Managing road safety

We are committed to making sure our roads are safe and fit for purpose.

Information shared by Wiltshire Police on reported road traffic collisions, is used to assess the safety of our roads.

Every year officers undertake a review of all reported injury accidents that have occurred in Swindon. This covers both the last 12 months and the last 5 years in order to identify emerging patterns in accidents. This covers the borough and specific sites where multiple accidents have occurred.

Injury accident data is examined alongside a variety of other data such as:

• traffic speeds and volumes
• road surface skid resistance levels
• qualitative input from Wiltshire Police 

Using this approach to road safety, officers try to identify locations and trends where effective solutions may be identified. These can be delivered to offer maximum improvement in road safety for Swindon's road users.

The statement 'someone will be killed if you do not do something!', is often made to councils where local people believe there is a danger due to driver behaviour on the roads. There is only a limited amount of money available to provide a wide range of services. Priority will be given to locations where there is a known problem.

Further information on reported injury collisions in Swindon (and nationally) is available via the CrashMap website.

If you have concerns about a particular road or junction please contact your local Ward Councillors. 

Approaches to road safety in Swindon

The three main approaches are as follows:

Education

We deliver a wide range of road safety training programmes to a variety of road user groups in order to educate them in the safe use of the roads. Some education initiatives are targeted at those motorists identified as being at particular risk, for example, children, the elderly, cyclists and motor cyclists.

Publicity campaigns that use television, radio, advertising posters and leaflets are also used to reach groups of road users.

Engineering

Where multiple injury accidents with similar patterns occur at the same location, changing the layout or appearance of the road can help to reduce the likelihood of further accidents. Schemes can include changing the alignment of the road; improving signing and road markings; or introducing traffic calming.

Enforcement

Wiltshire Police undertake a variety of enforcement activities, targeting drivers where there is a known problem and when resources are available. Enforcement may be used to address road safety hazards such as:

• inappropriate speeds
• contravening banned manoeuvres, for example, no right or left turns
• restrictions on certain vehicle types, for example, weight limits