Extra support for local councils aims to deliver life-saving improvements on high risk roads in England
Drivers across England will benefit from a further £38.3 million investment into improving the safety of 17 of the most high risk roads in England, the Department for Transport has announced today (19 March 2024).
The £38.3 million will deliver improvements on 17 roads and comes on top of the £147.5 million already invested to deliver life-saving improvements on 82 high risk roads across England. Over a 20-year period, this funding will see significant reductions in fatal and serious injuries, up to as much as a 30.8% reduction on some roads. Improvements will include:
This round of funding is expected to save 385 lives over the next 20 years, as well as reduce congestion, improve journey times and lower emissions.
The government is on the side of drivers and is delivering a wide range of improvements across all roads, through our £24 billion Roads Investment Strategy, our 30-point Plan for Drivers and the biggest ever increase in funding for local road improvements thanks to £8.3 billion of reallocated High Speed 2 (HS2) funding.
Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said:
According to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), it is estimated that all tranches of the Safer Road Fund will save nearly 2,600 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years.
Once the whole life costs are factored in for the schemes, the overall benefit cost ratio of the investment is estimated at 5:3, meaning for every £1 invested, the societal benefit would be £5.30.
Dr Suzy Charman, Executive Director of RSF, said:
Steve Gooding, Director, RAC Foundation, said:
It also follows the actions government has already taken to improve road safety, including: