Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

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• Area 9

Area Road Users' Satisfaction Surveys

In Area 9, we are listening to our customers and to find out what they think. In order to gauge perception and track progress, we carry out a survey called the Area Road User Satisfaction Survey on a rolling 6-monthly basis.

We are interested in our customer's views on a range of measures so that we, the Highways Agency and our service provider in Area 9, Amey, can look to make further improvements to the strategic road network.

In the latest survey October 2010 to March 2011, a sample of 405 respondents took part, selected at random but based on their proximity to the Highways Agency network.

For the full results please see http://www.highways.gov.uk/customer/25234.aspx

Results October 2010 to March 2011

Summary of customer feeling in Area 9

• The vast majority (87%) of respondents were either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with travelling on Agency motorways or trunk roads in Area 9. 
• Almost two thirds (65%) felt safe on Area 9's roads, above the national average with other people's driving being the main reason for feeling unsafe.
• The road surfaces have been classed as "generally good" 
• Standards over debris, rubbish and litter have been maintained
• Managed Motorways are found to improve traffic flows

Below, is a break down of the individual areas of questioning:

Awareness

These questions were posed to see if people know who the Highways Agency are and what they do:

On this survey 82% (76% last survey) of those interviewed were aware of the Highways Agency.  Over half knew of the Agency from their vehicles on the network with a further 18% from road signs. The Agency's work in the media accounted for 26% of the awareness in the region.

The awareness of the Highways Agency in the West Midlands is above the national average (82% vs. 79%).

Frequency of Road Use

Over half of respondents use the network frequently, 55%, with 75% saying they use the M6. The M5 (65%) and M42 (59%) were the second and third most frequently used motorways with the A38 (52%) and A5 (43%) making up the top five and being the most frequently used trunk roads.

Safety

65% of people said that they feel safe on our roads, a slight decrease from the previous survey (67%), however more than half (52%) of those who felt unsafe said it was due to other people's driving. Speed of traffic and Lorries were other reasons for people to feel unsafe.
When asked what could be done to improve safety in Area 9, twenty people felt more road maintenance would improve safety whilst others thought lowering speed limits and increasing patrols on the roads would help. Interestingly, 19 people didn't feel there was anything else the Highways Agency could do to improve safety.

The Highways Agency works closely with its service provider Amey to plan and design works that will improve safety for road users and other stakeholders. Resurfacing using anti-skid materials, central reserve barrier replacement and installation of traffic lights are just some of the measures looked at to ensure our roads are safe for our customers.

Road conditions:

Quality of the road surface

Respondents were asked what they thought of the quality of the road surfaces in Area 9. Eighty percent of respondents said that the road surface in Area 9 was generally good. This is similar to the national average (79%) and previous findings (81%).

Maintenance: Grass Cutting / Vegetation

As part of the survey, we ask people if they had seen any vegetation (plants, trees or shrubberies) that were causing a danger to road users. Only 4% of people said that they had, and these details have been captured and passed on to our service provider Amey for investigation. An impressive 93% of respondents thought that the grass was cut short to an even length and that the vegetation was not overgrown.

This is due to the cyclic maintenance programme undertaken by our service provider. The focus for Amey is to ensure that vegetation does not impact on road safety, so priority will be given to overhanging trees and vegetation that may obstruct signs or visibility at junctions.

In areas where grassland may appear unmanaged, it may be that programmed cutting, carried out over a period years is undertaken to ensure the balance between biodiversity and visual appearance. Grassland is a wonderful habitat for many species, including small mammals, reptiles, birds and insects - many of which are protected species. It also provides a rich tapestry of wildflowers including orchid, oxeye daisy and campion.

Cleanliness of the Network: Debris, Rubbish and Litter

In line with last year's results, 86% of those interviewed thought that the roads were clear from debris. Most people thought that the motorways and trunk roads were generally free from litter (90% and 89% respectively). This trend has remained consistently high over recent years.

There were some examples provided of where litter had been seen so we will ensure our crews and litter pickers are aware of all the areas mentioned as we pride ourselves on keeping our network as free from litter as possible.

Interestingly, when asked who was responsible for ensuring motorways and trunk roads are free from litter only 26% of people saw it as their own responsibility, with over three quarters of people saying it should be the Highways Agency or Local Council. On a positive note, this is an increase from 22% of people in the previous survey, suggesting our Bag it Bin it litter campaign has reached some road users in the region.

Debris and rubbish is our description of discarded items causing a danger to the road e.g. things falling off goods vehicles, tyre debris, dead animals.  These items are picked up from the roads by our Incident Support Units.
Litter is slightly different in that it is, in the main, thrown out of vehicle windows. We would welcome the help of all travelling on our network by ensuring that debris, rubbish and litter is not thrown onto the carriageway but taken home.

Road Signs

The majority of respondents were satisfied with permanent road signs in Area 9 (88%). Those who we're unhappy cited a range of reasons, including confusion, too many signs and issues associated with visibility.

The feedback received has been fed back into our service provider to see if any improvements can be made.

Following a major incident resulting in the closure of a Highways Agency road, we utilise a network of permanent emergency diversion routes. Over half of respondents who had seen permanent emergency diversion signs had actually followed them (51%).

Of those who didn't follow the signs - local people knew another route, some journey's had finished before the end of the diversion and others followed their satellite navigation systems. It is important to remember that the emergency diversion route has been designed and agreed in consultation with the local councils and that they provide a safe, agreed route around the obstruction.

With regard to information at roadworks, 42% of respondent who had travelled through roadworks said there had been signs telling them the reason for the works. The Highways Agency uses a range of signs including black on yellow signage, variable message signs above the carriageway as well as portable electronic signs - all designed to relay information to road users.

Some signage however, is not erected by the Highways Agency or its service providers and can be distracting or dangerous. Roadside Advertising had been noticed by two thirds of respondents. A third of people said it was distracting and 15% thought it was dangerous.This view has increase from the last survey where 26% and 11% had these views respectively.

The Agency has no legislative powers to stop people advertising on private land as this is covered by local authority planning regulations.   However, we can object to Local Authorities on safety grounds and this follows a set legal process.

Congestion

67% of interviewees had experienced congestion on the Area 9 road network. This is in line with the previous findings (66%) but lower than the national average of 71%.

Just less than a third of respondents had experienced delay as a result of congestion, with the M6 being cited as the most common road for congestion.

We continually monitor congestion looking at ways to reduce the delays.  Sometimes relatively minor changes e.g. repositioning the white lines at a junction or traffic lights at a roundabout can have a dramatic effect. Since this latest survey was undertaken, the Highways Agency has opened another section of Managed Motorways on the M6 between Junction 8-10A to reduce congestion at peak periods.
In the main, however, congestion is caused by incidents on the network causing tailbacks and delays - something which the Highways Agency Traffic Officers and Incident Support Units work hard to reduce the impact of, reopening the impacted lanes or carriageway as soon as it is safe to do so.

Travel Time Variable Message Signs

Travel time variable message signs provide road users with an estimate of how long it will take to reach specific junctions or land marks based on current driving conditions. 73% (74% previously) had seen Travel Time Messages in Area 9.  Most concluded that this had given them assurance about their journey time.

Delay Time Variable Message Signs

Similarly, if an incident is ongoing or congestion exists, the Agency is able to inform road users about delays using the variable signs. 74% of respondents had seen Delay Time Message Signs and 92% found them useful.

Managed Motorways

Managed Motorways is a new, technology driven approach to the use of our motorways. With Managed Motorways we will be able to make your journeys more reliable by controlling traffic flows more effectively through the use of this new technology such as overhead gantries, lane specific signals, and driver information signs. In the West Midlands, road users are also able to use the hard shoulder as a running lane on sections of the M6 and M42.

56% of respondents were aware of Managed Motorways, this is up from 43% previously.  83% of people had travelled through Managed Motorways and 44% of respondents felt it improved traffic flow and reduced congestion.

Local Event Congestion Warning

39% (35%) of respondents had seen variable message signs warning them of local flooding.   

• We are increasing the use of these signs in Area 9 to help our customers choose the best routes for their journeys. We also have a number of mobile VMS signs we use at roadworks or major incidents to assist you in making journey decisions.

Road Closures

83% (87%) of the people interviewed indicated that they would like to see the roadworks carried out over night and understood that the roadworks would remain on the carriageway for a longer period.

Whilst we try to carry out most of our work at night, particularly on the motorways, it is not always possible to do so. When planning our works we take impact on road users, residents and businesses, congestion reduction and road worker/road user safety into consideration.

This decision may also vary depending on the road in question and the amount of traffic that uses it at different times of the day.

Driving Through Roadworks

It was pleasing to learn that 81% of respondents said their driving changed when travelling though roadworks, reducing speed or in general being more cautious. However this has declined slightly from the last survey (83%), a trend that must be reversed to protect our road workers.

On a positive note, 57% of respondents thought that it was the responsibility of the driver themselves to ensure safe travel through toad works, which has increased significantly from 13% when the survey began in 2006. 

• Ultimately, drivers are responsible for driving safely through roadworks. 
• The Police and the Highways Agency agree the correct speed limit through road works and it is the responsibility of the Police to ensure drivers do not break this limit. The Highways Agency has no power in this respect.

Whilst some layouts and speed limits contribute to safety through roadworks we urge all drivers to play their part when driving through them.