2. Reducing disruption for the motorist
15. To reduce the impact of maintenance work on the
motorist, the Agency now carries out more work at night and during
off-peak times of the day. But the Agency is still not doing enough.
Roadworks lead to accidents. A 1994 study found that the accident
rate at roadworks on motorways was 130% higher than at sites without
roadworks and was on the increase, while accident risks were falling
elsewhere on the network. Since then, the Agency has increased
the use of speed cameras and other techniques to improve safety
but is only now examining whether accident rates at roadworks
are being reduced as a result.[17]
16. The Agency cannot undertake all major work on
motorways and trunk roads without closing some lanes. To reduce
disruption to the motorist, the Agency was using 'lane rentals'
involving the payment of a bonus to contractors if they finished
works early and a penalty charge if they finished late. The clear
financial discipline brought by lane rentals was successful in
reducing the time taken to carry out maintenance work, yet the
Agency has now largely phased out lane rentals in the belief that
its new contracts will incentivise contractors to complete roadworks
as quickly as possible and keep lanes open as much as possible
during the course of the work.[18]
17. The Agency said it carried out spot checks on
the availability of lanes so that roads did not remain coned-off
unnecessarily. Lanes are still coned off, however, with no evidence
of ongoing work. Rather than discourage or prohibit coning-off
where no works are ongoing, the Agency's Road Users Charter targets
allow it so long as the reasons are displayed to the motorist.
They also tolerate one in ten roadworks not re-opening lanes on
time. The Agency acknowledged that motorists were not given enough
information about where maintenance work was being carried out
and the nature of that work.[19]
18. Winter weather at the end of January 2003 exposed
major deficiencies in the Agency's gritting and emergency response
procedures. Despite relatively light snowfalls, and advance warning
that temperatures were set to drop, the Agency's contractor still
failed to prevent severe disruption to the road network in the
East of England. Gritting lorries were sent out too late to stop
the roads from icing over, while poor emergency response left
many motorists stranded in their cars. The Agency accepted that
the contractor had not handled the situation well or made the
right judgements, particularly about the time when gritting lorries
were sent out. The Agency agreed that there were wider lessons
for its overall approach to winter maintenance, for co-ordination
with the police and other bodies, and communications with motorists
when responding to severe disruption of the network.[20]
17 C&AG's Report, paras 6.11, 6.14 Back
18
Qq 7, 106-109; C&AG's Report, paras 6.8-6.9 Back
19
Qq 87-88; C&AG's Report, Figure 16 Back
20
Qq 15-16 Back
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