RAC Report on Motoring 2016

RAC Report on Motoring 2016

3.0 The state of our roads

3.3 Incident response and variable message signs Aside from the headline opinions on congestion levels, the 2016 Report on Motoring also looked at drivers’ views on the way in which highways authorities around the UK deal with major incidents on motorways and major roads. Two-thirds (66%) of motorists agree that Highways England, the Welsh Government, Transport NI and Transport Scotland, in partnership with the emergency services, do their best to minimise delays when major incidents occur. Only 11% of drivers do not think this is the case. And drivers largely accept that incidents and delays are a fact of life: 86% share the opinion that major incidents will occur from time to time and that major hold- ups are therefore inevitable.

Just under half of those questioned (48%) agreed that the authorities did their best to keep them informed of the reasons for major incidents and the likely delays as a result, with only 16% disagreeing with this view. In terms of the variable message signs now in widespread use on motorways around the UK, almost two-thirds of drivers (63%) say they trust the accuracy of the information regarding road incidents (19% do not). Six in 10 (59%) trust the accuracy of the travel time estimates on such signs (against 18% who do not), and 69% find these estimates useful (versus 9% who do not). Four in 10 (43%) believe the accuracy of these signs has improved over the past 12 months, while a very similar proportion thinks their accuracy has stayed the same (42%).

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