Motorway roadworks in the UK remain the safest and best managed in Europe, especially a 3km stretch of works on the M25, according to a new survey by the Eurotest consortium.
The refurbishment of Holmesdale tunnel, near Enfield, just missed out on Europe’s top accolade, taking second place to a roadworks site in Austria. However, a tally of six UK sites earned Britain the top spot by Eurotest, of which the AA is a leading member.
Highways Agency statistics show that, during 1.7M hours of work on the Holmesdale tunnel operation, not a single accident was reported.
The UK’s score of 83% of sites rated good or very good compared with the European average of 40%.
The inspectors particularly praised UK sites for well-signed speed cameras, traffic lanes which are wide, well-marked and in good condition, and clearly-visible signs.
Paul Watters, head of AA Public Affairs, said: ‘At least we can take some comfort that, when we carry out roadworks, we manage traffic and safety better than our European neighbours, despite having some of the heaviest traffic.
‘There is no room for complacency, however, and the Highways Agency needs to keep improving control of and techniques at roadwork sites.’
The AA recommends the Highways Agency adopts innovative concepts which work in other parts of Europe, such as Austria’s sad-to-smiley faces that indicate the remaining length of a roadworks stretch, and Belgium’s flag-waving mannequin which encourages drivers to slow down before entering a set of roadworks.
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