§ Mr. Stanleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Ton-bridge and Sevenoaks bypasses were constructed to motorway standards; and, if not, in what ways they are different from a road built to motorway standards.
§ Mr. HoramThe bypasses are not built to motorway standards but to standards appropriate to an all-purpose rural road. The significant differences between an all-purpose road and a motorway are that the former does not have hard shoulders, safety barriers or emergency telephones.
§ Mr. Stanleyasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the ratio of cross-over accidents to vehicle use over the last three years for (a) the Tonbridge bypass (A21), (b) the Sevenoaks bypass 421W (A21); and how these relate to the ratio for those roads on which his Department is installing, or has recently installed, a central reservation crash barrier.
§ Mr. HoramThe figures are as follows:
- (a) 0.016 accidents per million vehicle kilometres;
- (b) 0.058 accidents per million vehicle kilometres—on the trunk road section.
The most recent barrier installations, and the relevant accident rates, were:
- On the A2, west of the M2, 0.016 per m.v.km,
- On the A38, Branston to Wychnor, 0.093 per m.v.km,
- On the A38, Wychnor to Fradley, 0.105 per m.v.km.
In each case the accident rate was one of several factors which were taken into account before barriers were installed.