Network safety policy

Managing skidding risk on the highway network is a key activity in meeting the Asset Management objective to “provide and maintain a network that is safe to use” and to promote safety for highway users in Buckinghamshire.

Guidance in managing skidding risk is provided by the Department for Transport who publish a Skid Resistance Standard as part of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB). The current version (CS228) describes how the provision of appropriate levels of skid resistance for trunk roads will be managed. Buckinghamshire Council (BC) has adopted the principles of this guidance for its busiest roads.

Implementation of these principles is described in more detail in the council’s Skidding Strategy and include:

• undertaking skidding surveys on all hierarchy 2, 3a and one third of 3b roads each year
• assigning site categories and investigatory levels to these roads
• comparing skidding survey results with the investigatory levels to identify roads where there is a risk of skidding in the wet
• assessing high risk sites by considering the previous 3 years’ skid crashes

Engineers will investigate high risk sites to determine any appropriate remedial measures.