§ The Earl of Kimberleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
In view of the success of the anti-dazzle barrier on the A.90 dual carriageway between Edinburgh and the Forth Road Bridge, when they intend to begin installing these barriers on the remaining motorways and dual carriageways in Great Britain.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Viscount Goschen)This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to my noble friend.
Letter to the Earl of Kimberley from the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, dated 15 February 1995:
Viscount Goschen has asked me to write to you in reply to your recent parliamentary Question about advice on the use of anti dazzle barrier.
The A.90, south of the Forth Road Bridge is the responsibility of Lothian Regional Council. They installed two short lengths of the plastic vane type anti-glare screen on top of the central reserve safety fencing in the summer of 1988 at two locations where the road alignment was such that headlight glare from opposing vehicles had been identified as a particular problem.
43WAThis type of screen was the subject of a trial on a section of the M.6 in Warwickshire in the mid 1970s and, whilst it was generally effective in cutting-off light from oncoming vehicle headlights, the installation had no significant effect on the number of injury accidents along this length of motorway.
The results of the trial are reported in Report No. SS 1058:1976, published by the Social Survey Division of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, TRRL Report No. SR 327:1977 and TRRL Report No. 955:1980. Copies of these reports are in the House Library.
I have no general plans to install anti-glare screens on other motorways and dual carriageways. However, should a specific problem of headlight glare be identified due to the alignment on a section of road, then the provision of an anti-glare device might be considered.