SAFETYCAM PROJECT

SafetyCam praised for mitigating issues on diversion route

A14 Sproughton

Two SafetyCam vehicles were deployed in and around the village of Sproughton near Ipswich to minimise the effect of overnight traffic on diversion routes through the sleepy community.

Surfacing works on the A14 between junctions 52 and 55 required weeknight closures of the carriageway in one direction or the other for almost three months between September and December.

The B1113 runs parallel to the A14 along this stretch and is used as the official diversion route. Sproughton High Street forms part of the B1113 and is where the junction with Lower Street takes you directly to junction 54. As a consequence, the village of Sproughton sees a significant increase in traffic during overnight closures, much of which is HGVs.

National Highways engaged with Sproughton Parish Council to minimise the ‘Local impact of the diversion route’ one of the key principles of their ‘Diversion Routes: A customer view’ (DR:ACV) guidance.

Keeping customers happy

Dozens of houses have front doors that open directly onto the High Street, so keeping vehicles to the speed limit was important. With the B1113 being a quiet rural road subject to the national speed limit for much of its length, the temptation was for drivers to maintain their pace through the village. This would create safety concerns and a far greater noise which would disturb sleeping residents.

Carnell provided two SafetyCam vehicles to be present on the diversion route while in operation. Their conspicuous presence changing driver behaviour and keeping disruption to a minimum for the community.

Unlike static speed cameras which drivers can easily learn the locations, SafetyCam is able to set-up in several places in a shift, meaning drivers are more likely to slow down for the entire diversion route.

Results

At the end of the project, the results were clear: of the 164,394 vehicles passing SafetyCam at night, 98.6% were under the 30 mph speed limit. In addition, fewer than one vehicle per shift was captured travelling above 35 mph.

Working with residents

The A14 surfacing works commenced shortly after the Sproughton Village Fete, so Carnell attended at the request of Charlie Barber, Sproughton Parish Councillor. This ensured ‘well-informed customers and stakeholders’ by providing greater awareness of the upcoming road works and the reason why these safety camera vehicles would keep popping up in their village.

The newest SafetyCam vehicles have been designed to work in close proximity to residences. The auto-runlock and smart-charge batteries mean that despite the high drain of the vehicle monitoring cameras and computers, they run without idling to reduce noise and emissions. The engine automatically starting when the battery reaches a low-level and shutting-off again once it has sufficiently charged.

Improved Customer Experience

Carnell also received some fantastic feedback from a resident who was full of praise for one of our SafetyCam Operators: “I permit myself to contact you in order to thanks your company and particularly Ryan for his friendliness and helpfulness over the last few month while we were having traffic in our village during week nights at Sproughton high street. He has been very helpful such as placing bollards over noisy drains, helping us crossing roads or helping parking our vehicle at night. Ryan also found my phone which i lost on the pavement and returned it to us. My neighbours and my wife join me to sincerely thanks Ryan for his genuine and extremely friendly attitude towards the locals.”

Overall, National Highways’ determined approach to ensure the diversion routes were suitable for both the traffic coming off the strategic road network, and the residents in the communities through which it travelled, provided high levels of customer satisfaction. The use of SafetyCam and a range of other solutions also satisfied the recommendations set out by Transport Focus in their publication ‘Are we on the right road? Improving the road user experience of diversions.’

Diversion Routes: A Customer View

National Highways have shown their desire to ensuring diversion routes are better, and included the following commitment in their Customer Service Plan 2024-25: ‘We will publish an updated Diversion routes: A customer view. This will guide project teams on how to improve customers’ experience on diversions’

The ‘Implementation toolkit’ is available to NH project teams, with SafetyCam particularly useful for point 2: Local impact of diversion routes – Exploring ways to operate and maintain the diversion route to minimise the impact on local communities and customers.

Benefits

Safety

Reduced speed of vehicles travelling through the local community.
Increased safety of non-motorised users.
Less stress for motorists adhering to speed limits.

Customer

Reduced noise and disruption for residents from speeding HGVs.
Well planned diversion routes and better-informed road users and residents improves customer experience.

Delivery

Surfacing operations completed without interruptions – Several schemes have been stopped due to interventions of local councils because of diversion route issues.

“Just want to pass on my thanks for all your hard work on this one. As usual all the feedback I have had regarding your team has been positive and their flexibility and the contribution they have made mitigating the issues on the diversion is much appreciated.”

Kevin BarryProject Manager for National Highways in the East region

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SAFETYCAM PROJECT

SafetyCam praised for mitigating issues on diversion route

Keeping customers happy

Results

At the end of the project, the results were clear: of the 164,394 vehicles passing SafetyCam at night, 98.6% were under the 30 mph speed limit. In addition, fewer than one vehicle per shift was captured travelling above 35 mph.

Working with residents

Improved Customer Experience

Diversion Routes: A Customer View

Benefits

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