'Risky' Snake Pass set for £7.6m safety upgrade
The DfT estimates the work will prevent more than 93 fatal and serious collisions over the next 20 years, as well as reducing congestion andemissions.The scheme is going through the consultation phase, and is expected to be completed within three years, DfT said.
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Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Major update on parking after thousands complain of 'incredibly vague' rules
A government is facing calls for clearer parking signs in the UK amidst potentially 'misleading' factors The Department for Transport (DfT) has released an important update on parking after a petition was signed by thousands of people. Campaigners have called for clearer and more 'in-depth' parking signs across the UK and claimed that 'incredibly vague' details at parking stations could lead to an array of problems. The petition, entitled 'Increase regulation of parking signage,' asked the Government to consider potentially overlooked problems linked to parking signs across the country. For example, this may include 'an incorrect pay station in between the sign and the correct one'. While the DfT acknowledged that it is the responsibility of local authorities to best place parking signs, it believes current regulations are 'adequate' and doesn't plan to make any changes for now. It also stressed that 'appeals are possible' for anyone who feels they have potentially been misled by parking information. In a response published on August 11, the Government department said: "Local authorities manage parking signs and machines and appeals are possible. The Government sees no need to change current sign regulations. "Traffic signs for use on roads in England are already regulated through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. This includes those indicating parking bays and directions to payment machines. "Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for provision of on-street parking, including placement of payment machines and associated signing. It is for them to ensure that there is no ambiguity as to which payment machine relates to the parking bays in question." If you believe you've received an unfair penalty in circumstances like these, the DfT advises appealing to the local authority initially before ultimately turning to an independent adjudicator. The DfT's response continued: "The adjudicator may take into account the condition and placement of signs and the relevant guidance when considering appeals. "The Government believes that LAs are best placed to understand adequate sign placement for individual sites as they have detailed knowledge of their roads and the needs of residents and businesses. The Government's view is that the current Regulations covering parking restriction signs are adequate and has no current plans to make any changes." The online parliamentary petition currently has more than 14,000 signatures. If it reaches 100,000 before January 7, 2026, it will be considered for a debate in Parliament. The full campaign, created by Zoe Bread, reads as follows: "I call on the Government to increase regulations relating to parking signs to require councils to ensure they are made clearer and have clauses about what to do if there is, for example, an incorrect pay station in between the sign & the correct one. "We believe that the current rules, which we feel are incredibly vague, mean councils can say their sign meets the guidelines, even if there are factors that may make the sign misleading. "We believe that if the rules were more in-depth and accounted for possible problems, councils would be forced to take responsibility for their misleading signage." You can also view the petition in full here.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Fury as train fares could soar by inflation-busting 5.8% next year despite services getting WORSE
TRAIN passengers could face a 5.8 per cent fares rise next year, even though punctuality is the worst since 2020. It would see the price of a Liverpool-to-Manchester annual flexi ticket jump by £120.30 to £2,195.10. 2 Increases are usually calculated by adding one percentage point to the Retail Price Index figure for inflation — which yesterday hit 4.8 per cent for July. The RPI is calculated by looking at the prices of 700 products and services but also includes mortgage interest payments and council tax. Fare rises could see a Woking-to-London season ticket soar by £247 to £4,507. Meanwhile, punctuality is at its lowest in more than five years. The Office of Rail and Road found trains reached 66.7 per cent of station stops on time in the year to July 19 — the worst since the year to May 2020. Labour is nationalising operators as contracts expire, with South Western Railway and c2c now under public ownership. Ben Plowden of Campaign for Better Transport said: 'The fundamental question for the Government is how to use its role in setting fares policy to deliver a more affordable network and encourage customers.' Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said: 'Labour's election promises ring hollow as passengers are hit with inflation-busting rises on top of cancelled trains, driver shortages and chaos on the network.' The Department for Transport said an update on fares will be released later this year. Peak rail fares scrapped by John Swinney 2
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
This European country is about to test 93mph speed limits on motorways
Drivers in one European country will soon be able to legally travel at speeds of up to 93mph on a section of motorway as part of a new trial. It will be used as an assessment to see if the higher limit can cut journey times on a 31-mile (50km) stretch without impacting road safety. Due to arrive within weeks, it will be the first time that a European Union nation has implemented a 150kmh speed limit on motorways in a move that has triggered plenty of excitement, especially among petrol heads. But it has also raised a few eyebrows, given neighbouring countries have recently lowered their speed limits on pollution grounds. The D3 section of motorway from Prague towards the Linz corridor in Austria will test a 150kmh variable speed limit. Motorists can only legally drive faster in Europe on the derestricted sections of Germany's Autobahn. This will only be in place during optimal conditions, with 42 digital speed sign gantries - like the ones Britons see on 'smart' motorways - allowing for the limit to be reduced back to 130kmh (81mph) during bad weather. The variable speed limit on the D3 is a pilot scheme that was due to be put in place from the end of the summer holidays towards the close of September. However, the higher 150kmh limit is now expected to be implemented from the beginning of October on the section between Planá nad Lužnicí (Tábor) and České Budějovice due to delays installing the electronic overhead signage. 'There were issues with the procurement procedure – the submission deadline had to be extended due to numerous enquiries,' Radek Mátl, head of the Czech Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD), told news channel ČT24 in an interview in July. The installation will reportedly cost 55million Czech Koruna, which is around £2million. The 50km stretch has been chosen because it is relatively new and has few curves. But the 150kmh limit won't be in place all the time. In fact, the existing maximum 130kmh will continue to be the default. Only when conditions are favourable will operators up the limit to 150, which will be during clear conditions when roads are dry, congestion levels are low and there are no roadworks taking place. 'The conditions must be absolutely ideal,' said Jan Rýdl, a spokesperson for the ŘSD. 'There must be no queues, no slippery surfaces, and no reduced visibility.' The system will be controlled from the National Traffic Information Centre. Czech ministers have said the pilot will be used to gather real-world evidence regarding the increase. Transport chief Martin Kupka says the trial will help gauge public reaction and, most crucially of all, test if incident volumes increase. If the pilot is a success, the Czech Republic would consider extending variable 150kmh limits, with the ŘSD already identifying other motorway sections where it could be implemented, such as the D1 between Přerov and Ostrava or on the D11 near Hradec Králové. However, the ŘSD intends first to analyse the results of the test phase on the D3 and said it will revert to the current 130kmh limit if crash statistics rise. The move has come about following amendments to the law passed in 2023. The last time the speed limit on Czech motorways was raised was 28 years ago when it was upped from 120kmh (75mph) in 1997. Most drivers in the Czech Republic have backed the increase in the maximum speed limit on this section. However, road safety experts have warned that they could be problematic for inexperienced and untrained drivers. The move is also a major contrast to other countries where motorway limits have been slashed rather than increased. In neighbouring Austria, the Government trialled 140kmh (87mph) limits on a motorway between Vienna and Salzburg between 2018 to 2020. However, it was scrapped after roadside measurements suggested there had been a significant increase in CO2 emissions as a result. In the Netherlands, ministers lowered the maximum speed to 100kmh (62mph) during the day in 2020 for similar environmental reasons. But, in April this year, Dutch transport authorities partially reversed this move to allow some stretches to reinstate the previous 130kmh limit during daylight hours. Earlier this month, German police revealed that a speeding driver had been caught travelling on the Autobahn at a staggering 200mph - more than 124mph over the limit . The motorist, whose identity has not been made public, was hauled over during a routine check on the A2 highway near Burg, west of Berlin, on 28 July. Police in Magdeburg said the driver was hit with a €900 (£784) fine, handed a three-month driving ban, and had two points taken off their licence. The car was identified travelling at a 'highest record speed' by a stationary radar system known as an Enforcement Trailer. A display on the device showed what police called 'the highest record speed'.
