The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has seen its efforts to improve the safety of road workers recognised with a Prince Michael Award, the eighth time it is has received the prestigious accolade*.
Representatives of TRL picked up the award (pictured) at the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards luncheon on 8 December.
The Prince Michael Awards recognises achievements in road safety and are presented to the most outstanding road safety initiatives across the world.
TRL won the award for its research underpinning Off Side Signs Removal (OSSR), a signing technique for road works which has enabled elimination of live carriageway crossings by road workers.
Presenting the award, Prince Michael said: “Your commitment and ingenuity deserve the highest praise.”
The project, delivered in close collaboration with Highways England (HE) and the Road Workers’ Safety Forum (RoWSaF), sought to understand the implications of removing central reservation traffic management signs on road user safety.
The research programme, led by TRL, consisted of a series of simulator and on-road trials which proved that road user safety was unaffected when signs were only installed on the nearside verge.
The research culminated in the release of Interim Advice Note 150/15 in September 2015 by HE, allowing omission of all central reservation signing at short-term road works on two, three or four lane dual carriageway roads.
As a result, HE has been able to reduce the number of carriageway crossings undertaken each year from 3.7 million to ‘effectively zero’.
Rob Wallis, chief executive at TRL, said: “We’re truly honoured to have received such a prestigious award. The OSSR project has helped to deliver what is recognised as one of the biggest single improvements in road worker safety in the last decade – zero carriageway crossings. This shows the determination and drive we continue to put into saving lives and improving road safety for all.”
*Footnote
TRL has long been recognised for its work in improving road safety and has received no fewer than eight Prince Michael Road Safety Awards, plus one highly commended recognition.
The most recent award was received in 2014, when TRL’s work on hazard perception testing, which was implemented in the GB theory driving test back in 2002, received the Prince’s Premier Award.
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