TMS Consultancy

Digital Screen Advertisements – A distraction to road users?

Digital Screen Advertisements – A distraction to road users?

TMS has recently seen an increase in enquiries to carry out Road Safety Audits on proposed roadside Digital Screen Advertisements. We have recently carried out work in London for the Piccadilly Underpass and Hagley Road in Birmingham.  It is important that these types of schemes are audited to ensure road safety risks are assessed and they do not pose a prolonged distraction to road users.

Digital Screen Advertisements are now commonplace on the highway network, however, they can also be a factor in causing distraction to drivers.

In 2018/19, research into roadside advertising was carried out by the CEDR, a consortium of three research institutes; SWOV, TRL and Vias institute). Known as ‘ADVERTS‘ or, Assessing Distraction of Vehicle drivers in Europe from Roadside Technology-based Signage”, the project outcome was the creation of a set of ten recommendations for minimising distraction from roadside advertising.

  1. Don’t cause confusion with road signs
  2. Don’t block the road users view
  3. Avoid complex locations
  4. Don’t use moving images
  5. Don’t encourage non-driving actions
  6. Keep it simple
  7. Minimise transitions
  8. Don’t dazzle road users
  9. Don’t have flashing lights
  10. Avoid overlarge billboards

These recommendations are available from the ADVERTS website as a full report, a visualised summary of the ten recommendations listed above and a recorded webinar of the project and its main results.

The proposed screens in the schemes we audited were varied in size and the types of messages they displayed, with the newer advertisements proposed to feature subtle moving imagery. Therefore, the auditors assessed each location against several criteria including; proximity of existing infrastructure, conflict points and critical road user decision points.

The recommendations helped the clients to determine the suitability of the locations and decide whether mitigation measures would be necessary to minimise the risk of collisions.

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK. 17 May 2018. The A4400 Queensway duel highway , passing the City centre

TMS has experience in carrying out Road Safety Audits and independent safety/risk assessments for digital screen advertising projects.  The fundamental reason for clients commissioning studies of this nature is to ensure the proposed digital advertising does not cause significant distraction to drivers and to identify any potential road safety risks associated with the erection of the new digital screens.

If you have a scheme of this nature that requires a Road Safety Audit, then please call us on +44 (0)24 7669 0900 or alternatively please email Lorna Styring.

Request a quote

Road Safety Audits

Stoke-on-Trent Transforming Cities Fund

Stoke-on-Trent Transforming Cities Fund

Since 2021, TMS has been involved in auditing the highway improvement works for Station Road and College Road, which form part of the Stoke-on-Trent Transforming Cities Fund (TCF).  We were commissioned as part of the Stoke TCF, to carry out Stage 1 Road Safety Audits in August 2021 and have recently just completed the detailed design road safety audits for the project.

Stoke-on-Trent were awarded £29 million by the Department for Transport though the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) in recognition of the council’s commitment to driving economic growth through investment in sustainable public transport. The funding sets out to transform how people move around the city, address current infrastructure challenges, and create better connections between the railway station, city centre and key employment sites across the area.

(Artist impression taken from Station Road Consultation link)

 

Station_Road_looking_west_towards_Winton_Square
Street Signs

The schemes on Station Road and College Road aim to promote active travel across Stoke-on-Trent.  They are designed to make it safer, quicker, and easier to walk and cycle between key arrival and destination points in the city. They will also link into other schemes connecting to Shelton New Road, Newcastle, and the city centre.

Together, the schemes aim to increase the number of people cycling, improve safe and inclusive access for cycling, contribute to improved air quality, improve health and wellbeing of residents by supporting sustainable and active travel, and support the regeneration and economic growth of the city.

The works along Station Road and College Road include:

  • A short section of bus gate in front of the station entrance, with access for buses, taxis, and cyclists only.
  • Removal of the roundabout at the junction with College Road to provide priority for buses between the Station and College Road.
  • New zebra crossings over Station Road on each side of the train station.
  • Narrowing of the carriageway to 6m along Station Road from College Road to Leek Road to reduce vehicle speeds and provide more space for pedestrians outside the station.
  • Relocation of the Josiah Wedgwood Statue to the other side of the road in front of the train station entrance, to allow for the carriageway realignment.
  • Removal of on-street parking outside of Federation House to create wider footways for pedestrians.
  • New single-lane approach on Station Road toward the junction with Leek Road, to provide room for wider footway.

The audit team are looking forward to seeing the project complete and returning to site to carry out the Stage 3 Road Safety Audits in the future.

Stoke Train Station

At TMS, we carry out a huge amount of Road Safety Audits each year in the Stoke and Staffordshire area.  If you have a scheme that requires a Road Safety Audit in this region or anywhere else in the country, then please call us on +44 (0)24 7669 0900 or please email Lorna Styring.

Request a quote

(NB: Header Image – Artist impression taken from Station Road Consultation link)

Road Safety Audits

New Pedestrian and Cycle Route in East Sussex

New pedestrian and cycle route in East Sussex

This year, we completed the last of various Road Safety Audits on the new pedestrian and cycle route along the A27 trunk road, East of Lewes, East Sussex. The scheme forms part of a National Highways improvement scheme between Polegate and Wick Street, which aims to improve journey times and provide a pedestrian/cycle facility along this section of the A27.

The NMU route is approximately 11.5km long and runs along the southern side of the A27.  It is predominantly separated from the major carriageway by hedgerows and environmental screens so that users are shielded from heavy traffic and noise.

A27 Cycle route (Dual Carriageway)
A27 Cycle Route

TMS have been involved in this project since June 2020, carrying out the Stage 2 Road Safety Audit, with subsequent design revisions, through to an Interim Stage 3 audit completed in December 2022.  At the final Stage 3 Road Safety Audit, our engineers Harminder Aulak and Darren Newbold cycled the whole route in both directions.  The audit team commented:

“It was a long ride and we enjoyed the views of the South Downs, even though some of the hills were challenging! It was satisfying to see the completed scheme having been involved in the project since the various construction stages. We met several members of the public during the site visit, who were delighted and enthusiastic about the new route, as it allows people to travel away from the main carriageway of the busy trunk road.”

 

At TMS, we have extensive experience in carrying out Road Safety Audits, at all stages, on the trunk and motorway network throughout the UK on behalf of National Highways, Welsh Government, Transport Scotland and Department for Infrastructure.

If you have a scheme that requires a Road Safety Audit on the trunk or motorway network, or any other highway scheme, then please contact us by filling out the form here or by emailing Lorna Styring.

Road Safety Audits

Road Safety Audits completed for London’s largest Royal Park

Road Safety Audits completed for London's largest Royal Park

TMS were commissioned in September 2022 to carry out a combined Stage 1 & 2 Road Safety Audit on the proposed improvements within Richmond Park, London. This was a unique audit for the team given that the scheme is for a Royal Park and as such, its roads are private and do not form part of the public highway.

Richmond Park, is the largest of London’s Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation.  Historically the preserve of the monarch, the park is now open for all to use and includes a golf course and other facilities for sport and recreation.  Richmond Park played an important role in both world wars and in the 1948 and 2012 Olympics.

During the initial site visit for the design stage Road Safety Audit, it was obvious that the Royal Park was very popular with the public, for dog walkers, cyclists, joggers, and walkers in general, enjoying the open nature and wildlife (the site is still inhabited by deer).

The objective of the scheme is to provide new and improved pedestrian crossing facilities throughout the park, with upgrades including the provision of raised tables and improved footway links. Also included as part of the scheme were new gateway features to aid traffic management (vehicle restrictions and cycle traffic calming).

These improvements were predominantly located on the main perimeter / circular route around the park which is approximately 7 miles long.

Richmond Park traffic
Richmond park cyclist

Following the completion of the traffic management scheme in summer 2023, the original audit team carried out the final Stage 3 Road Safety Audit.

However, as Richmond Park operates differently at the weekend to weekdays, with certain sections of the private roads closed off, an additional Sunday site visit was commissioned, as part of the Stage 3 Road Safety Audit.

The purpose of the weekend site visit was to observe the operation of the park and the different traffic movements at the weekend, where pedestrians and cyclist still have full access and motorised vehicles are restricted via the new gating system. The weekend site visit was also conducted by bike, where the 7 mile perimeter route and side road sections were cycled in full.  As the park is very popular with cyclists, this helped to give a better insight for this particular road user.

When the park was closed at dusk, where all motorised vehicles must vacate and the main gates are closed, the deer made a welcome appearance.

It was a beautiful summers evening for the audit team to carry out the night time site visit, which formed part of the Stage 3 Road Safety Audit – a refreshing change to some of the usual locations our auditors get to experience!

Richmond Park at dusk

We are committed to tailoring audits to observe peak traffic situations and can conduct Road Safety Audits using different modes of transport applicable to the scheme, to ensure all potential safety issues are covered.

At TMS, we carry out Road Safety Audits throughout central London and the surrounding London Boroughs.  If you have a scheme that requires a Road Safety Audit in the London area, or anywhere else in the country, please call us on +44 (0)24 7669 0900 or email Lorna Styring.

Request a quote

Road Safety Audits

Back to top