§ Mr. Kershawasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made with experiments with collapsible lampposts; what is the object of these experiments; how much they have cost to date; and how much more money it is proposed to spend.
§ Mr. CarmichaelThere are about 14,000 road accidents each year from collisions with conventional columns. The annual death roll is about 300, and the total annual cost to the nation about £10–15 million.
Research into means of reducing severity of impact with lighting columns which involved some two-man years of effort, and was completed some years ago, resulted in the design of a mounting system which allows a lightweight column to break away from its base when struck by a vehicle.
Several trial installations, in places where new columns were needed, were set up from 1969 onwards. Of 32 accidents involving columns at these sites up to June 1974, three produced slight injuries, and the others only damage. This evidence points to savings in accident costs very substantially greater than the extra capital costs of these columns at new sites, and the Department is now considering policy, and the framing of standards. Breakaway columns would not be used wherever they might put pedestrians at risk. A variant design for possible use on central reservations is currently under trial.