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Road Safety - Road Junctions

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Description

Road Junctions on the Highway Network are locations where collisions may most likely to occur. Rules exist that motorists have to obey if they are to negotiate the junction safely. Different types of junction exist and depending on the circumstances one type may be better than others for either capacity or road safety purposes.

The Council is required to look at all reported personal injury collisions that occur on its roads. Where there is a cluster at road junctions officers will examine the causes of the collisions determined by the police officers that attended the scene to see if the highway layout was a factor.

Eligibility

Anyone can bring to the Council's attention a junction that they consider may be dangerous and it can be checked against police records.

Procedure

In matters of road safety the Police will always be consulted and supply the collision data for the site.

Where collisions have occurred those sites will be visited and traffic observed negotiating the junction.

Based on these observations, collision reports and police comments, a decision will be reached on whether the junction layout has been a factor in the accidents or if it is driver behaviour and failure to obey the rules that is the problem.

Where the layout is considered to have been a contributory factor a junction improvement scheme will be considered and funding sought. Where the fault is with the road user then a programme of publicity, education and enforcement may be drawn up.

Helplines

Highways and Engineering, General Enquiries, telephone: 01226 773555

South Yorkshire Police, telephone: 0114 220 2020

Charges/Fees

Collision investigation is a statutory duty of the Council so no charge is made for investigation.

However anyone requesting collision details will be charged an administration fee that reflects the amount of work involved in collecting the relevant records and producing them in the format requested.

A minimum charge of £100 + vat will be made.

Methods of Payments Available

Where a charge is levied for a service an invoice will be raised which will indicate the methods of payment that the Council accepts.

Opening Times/Locations

Opening Times and Locations

How can the customer help

Please explain the problem accurately and fully. If you want to describe a collision only do so if you personally witnessed what happened.

Many incidents are referred to as 'serious' when in fact no-one has been injured and the 'serious' description comes from seeing a badly damaged vehicle. Please take care therefore, when describing the type of incident that has occurred.

Make sure that you give accurate location details and if possible leave your own contact details so that we can clarify any points with you.

Application form references

Request an Assessment of a Dangerous Junction

Legislation

A Highway Authority is required under Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to study collisions on roads in its area and to take measures it sees fit to reduce or prevent the number of collisions in the future.

Response Times/Next Steps

When an collision problem is identified after investigation the time taken to implement any changes will depend on the nature and scale of the junction modification, the need to acquire land and funding availability.

Out of Hours Procedure

Generally it is best to notify your concerns during normal office hours, however, you can ring the general enquiries telephone number 01226 773555, anytime.

Owner Officer Contact Details

Highways and Engineering, General Enquiries, telephone: 01226 773555

South Yorkshire Police, telephone: 0114 220 2020

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't the Council provide more warning signs to help motorists?

Overuse of signs is counterproductive to road safety and produces 'sign clutter'. Signs should only be provided where an attentive motorist would misread the road layout or get caught out by a highway feature e.g. a bend or junction hidden over the brow of a hill.