As anyone who’s tried to find the Giant’s Chair near Widecombe-in-the-Moor knows, travelling on narrow rural roads with their high hedges and blind bends can be a bit fraught, just how fraught is being investigated by psychologists in The Country Mile project, which is launched tomorrow (Wednesday 22).
Rural mid and North Devon will be the focus of the trail, which “aims to shed new light on why collisions happen. Occupational psychologists will bring their expertise from rail safety and business driver safety to join engineers, police and road safety officers in analysing the reasons why drivers and riders make fatal errors on rural roads, particularly the A361, A377, A3072 and A396.”
The ‘ground-breaking’ project will include a
• Detailed questionnaires from 600 local residents describing their views, experiences and knowledge of safety in the area. In-depth surveys with 100 residents living close to the A377;
• Collision data, speed data, and injury data to form a profile of where the collisions happen, and who is involved;
•An enforcement strategy to be devised by the police to work at times and in places where evidence points to the problems;
• An innovative new rural sign for country lanes, to be piloted in a rural area;
The project will also assess the need to increase driver training and awareness and will offer a unique Community Driving Instructor to give advice and training to individuals, communities and businesses.
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