media team on 01892 552255/01892 552253 or, out of hours, on 07985 874248 or 07818 450425.

FTA Press Office

01892 552255
press.office@fta.co.uk