Highways England have proposed to increase speed limits of up to 60mph speeds through road works, where it is safe to do so. The introduction of increased speeds is an attempt to reduce congestion and lessen the impact of road repairs for the public. But when is this safe to do so?
The reason for the introduction was very clear. Mel Clark, Head of Customer Service at Highways England, expressed at Road Expo Scotland 2017 that they don’t have the answers, their customers do, making it clear that customer service is at the heart of what Highways England do.
From this, the suggestion to increase speed limits has seemingly derived from what the road user wants. With the volume of roadworks increasing alongside the amount of road users, increasing the customer experience is of paramount importance.
However, trade unions are apprehensive about the increased speeds, with rising concerns surrounding the potential neglect of road worker safety, who work in exceedingly dangerous conditions on a day to day basis.
There are many reported cases of motorists driving into coned areas, and with the proposed increased speed limits this could create potentially lethal accidents, raising the question: can there be a safe place for this to be implemented?
Motorists
As a motorist the proposal is to tackle congestion and reduce stress of commuting. Highways England wanted to put this to the test by performing trials at 2 motorways; on the M5 between junction 4A to junction 6 at 60mph speeds, and at 55mph on the M3 in Surrey between junction 3 and 4A.
The test showed that drivers heart rates were lower when the speed limit was 55 or 60mph instead of the standard 50mph limit currently imposed during motorway works.
Meaning drivers are less stressed when they’re able to move faster… And in other news, water is wet.
From here assumptions can be made by which stress levels are reduced. The obvious factor is that commute time will be shorter, but a factor that would lessen stress levels could be the ability to travel quickly past heavy goods vehicles.
Most trucks have a speed limiter set at 56mph and are reluctant to slow down creating tailgating. This makes cars speed up, causing potential threats on UK roads. The introduction of higher speeds would reduce this factor.
Safe and sound
On standard road works, most sites have a barrier system in place which is tested to 70mph for the health and safety of highways workers. With these safety processes in place, the case for lowering the speed is weakened, especially with road works that are away from the live carriageway.
Maybe there is cause for concern if work is occurring at a close proximity to the carriage ways, or the layout of the road could cause potential threats to workers. In these areas it is vital that speeds should not increase, and where possible lower speeds should be introduced.
Highways England are looking to complete more tests before rolling it out across the highways network. But the need to factor in the safety of road workers and the different types of road will be a necessity for this to be a successful project.
