New £47.5m Funding Announced for ‘Most Dangerous’ Roads in England

A new funding scheme worth £47.5 million has been announced by the government in a bid to improve road safety on some of England’s most dangerous roads.

The news comes after the Safer Roads Fund announced the third round of funding.

The Department for Transport (DfT) stated that the funding will help to deliver 27 new safer road schemes, which include new road markings, improved signings and re-designed junctions.

More than £100 million has been spent on improving England’s roads through the scheme so far, and the analysis of the most dangerous roads has helped to improve road safety in recent years.

Making Roads Safer

As drivers, we all do our best to stay safe on the roads.

But sometimes the way in which roads are designed means that they’re not at optimum efficiency. It’s often because when the road was designed, the traffic density was a lot lower and as a result, they’ve slowly become unfit for purpose.

The issue is that it affects the safety of all road users, whether that’s fleet drivers, commuters, cyclists, horse riders, and even pedestrians.

Junctions in particular have been a focal point for the scheme – making complex junctions simpler can help to increase safety.

Not only that, but safer pedestrian crossings and improved signage can reduce risk too.

Mark Harper, Transport Secretary, said: “Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe.”

The funding is aimed at doing three things:

• Keeping people safer
• Reducing emissions
• Reducing congestion

There is also the fact that the knock-on effect of safer roads is that people are more likely to use them, helping local businesses in the area in the long run.

Allocating The Funding

The £47.5 funding pot means that there is a significant amount of money being put into each road, with 27 different schemes having been selected through the Road Safety Foundation’s (RSF) criteria.

The analysis from the RSF is based on road safety risk, factoring in things such as those who have been seriously injured or killed, as well as traffic levels in the area.

It’s thought that this new wave of funding should prevent 760 fatal and serious injuries in the next 20 years.

Making the roads safer for everyone is clearly great news for anyone using the roads regularly, and fleet owners will know all about just how much a well-designed and safe road can make a difference.

While much of the focus is on what we as drivers can do, this scheme is evidence once again that more can be done to improve road safety by the authorities.

What do you think of the new funding to improve road safety on some of the country’s most dangerous roads?

Is enough being done or is more funding needed to improve signage, junctions, and pedestrian crossings to keep everyone safe? Let us know in the comments below…