Council directors have called for urgent changes to how road speeds are managed, suggesting the 60mph national speed limit on single carriageway rural roads was a 'particular concern'.
In a new policy paper, the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) called for a raft of changes including the re-introduction of safety targets and new national guidance on setting speed limits supported by additional funding.
The key local government body noted that speed classification in the UK is not aligned with the best practice safe system approach based on: safe road use, safe speeds, safe vehicles, post-crash care, and safe roads and roadsides.
'Instead, it is based on national speed limits, with much of the network allowing speeds which exceed the protective elements of roads, roadsides and vehicles against death and serious injury,' the paper notes.
'This is particularly notable on rural single carriageway roads where the national speed limit is 60 mph and urban roads where the national speed limit is 30 mph. LHA [local highway authority] speed management is typically based on casualty data rather than safe system principles and measurement,' the paper states.
ADEPT noted that the current guidance on the setting of speed limits is set out within the Department for Transport’s Circular 01/2013, which only supplies a broad framework.
Many local authorities develop their own speed management strategies creating inconsistencies across the country ADEPT complained.
'LHAs would welcome the preparation of a speed management toolkit that can be used by practitioners. This should cover all types of speed management initiatives, but particularly those suitable for deployment in 20 mph areas,' the document says.
Ann Carruthers, chair of ADEPT’s Transport & Connectivity Board, said: 'With budgets for LHAs having reduced significantly, road safety and speed management no longer have the long-term certainty they have historically enjoyed. This has led to a marked reduction inconsistency and approach across the country, with a particular issue for rural single carriageways and is why ADEPT are calling for a national strategy, properly funded and resourced.'
In July 2021, the Government announced plans to produce a long-term Road Safety Transport Strategy.
ADEPT also appeared to call for the Government to align with European Union regulations on Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), which from July 2022 will make the system mandatory for new models/types of vehicles introduced to the market, and all new cars from July 2024.
The system uses digital maps and speed sign recognition to detect and prevent the driver from exceeding the posted speed limit.
This regulation applies to Northern Ireland but no decision has been made on whether the rest of the UK will adopt the requirement.
ADEPT pointed out that embedding ISA 'could encourage greater compliance or behaviour change, particularly by drivers who accidentally exceed the speed limit'.
It also suggested the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme should be scrapped, pointing out that it was found to have only reduced reoffending by 2.1% and there was 'no statistically significant link between course participation and injury'.
'Given the low impact on reoffending, the government should consider whether money spent on this scheme could be better spend on other road safety initiatives that target behavioural change.'
