A local primary school on a busy A road's benefited from a road safety donation thanks to a road marking firm to help raise awareness of the safety benefits of effective markings.
St Cuthbert’s Church of England in Halsall had its drop-off area and playground refreshed with new line markings donated by Liverpool-based L&R Roadlines as part of a campaign led by the Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA).The support forms part of its ‘No Margin for Error’ campaign that's calling on councils to increase the use of white edge markings to improve visibility for road users.
L&R’s donation came just days after a crash outside the school that left a car embedded in a wall, having veered off the road and over the pavement minutes before children and their parents were due to walk home.
Traffic is a major concern for the school which sits on a blind bend in a rural location, so visibility is already a challenge. There are no road markings along the side of the road besides a short section of school zigzags.
The recent collision happened in June, when visibility is at its best so the risk in the winter months is much higher, with darkness already starting to fall at the end of a school day. Unlike the yellow or red road markings typically used in the UK to indicate parking restrictions, white road markings are reflective, thanks to the addition of tiny glass beads to the markings, giving them a much brighter appearance.
Michael Littleboy, director at L&R Roadlines, said: “Visibility is a non-negotiable and edge lines give clarity to all road users.
"Too often the edge of the road is blurred by standing water, debris, potholes or low kerbs. Reflective white edge lines give absolute clarity about where the edge of the road lies, even in dark and wet conditions. That can only make all road users safer.”
Research conducted with a representative sample of 2,000 drivers from across the UK as part of the ‘No Margin for Error’ campaign found that 73% feel safer on roads marked with edge lines, with 45% avoiding rural roads because of visibility worries. Meanwhile, 40% of drivers in the north west said they had avoided roads because of inadequate road markings in the last six months.
Rob Shearing, CEO at the RSMA, added: “That nearly half of drivers are avoiding rural roads because of visibility worries highlights the severity of the situation. The pupils at St Cuthbert’s don’t have the option of avoiding a dangerous rural road, nor do their counterparts at thousands of schools across the country.
“Road markings offer a cost-effective and simple way to improve the safety of all road users. It’s time for government and councils to act by prioritizing edge markings.”
To find out more about RSMA’s ‘No Margin for Error’ campaign, please click here.
