A road safety initiative implemented by Clearview Intelligence along a major trunk road in Scotland has contributed to an international road safety award, with the company also involved in projects that won three national awards in 2018.
At the annual Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards, Scotland TranServ was named the winner of the Innovative Road Safety Solutions category for a series of improvements across its network, including those undertaken by Clearview along the A75. The judging panel took into consideration various projects undertaken by TranServ and Transport Scotland, including Clearview’s improvements along the A75 where trucks were found to be a blameworthy factor in more than half of all accidents between 2006 and 2015.
Research showed KSI (killed or seriously injured) figures for the A75 were one-and-a-half times higher than the average for trunk roads in south-west Scotland. Furthermore, despite cars accounting for between eight and nine times the volume of trucks, accidents involving heavy goods vehicles were six times the national average for this type of road.
Using data from crash reports on Transport Scotland’s IRIS program, it was identified that truck speed was a predominant cause of accidents, alongside other contributing factors. A vehicle activated sign (VAS) system was introduced to tackle the problem, using Clearview’s vehicle count-and-classify device.
By identifying the speed and class of vehicle, the different national speed limit warnings could be shown to the passing vehicle via VAS to drivers traveling above the safe speed for the road. Since its installation in 2015, accidents involving trucks have fallen by 31%, truck speed has dropped by 5%, and all vehicle speed has reduced by 12.5%.
The latest award win follows previous success for Clearview earlier in the year:
- In June, at the CIHT awards, the same project along the A75 was highly commended in the John Smart Road Safety Award category;
- In October, at the National Transport Awards, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Manchester City Council won in the Excellence in Cycling and Walking category for the Wilmslow Road and Oxford Road Cycleway project. Clearview worked as a partner on the scheme, installing its SolarLite Active Road Studs as an alternative to traditional retro-reflective studs to highlight the rerouted cycle path;
- In November, at the Highways Awards, Clearview was named a joint winner alongside WJ Group and Highways England in the Road Marking Project of the Year category in recognition of improvements along the A38, where the company had installed its SolarLite Active Road Studs to enhance delineation and visibility along the dual carriageway.
“Our involvement in this latest award win has topped off a hugely successful year for us. This installation was the first of its kind, so we had to get it right,” commented Nick Lanigan, Clearview’s managing director.
“Since its installation there has been a proven reduction in speed and accidents, which has led to TranServ rolling out replica schemes on other routes across the area. We are delighted that in so many instances our solutions have proved not only to be successful, but worthy of national recognition.”
