Skip to main content

International Safer Roads Conference focus on highway maintenance funding

UK road planners and engineers attending next month’s International Safer Roads Conference will find out how to avoid losing part of their highway maintenance funding from the British Government. In the Department of Transport document, ‘Gearing up for efficient highway delivery and funding’, Robert Goodwill, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, warns that local authorities will be incentivised to take up asset management to make the most from allocated resources.
April 30, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
UK road planUK road planners and engineers attending next month’s International Safer Roads Conference will find out how to avoid losing part of their highway maintenance funding from the British Government.

In the Department of Transport document, ‘Gearing up for efficient highway delivery and funding’, Robert Goodwill, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, warns that local authorities will be incentivised to take up asset management to make the most from allocated resources.

It is proposed that every highway authority will receive baseline funding, with additional funds, as much as 10%, for those with an asset management strategy in place.

The Roads Minister will be addressing the Conference, which is being held in Cheltenham, western England, from the 18 – 21 May 2014. UK delegates will be able to share best practice to help prepare a strategy to avoid losing any vital funding.
The underlying theme of the Conference is ‘saving lives through safer roads’ and delegates are travelling from around the world to share their experience and knowledge.

Dr Chris Kennedy, chairman of the organising committee, says they will be discussing the ever-changing issues of climate change and increasing traffic flows, as well as how types of vehicles place more pressure on existing materials and practices.

“The papers being presented also look at how to achieve more for less in what are challenging times”, he explained.

The 4th International Safer Roads Conference is co-sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation, 1009 New Zealand Transport Agency and 3312 WDM Limited. Delegates will consist of engineers, practitioners, policy makers and other professionals from central and local governments, academics from universities and research organisations, consultants and contractors.

Dr Kennedy says the Conference will help encourage authorities to become more innovative to achieve best value in road and runway safety maintenance and practices.

“Studies have shown that driver behaviour can be linked with the road environment to produce innovative ways to reduce accident rates and these changes also need to use the appropriate surface materials.

“Many countries have been showing reductions in headline numbers of killed and seriously injured, but as the opening keynote speaker from the Dutch Institute of Road Safety will be discussing, these headline figures often fail to show that the number of vulnerable users continues to rise,” he said. “No country can afford to be complacent about its road safety record.”

Full details of the Conference can be found on %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.saferroads.org.uk Visite Safe Roads website false http://www.saferroads.org.uk/ false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A future UK government should focus more on potholes and road safety
    April 10, 2015
    With a national UK election looming next month, a future government must make road safety a top priority, said the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). Half of motorists in a recent survey of 2,156 people, and conducted IAM in March, said the current administration has not given the issue as much attention as is needed. The number one issue that the government should be focussing on, according to 70% of respondents, is the reduction of the number of potholes. The backlog of repairs now tops more
  • Nice in 2018: The Pavement Preservation & Recycling Summit (PPRS)
    November 17, 2017
    Siobhan McKelvey, president of the Paris-based International Bitumen Emulsion Federation (IBEF), explains the importance for attending next year’s Pavement Preservation & Recycling Summit. The event will be held in Nice in southern France from 26-28 March at the Nice Acropolis. One of the highlights for me that is provided by the PPRS platform is the opportunity to exchange on communication experiences throughout the world and how the challenges of promoting the role of a good road network are met.
  • Las Vegas to be site for Premier IRF Conference & Expo
    March 28, 2018
    The International Road Federation will host a gathering of mobility professionals and road, tunnel and bridge equipment manufacturers from around the world. These industry professionals will attend the IRF Global Road Conference & Expo, November 7-9, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. According to IRF president & CEO C Patrick Sankey "The IRF Global Road Conference and R2T Global Expo combine to offer a new international meeting point where leading industry innovators, researchers, and stakeholders acquire
  • RIA airport in Liberia announces major renovation project as Rwanda unveils a $5.9m upgrade of Kamembe airport
    September 30, 2014
    Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) is inviting expressions of interest in the expansion and renovation of the current Roberts International Airport (RIA). The Liberian government wants to create a “state-of-the-art airport facility.” This will help the facility to handle at least 450, 000 per annum in the near future and become a key hub for air transport in West Africa region. The construction works will entail setting up of cargo handling facility, cargo storage and processing facilities. According to Afric