Central white line markings ‘serve no safety purpose’ on local roads, and there is evidence suggesting that removing them could reduce speeds, according to the draft Manual for streets.
The replacement for Design bulletin 32 lends its weight to Wiltshire County Council's decision to remove centre markings from 12 village roads where 30mph limits apply. It stresses that there is no Traffic signs regulations and general directions (TSRGD) requirement to introduce centre lines, and ‘little research to indicate there are any safety benefits on local roads’.
But highway engineers speaking to Surveyor this week said they would need more evidence before they removed lines from streets. John Smart, director of technical affairs at the Institution of Highways and Transportation said: ‘There’s no doubt that we could reduce the signing and lining on many residential roads. But this evidence doesn’t seem to be conclusive. We need to remember that 40 years ago, we didn’t have very many lines or signs, but we had very many more accidents.’
Andrew Whyatt, traffic and road safety group manager at Wiltshire, said the speed reductions – ‘and no increase in collisions’ at the 12 sites had provided the confidence needed to remove further markings. But ‘statistically, the results aren’t definitive’. ‘The number of sites we’re talking about is not great. The opportunity to consider removing markings only arises where we’re resurfacing 30mph areas, which doesn’t happen that often.’ George Lee, of the Road Safety Markings Association, was ‘very concerned’ at the proposed document, which he claimed was based on a ‘great deal of supposition’. Having a confused driver uncertain what a lack of delineation means could have ‘catastrophic’ results. ‘There is substantial evidence of the road safety benefits of road markings in a range of situations,’ he said.
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