Highways Agency

• Area 13 Publications
• Area 13

Area Road Users’ Satisfaction Survey - Results for January to June 2007

Surveys of road users are conducted in each of the Highways Agency’s areas to gain a better understanding of the differing needs and concerns of our customers across England. 402 people took part in the Area 13 survey between January and June 2007.

Awareness

Over three quarters (76%) of those interviewed had heard of the Highways Agency. Of those that had heard of us, almost half (44%) thought we were responsible for maintaining trunk roads, with a slightly lower number (40%) thinking we were responsible for maintaining motorways – 18% had heard of us but did not know what we did.

• We look after the motorways and many of the major “A” roads in the region – a map of the roads we manage in Area 13 can be found on the Area 13 homepage.

Safety

Just over two thirds (68%) said that nothing had made them feel unsafe. The most common reason for feeling unsafe was other people’s driving (16%). When asked what the Agency could do to make people feel safer, 11% asked for wider roads and more dual carriageways. 10% believed that nothing more could be done to improve safety while a further 26% couldn’t think of a way that we could improve safety.

• To help raise awareness of safety concerns among drivers, we are promoting a series of Driver Information Programmes.

Road conditions

Over three quarters (78%) said that the road surface was generally good. Of the 15% that identified a problem with the road surface, a quarter (26%) said the road was bumpy or gave a rough ride and 15% said that it affected steering. When asked about road surface noise, 82% reported the roads as very quiet or a little noisy and 13% had not noticed any noise.

• We replace older road surfaces with quieter materials when resurfacing work needs to take place.

Grass cutting / Vegetation

Almost three quarters (73%) said that grass was cut to a short and even length with only 6% reporting a problem. Over three quarters (78%) reported that roadside vegetation was not overgrown, though 3% said that it was overgrown and causing a danger to road users.

• We undertake a programme of routine maintenance to ensure that roadside vegetation is maintained to a safe standard. If you feel that there is a problem with vegetation on part of our road network, please contact us.

Debris, rubbish and litter

Debris and rubbish is our description for discarded items that could pose a danger to the travelling public e.g. things falling off of goods vehicles, tyre debris and dead animals. These items are picked up from the roads by our Incident Support Units.

Almost three quarters (74%) said that the road was clear of debris and rubbish with another 9% replying that they had not noticed. Of those that reported some or a lot of debris on the road network, the M6 between Junction 32 and Junction 34 was named most frequently as a problem area.

Litter is our description for discarded items that do not pose a danger to the travelling public. The main source of litter is from items being thrown out of car windows. The Highways Agency is responsible for clearing litter from motorways while local councils are responsible for clearing litter from most “A” roads.

Over three quarters (79%) said that the motorways in Area 13 were free from litter with 6% saying they did not notice. Again, the M6 between Junction 32 and Junction 34 was named most frequently as a problem area.

• We encourage all members of the public to help reduce the litter problem by choosing to “Bag it! Bin it!”

Roadside advertising

81% of respondents had seen roadside advertising along Highways Agency roads in Area 13. Of those, almost half (49%) said that the signs did not bother them; however, almost a third (29%) found them distracting.  A further 21% said they found them an eyesore.

• The Highways Agency has no powers to prevent people advertising on private land. However, we liaise with local planning authorities and support them in the use of their powers to remove signs wherever it is appropriate.

Congestion

84% of respondents said the roads were free from congestion or that there was some congestion but they did not experience a delay. 3% of respondents said that they were congested to an unacceptable extent causing a delay of over 30 minutes.

We aim to reduce congestion through:

• influencing travel behaviour
• building and improving our road network
• improving our management of incidents

Driving through roadworks

It was good to learn that the majority of respondents (89%) said their driving changed when travelling through roadworks, reducing speed or in general being more cautious.

Respondents were asked what they felt could be done to ensure that drivers travel safely through roadworks. 18% of respondents suggested installing speed cameras whilst 7% felt that there was nothing more that could be done.

• We take the issue of driving safely through roadworks very seriously as part of our campaign to improve roadworker safety.
  

Further Information

The full results of the survey can be found on the Area 13 Publications page.