Skip to main content

Road safety contract awarded in UK

An important road safety contract has been awarded in the UK. The Road Safety Foundation won the work to review how investments are prioritised to improve safety outcomes by Highways England (HE). This deal was awarded by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Under the terms of the contract the Foundation is to review how HE ranks the location and type of scheme to deliver. This will focus on how these decisions are influenced by HE’s key performance indicators. It will also analyse how HE takes account of
November 7, 2019 Read time: 3 mins
An important road safety contract has been awarded in the UK. The Road Safety Foundation won the work to review how investments are prioritised to improve safety outcomes by Highways England (HE). This deal was awarded by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).


Under the terms of the contract the Foundation is to review how HE ranks the location and type of scheme to deliver. This will focus on how these decisions are influenced by HE’s key performance indicators. It will also analyse how HE takes account of the safety star rating of the network when making investment decisions.

The review will examine how HE considers safety outcomes in its economic appraisal of future schemes. This will evaluate the success of safety schemes, and how this subsequently informs future investment priorities. It will look at how cycling, safety and integration ring-fenced fund and safety improvements are delivered as part of major schemes.

Of key importance is that the project will assess how safety investment on smart motorways is appraised, prioritised and evaluated.

Kate Fuller, acting executive director of the Road Safety Foundation said: “This commission is an ideal opportunity to health-check the approach of Highways England to road safety in a timely way. This should help to shape and influence future programmes of interventions in order to get better value for money, save more lives and reduce injuries on our strategic road network. We are proposing an in-depth analysis, which will include detailed person to person interviews and comparisons with best practice around the world. The outcome should be of value to everyone in the industry, including local highway authorities.”

Commenting on the contract, Iain Ritchie, ORR’s roads performance analyst said: “We’re delighted to be working with the Road Safety Foundation on this project to review how Highways England prioritises its investments to improve safety. By highlighting areas of best practice, and identifying opportunities for further improvement, the project will support Highways England in achieving its long-term goal that nobody is harmed when travelling or working on the strategic road network.”
 
To deliver the four-month project, the Road Safety Foundation is working with global expert in road safety management Jeanne Breen OBE and Tony Ciaburro of Castello Consulting, a specialist in providing strategic policy advice and support on transport, infrastructure and environmental services to both the public and private sectors.

Related Content

  • India’s capital highway project will improve transport connections
    October 10, 2017
    Huge numbers of construction machines as well as plant and equipment are working overtime, backed by mammoth manpower, to meet the targeted completion deadline of March 2018 for India’s Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE). The 135km arterial route is being built with six lanes and surrounds India’s National Capital, Delhi, its National Capital Region (NCR) and the industrially developed North Indian states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
  • “Record” cash for filling English potholes
    March 25, 2025
    The transport secretary also unveiled funding for 2025-26 for National Highways, the English road agency, to deliver critical road schemes and maintain motorways and critical major A-roads.
  • Joining forces on safety'
    February 15, 2012
    The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomed the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, saying it will enable the European Union to join forces in tackling road safety at a global level. The UN move aims to reduce by 50% the projected increase in road deaths by 2020, and was developed with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 in the world. It demanded action to correct t
  • Norway mega-project contract for Fugro
    December 20, 2017
    The largest road project in Norway’s history has seen Fugro win a second major contract from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). The work on the E39 Coastal Highway is for the construction of a 1,100km route from Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in central Norway. This project is expected cost around €34.4 billion (NOK 340 billion).