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Poor Road Markings Costing Lives
Tue, 16 Nov 2010

A lack of white lines or poor line markings along the UK's most dangerous roads are putting drivers at even greater risk, a road safety group has warned.

The Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA) said that 80 per cent of the most dangerous highways in Britain have badly-worn centre line markings, adding that half of these lines fail to meet the minimum specifiable standards requirements.

It revealed that a five-mile section of the A6135 north of Sheffield had the poorest road markings in a survey of the ten most hazardous UK roads carried out by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

Three quarters of markings along this section were either non-existent or badly worn, the RSMA said.

However, the association added that seven of the roads identified in the latest RSF report had undergone special road marking improvements, which had resulted in a 74 per cent reduction in the number of serious accidents .

George Lee, national director of the RSMA, said: "The evidence is stark: eight out of 10 of our most deadly roads have the most deadly markings, or in many cases, no markings at all."

"The Government is supportive of measures that can deliver substantial rates of return on spending where lives can be saved. Road Minister Mike Penning has given us his assured commitment to road safety."

"But road safety engineering programmes have too often been viewed as discretionary by many authorities and adoption can therefore be hit and miss" he added.

"This report flags up some serious concerns for the overall conditions of our road network now, and central government's support is vital in hitting home the message that deadly road markings are costing lives."
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