White-line removal cuts traffic accidents

Wiltshire County Council has been testing 12 sites where the centre line markings have been removed in 30mph limits.

These include London Road, Devizes, and Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham.

Some county councillors, however, were concerned about safety, so the council asked Mike Winnett from the Transport Research Laboratory to give a presentation to the overview and scrutiny management committee last Thursday.

Mr Winnett said research had shown that where centre line markings had been removed it had resulted in slower speeds and fewer accidents.

He said the removal of white lines made motorists concentrate and as a result they tended to slow down.

He added that 95 per cent of road accidents were caused by bad driving.

But not all councillors were convinced.

Coun Paul Sample, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "Many of us feel that by removing white lines from the roads we are making it more dangerous."

He was also concerned that the county council could be held liable if there was a fatal accident.

Councillors were told the same scheme had been introduced in Norfolk, and even more stringent measures had been imposed in Holland, which had resulted in fewer accidents.

Coun Terry Chivers presented a letter he had received from Norfolk County Council which said that despite an initial encouraging response from motorists, it had decided to reinstate centre white lines because of concerns of liability.

Mr Winnett said there had been a 27 per cent reduction in injury accidents on the Marlborough to Salisbury road since white lines were removed in 30mph areas, but he acknowledged that the decrease was due to a combination of the removal of the lines and the use of interactive warning signs.

Mr Winnett said: "The removal of centre white lines is not increasing accidents. You are on to a winner and you should be proud of it." Andrew Wyatt, the county council's traffic and road safety manager, said there had been no injury accidents in Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham in 2001 or 2002 after the white line was removed.

In London Road, Devizes, where the centre line was removed in November 2001, the number of injury accidents had reduced by 25 per cent, from four in 2001 to three in 2002.

Chief highways officer Richard Lander said officers carefully assessed each site before introducing the changes.

He said: "We have said all along that we are undertaking an exercise which we believe will reduce accidents in Wiltshire, and the evidence we have bears that out.

"It is being monitored by us and when we have the results of that monitoring we can decide whether to continue with it or change it."

The committee decided by a majority to let officers continue with the trial.

The issue will be discussed again by the council in March after Norfolk County Council has been consulted on its reasons for not continuing with the changes.

The committee also agreed that for any future roads identified as being suitable for having centre white lines removed the council would inform the local parish or town council.