New Inflatable Barriers to Protect Road Workers

09 October 2020

Highways England announced on October 1 2020 that it, together with partners Kier, is trialling a new safety incursion bag in the Midlands, with the aim of protecting workers on the roadside from motorists that mistakenly drive into work areas. 

The bag can be inflated in under 10 minutes and is brightly coloured, for optimal visibility. 

The trial area will be on a slip road at the A45/A46 Stivichall interchange in Coventry. Highways England have not provided specific dates for this trial, but they have said it will take place as part of a weekend junction and slip road closure later this month (October 2020).

Highways England’s Midlands Innovation Manager, Lisa Maric, said, “On average, our road workers report nearly 300 incidents of vehicle incursions and abuse every week. It is a far too frequent hazard for our workforce going about their daily job – and the consequences could be fatal.

“We are committed to keeping our workforce safe and doing all we can to ensure no-one is harmed when travelling or working on our network. We are also committed to investing in new innovations to help improve safety for road workers and users.

“We hope these airbags will go some way to protecting our workers but also help change drivers’ behaviours. We ask drivers to respect our road workers, to slow down near works and obey speed limits and signs”. 

Kier Highways Senior Project Manager, Mark Sheppard, said, “The Vehicle Incursion Airbag project will give us a great opportunity to trial something a little bit different, to supplement the standard approach to road worker protection measures.

“Traffic management incursions are all too common, so the chance to take a different tack to help influence the decisions made by some road users is worth exploring.

“Hopefully, it’ll help towards making the network a safer place for drivers and our workforce”. 

The trial cost a total of £95,700, with funds met through the Designated Funds programme. 

All of us at Marshall Minibus are delighted to see measured being put in place to ensure the safety of road workers. To find out more about how we keep our drivers safe, please call us on 01480 220444 or email info@marshall-minibus.co.uk.

Image courtesy of Highways England.

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