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

  • 200 exhibitors get set for Interoute&Ville2012
    May 11, 2012
    Organisers of the Interoute&Ville 2012 being held in Lyon, France later this year say they are set to welcome 200 exhibitors, 7,000 professional visitors and 700 delegates. Held every two years and acclaimed internationally, the exhibition is dedicated to materials, equipment and technologies for streets, roads, highways and cities, bringing together professionals who work in the fields of infrastructures and land use planning. This year, organisers are creating a ‘smart infrastructure village’ to assist co
  • D-TEC develops demolition grapple line-up
    January 6, 2017
    According to Netherlands-based D-TEC, its novel new sorting and demolition grapples offer notable developments over competing units. This innovative product range is suited to excavators weighing from 0.7-50tonnes. Robust and durable, the grapples are said to combine heavy-duty construction with low weight.
  • D-TEC develops demolition grapple line-up
    January 31, 2013
    According to Netherlands-based D-TEC, its novel new sorting and demolition grapples offer notable developments over competing units. This innovative product range is suited to excavators weighing from 0.7-50tonnes. Robust and durable, the grapples are said to combine heavy-duty construction with low weight.
  • Roadtec highlights latest developments
    January 6, 2017
    Roadtec is briefing show visitors about its latest product developments, including the RX-600e cold planer and the SB-2500e Shuttle Buggy material transfer vehicle. Improvements in the new e-Series of the Shuttle Buggy include more resistance to conveyor wear and better operator visibility. Power comes from a Caterpillar diesel rated at 224kW, which meets the Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB emissions legislation.