A38 (Hansard, 13 December 1982)

§ Sir Peter Mills
asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if, as an interim measure, he will take steps to identify the most dangerous stretches of the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth and erect crash barriers as soon as possible on those stretches;
(2) in view of the serious accidents on the A38, between Exeter and Plymouth, if he will erect crash barriers to safeguard motorists;
(3) what it would cost to erect crash barriers between Exeter and Plymouth on the A38;
(4) how many accidents occurred and how many were killed on the A38 between Exeter and Plymouth in the last five years.

§ Mrs. Chalker
[pursuant to her reply, 6 December 1982, c. 404.]: Accidents on the A38 between Plymouth and Exeter, as on all trunk roads, are continually monitored. There have been a total of 365 personal injury accidents on this length in the period January 1978 to October 1982—the latest date for which accident statistics are available—and these have resulted in 20 people being
32W

§ Mr. David Howell
The seven grants awarded in the financial year 1981–82 under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 for facilities not including a new rail connection were for the purposes shown in the following table. The award of grant in these cases benefited the environment by preventing heavy lorry traffic on unsuitable roads.
killed. In addition, there have been three further deaths since October. Of these 23 deaths, six have resulted from "cross-over" accidents. These accidents have occurred over this lenght of A38 of about 40 miles, where the rate is slightly below the national average for the type of road.
Because there is a random pattern in the location of accidents, it is difficult to single out any particular stretch for the provision of safety fencing. Although I am satisfied that the £1.3 million cost of providing this over the entire length from Exeter to Plymouth is not justified, our continual review of the situation has resulted in a number of safety measures being taken here. Recent examples are some resurfacing works using latest materials which improve skid resistance, closure of gaps in the central reservation, and edge of carriageway marking which include new reflective studs over this entire stretch of road.