Press Releases

Free Driving Courses for Young People in South Northants

8 September 2009

Young people in South Northamptonshire are being offered free driving skills sessions at Silverstone as part of the Rightracks rural road safety initiative.

The Casualty Reduction Partnership runs two hugely popular free experience days for young drivers in the county. As part of the Rightracks rural road safety project, two extra sessions are being held this autumn for young people living or working in the Rightracks zone. The Rightracks zone includes 54 villages in South Northamptonshire, as well as the larger towns of Towcester and Brackley.

Rightracks Drive16, for 16-year-olds to experience their first taste of driving will take place on Tuesday 27 October at Silverstone Circuit.

Included on the day is:

· Expert driving tuition in a dual-controlled vehicle in a safe environment

· Advice on finding a driving instructor

· Drink drive awareness session

· Collision investigation presentation
· Insurance workshop

Rightracks CarKraft Experience, for drivers aged 17-24, will take place on Sunday 18 October at Silverstone Circuit.

Included on the day is:

· On-road driving assessment
· Driving experience in a skid car
· Experienceof ABS brakes

· Important information about the dangers of speed and drink driving

As a Beacon Authority for road safety excellence, Northamptonshire County Council, as part of its work in the Casualty Reduction Partnership, has been awarded £1.5 million from the Department for Transport to fund the Rightracks project, which is investigating the problems facing drivers on rural roads.

For more information, or to receive an application form, email name and address to roadsafety@northamptonshire.gov.ukor telephone 01604 654436.

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Rightracks Road Signs For Rural Road Safety

6 March 2009

New road signs are appearing throughout South Northamptonshire as part of a rural road safety initiative.

The signs let drivers know they are entering a rural road safety zone as part of the Rightracks project which aims to reduce road casualties on rural roads in Northamptonshire.

As a rural Beacon Authority for road safety excellence, Northamptonshire County Council, as part of its work in the Casualty Reduction Partnership, has been awarded £1.5 million from the Department for Transport to fund the project, which is investigating the problems facing drivers on rural roads.

The Rightracks project aims to develop innovative strategies, interventions and solutions by evaluating the data behind the casualty problem on the county’s rural road network.

An area in South Northants was chosen for the project following detailed collision analysis. The zone includes 54 villages of varying sizes, as well as Towcester and Brackley on the periphery of the zone.

John Spencer, Casualty Reduction Partnership Manager for Northamptonshire County Council, said: “By managing speed downwards we are aiming to reduce the number of collisions within the Rightracks zone and enhance the day-to-day lives of those who live in the community. The Rightracks signage is unfamiliar to most road users and will therefore attract more attention as a timely reminder to drive safely and with consideration for others.”

He continues: “One of our priorities is to ensure the local community is consulted throughout the whole process, after all we do not have a monopoly on all the good ideas. As such we have set up a Rightracks forum with members of the public living in the zone. Forum members have been invited to drive along the eight priority roads we have identified for action in the zone and offer their ideas on how we can improve the routes.”

Colin Macklin, Rightracks forum member and Aynho parish councilor for highways and transport, said: "We have been actively campaigning for the past few years over the worsening situation on the B4100 and B4031 leading in to Aynho. Many drivers treat both roads like a race track, putting our villagers and other drivers lives at risk. I'm pleased to take part in the Rightracks forum as consulting with the community is a core facet of the programme and we have been able to put our ideas forward on how to address the problems in the area."

Fellow Rightracks forum member, Councillor Rosie Herring said: "I'm delighted to take part in the Rightracks forum as local people are being given the opportunity to help find innovative ways to reduce road casualties. South Northants Council is committed to doing everything they can to assist with the Rightracks project."

The Rightracks project will run for three years and involve staff from throughout the Northamptonshire Casualty Reduction Partnership. At the end of the three-year project, the results will be shared with other local authorities. Northamptonshire County Council is one of only four authorities across the country chosen to take part in the project.

Cllr Bob Seery, county council cabinet member for transport and highways, said: “This is another initiative aimed at addressing the issue of improving road safety, this time particularly directed at the rural areas of the county, which I fully endorse.

It is clearly of a somewhat experimental nature, being no doubt the reason for the funding having been provided by the Department for Transport, but the lessons learnt should be of value for the whole of the county.

“The local consultations which are being carried out are essential for that purpose and I look forward with interest to the outcome of this exercise and the lessons learnt as a result.”

More information about the project can be found online at www.rightracks.co.uk

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Rightracks to Rural Road Safety

5 September 2008

A project aimed at reducing road casualties on rural roads in Northamptonshire was launched at Sulgrave Manor on Tuesday 2 September. Local parish councils, safer community teams and other bodies were invited to attend the event.

Rightracks launch event at Sulgrave Manor

As a rural Beacon Authority for road safety excellence, Northamptonshire County Council, as part of its work in the Casualty Reduction Partnership, has been awarded £1.5 million from the Department for Transport to fund the project, which will investigate the problems facing drivers on rural roads.

The project, called Rightracks, aims to develop innovative strategies, interventions and solutions by evaluating the data behind the casualty problem on the county’s rural road network.

Following a detailed collision analysis process, an area in South Northants has been chosen for the focus of the project. The zone comprises 45 parishes, and includes 54 villages of varying sizes with populations between 50 and 3750 residents. The larger population areas of Towcester (8,850 residents) and Brackley (13,330 residents) are on the periphery of the zone. The zone covers a total of 406.3sq km, with a perimeter distance of 109km.

Three years collision data has been analysed from 2005–2007 and the eight routes within the zone with the highest number of people killed or seriously injured have been identified. A total of 282 collisions occurred within the zone in the last three years and, of those, 120 took place on the eight chosen routes.

Detailed studies will be carried out along each route in order to identify the most appropriate location for any engineering intervention.

The enforcement element of the project, carried out by Northants Police, is designed to influence driver behaviour within the zone, and more specifically on the eight identified routes. This will be intelligence-led and targeted at known locations and road user groups through a planned programme of activity. The overall objective will be to provide a visible deterrent factor and encourage motorists to slow down and pay more attention. Rightracks launch event at Sulgrave Manor

Cllr Bob Seery said: "This exercise should make a positive contribution to our commitment to addressing the issue of highway safety in all its forms throughout the county which, particularly in view of the specific nature of funding provided, will be directed at the rural areas.

"The course of action intended to be pursued in order to effectively achieve that objective will be mainly directed at factual information and assessment but it is also intended to ensure that local people and communities are given the opportunity of having an input into the process.

"I believe this will ensure that the best possible outcome in the use of this specific funding directed at rural road safety is achieved."

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Road safety on rural roads comes under the spotlight
23 January 2008

Northamptonshire County Council has been awarded £1.5million from the Department for Transport to fund a project which will investigate the problems facing drivers on rural roads and develop innovative strategies to improve safety.

The county council is one of four authorities which has been chosen to take part in this project. The county council has been awarded the project because it is council with Beacon status for road safety excellence.

Named Project Warship (Wide Area Road Safety Highways Intervention Project), the project will run for three years and involve staff from the Northamptonshire Casualty Reduction Partnership. At the end of the three-year project, the results will be shared with other local authorities.

An area between Daventry, Towcester and Brackley will be the focus for Project Warship. This area was chosen because of the need to find an area which is particularly rural and also which is not be affected by the growth agenda facing Northamptonshire.

Cabinet member for community safety Cllr Liz Tavener said: “I am pleased Northamptonshire has been chosen to take part in this project. Our excellent record on road safety has been acknowledged by the government and we are looking forward to using our expertise to identify safety issues facing rural roads and come up with innovative ways to address them.

“The extra money means we can go further when assessing the impact of road safety schemes and take a more in-depth look at why accidents happened on our rural roads.”

Now the money has been awarded, the county council will start putting together a plan to see how new ideas on engineering, education and enforcement work can be used to tackle rural road safety.

Public consultations will be used and in-depth analysis of the accident data collected from rural roads will also form part of the project.

The other local authorities taking part in the project are Lincolnshire County Council, Norfolk County Council and Devon County Council. Along with Northamptonshire, these are all Beacon Authorities for Road Safety.

An additional £2m will also be distributed between Northamptonshire and the three other participating authorities later in the three-year Rural Road Safety Demonstration Project.

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