eruptions on smart highways and by cars using autonomous technology will be investigated by a new independent body that focuses on road safety.
The Road Safety Investigation Branch (RSIB), launched by the Department for Transport (DfT), will investigate collisions on all types of UK roads.
Similar independent organizations already exist to investigate accidents in the air, sea and rail, but significantly more people are killed on the road than with other modes of transport.
DfT figures”>
The safety of smart highways has long been feared after deadly incidents in which vehicles stationary in lanes were hit from behind.
The RSIB will not analyze every traffic accident, but Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, told the PA news agency it should focus on “recurring issues” such as “concerns about collisions on highways where the hard shoulder has turned into a lane”.
A recent RAC survey of 2,652 UK drivers suggested that 62% believe hard shoulders should be reintroduced across the motorway network.
National Highways, the state-owned company responsible for motorways and major A-roads in England, insists smart highways are “our safest roads” in terms of the number of serious or fatalities.
A specialist team of inspectors are recruited by the RSIB to investigate accidents on all types of UK roads.
The branch will be independent and will be looking for lessons
Their role will be to find out why collisions have occurred and to make safety recommendations for organizations such as the DfT and the police.
They will also provide insights into trends related to new technologies, including self-driving vehicles, e-scooters and electric cars.
Accident investigation departments do not replace police investigations as they are not responsible for identifying blame or liability.
Preliminary DfT figures show that there were 1,560 fatalities on UK roads last year.
There was no significant drop in annual road deaths from 2012 until the coronavirus lockdowns led to a massive reduction in traffic in 2020.
Roads Minister Baroness Vere said: “The UK may have some of the safest roads in the world, but tragedies still happen and any injury or death on our road network is one too many.
“That is why we are setting up the Road Safety Research Branch, so that we can further increase safety for road users and also align safety measures with other modes of transport and the future of travel.”
Mr Gooding said: “The job of researchers is to look for background themes and patterns that link a number of collisions together and then recommend actions that can prevent them from repeating.
“This concerns the entire road transport system. The new facility could look at everything from the impact of pressure on commercial drivers to meet deadlines to the way we use smart highways and everything in between.
“The key is that the industry will be independent and want to learn lessons, not point the finger of blame.”