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

  • Ihimer Carry-s off INTERMAT Award
    January 6, 2017
    Italian company Ihimer has scooped a prestigious prize in the INTERMAT 2012 Innovation Awards. Its Carry 105 Electric Power eco mini dumper secured the firm, based near Siena, in Tuscany, the award for Sustainable Development. Ihimer will receive its accolade along with 11 other prize winners during a special ceremony organised by award organisers, the National Federation of Public Works of France (FNTP), to be held in Paris on during Intermat 2012 on 16 April.
  • Ihimer Carry-s off INTERMAT Award
    April 12, 2012
    Italian company Ihimer has scooped a prestigious prize in the INTERMAT 2012 Innovation Awards. Its Carry 105 Electric Power eco mini dumper secured the firm, based near Siena, in Tuscany, the award for Sustainable Development. Ihimer will receive its accolade along with 11 other prize winners during a special ceremony organised by award organisers, the National Federation of Public Works of France (FNTP), to be held in Paris on during Intermat 2012 on 16 April.
  • Tecnoidea Impianti plants reputation worldwide
    April 9, 2013
    With over 3,600,000m³ of water purified daily in more than 3,000 of its plants all over the world, Tecnoidea Impianti is one of the leading companies worldwide for water purification plants and sludge treatment systems. Its closed-cycle plants are aimed at marble and granites, aggregates and soil washing, tunnelling and concrete areas.
  • Guidance on re-refined engine oil bottoms: do they help or hinder performance?
    November 14, 2016
    The Asphalt Institute has produced a new 89-page publication on the use of re-refined engine oil bottoms (REOB) or vacuum tower asphalt extender (VTAE). Its aim is to provide decision-makers with the most up-to-date information about the material – although the document does highlight the fact that there are still unanswered questions about REOB.