§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the dual carriageway roads other than motorways on which the provision of central crash barriers has been authorised in the last five years, the lengths of road involved and the number of accidents involving death or serious injury which occured on the sections concerned in the two years prior to the authorisation of barrier provision.
§ Mr. MarksThe only authorisations by the Department for installation of barrier on existing all-purpose roads since the qualifying requirements was introduced in 1973 have been on the A2.
The three lengths totalling 11 km from Swanscombe Cutting to Bexley had personal injury accident levels exceeding 0.27 per million vehicle miles but with an incidence of cross-over accidents exceeding 19 per cent.
Records for other roads are not readily available. In some cases barrier was erected prior to current authorisation requirement, and in others, local authority 274W roads are concerned, where, of course, the Department is not involved. In these cases the collection of such information would involve excessive expenditure.