History of evolution

  • 140 years of motor vehicles
  • Red Flag Act
  • Speed limits
  • Speed management

A strategic priority

  • County Strategy
  • Crime and Disorder Act audits
  • MORI Poll
  • Community representations

A strategic priority

  • Best Value Road Safety Review
  • National Speed Policy Review 1999/2000 and ongoing
  • National Casualty Reduction Targets 2010
  • Local Transport Plan 2001-2006 and LTP 2006 onwards

Why?

  • One third of road casualties caused by inappropriate / excess speed
  • Risk for vulnerable road users
  • 1 mph drop in speeds can lead to between 2% and 5% drop in casualties

What is speed management?

“The encouragement of drivers to choose safe, appropriate speeds through the combination of education, engineering and enforcement.”

Vision for 2010

  • Link actions to new road safety targets
  • Focus measures primarily on casualty reduction
  • Reduce danger to vulnerable road users
  • Lower speeds especially in villages
  • Establish speed commitment in communities
  • Change driver attitudes towards speeding

How? ?

  • Revise speed limit criteria
  • Implement max 40 mph limits for villages (30 mph where possible)
  • 20 mph limits for casualty reduction
  • Develop route safety management
  • Improve signing
  • Expand speed commitment
  • Develop driver improvement training
  • Work closely with Police
  • Liaise with District Community Safety Officers
  • Co-ordinate with Education and Health
  • Set targets and develop plans
  • Bid for funding (LTP)
  • Engage with communities
  • Design for speed
  • Plan for lower speeds

Trials & innovation

  • Background research
  • New village speed limits
  • Speed commitment
  • Route management techniques
  • Revised speed limit criteria
  • Roundels (road markings)
  • Interactive signs
  • Safety message communication
  • Home Zones

Route strategy for a259 speed management

  • Seek to reduce both traffic speeds and casualties
  • Lower speed limit to 50 mph
  • Rationalise signing and markings
  • Reduced lane width
  • Traffic management to encourage self enforcement along dual carriageway

Route management results (dual carriageway section)

  • Up to 25% reduction in speeds
  • 70% reduction in casualties
  • Enabled introduction of combined pedestrian / cyclist / equestrian crossing
  • Maintained existing capacity
  • WSCC / TRL joint evaluation report

Speed limits - research

  • Tolerance of existing limits
  • Driver awareness
  • Trends

Speed limits - objectives

  • Speed limits should be appropriate for the circumstances and easily understood by drivers.
  • Drivers should be aware of the need to drive at appropriate speeds within, but not necessarily up to, the speed limit.
  • There should be wide community support for the relevant limits.
  • Drivers should have high expectations of being detected if they are over the speed limit.

Safety measures

  • Explaining the purpose
  • Press Feedback
    Daily Mail Feature inviting ideas to make things work better - innovation which Government could introduce if only they had thought of it.
  • Press Feedback
    Daily Mail Article XX of London writes: ‘Driving past roadworks in West Sussex recently, I saw a sign reading “21 casualties here in two years”. This should be adopted more widely because it makes you think about speed and driving far more than just saying “accident blackspot”.’
  • Candid Camera
    With all the fuss about the visibility of speed cameras, I thought your readers might be amused by this one (previous picture), in the village of Barnham, West Sussex. (The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 22nd September, 2001.)
  • No one can accuse the West Sussex police of not playing safe in this case. If you don’t spot it in time to slow down, you are driving too fast.

Designing for speed

  • Road hierarchy
  • Design standards
  • Safety audit
  • Outcome evaluation

Planning for speed

  • Community engagement
  • Travel modes
  • Accessibility
  • Road hierarchy
  • Streetspace
  • Streetscape

Planning for where people live

  • Retrospective actions

           or

  • Integrated design ?

Home zones

  • Low speed
  • Emphasis on vulnerable users
  • Community ownership

Home zone costs

  • Retrofit >£500k
  • Cost / dwelling say £4k
  • Integrated new build <£100k
  • Cost / dwelling say £1k

Home zone value for money

  • Safety benefits
  • Property equity
  • Community enhancement

Improving the outcomes

  • Plan for speed
  • Review design standards
  • Engage the community
  • Integrate design
  • Develop the street scene
  • Educate the motorist
  • Evaluate and review outcomes