In Great Britain 59% of fatalities occur on rural roads and 32% of all injuries in road traffic accidents. Nevertheless there are major differences in the frequency of rural road accidents across the country, reflecting both the different lengths of speed limits and differences in risk. Simple breakdown of statistics indicates the two major problems for rural roads.

Firstly, the majority of casualties occur on A Class roads and Motorways: in GB in 1998, 74% of fatalities and 68% of all casualties. On these roads, about three-fifths of casualties occur where the speed limit is 60 miles/h, and one-third where it is 70 miles/h (dual carriageways). On the lower class roads, 97 percent occur on 60 miles/h roads. However, exposure to risk on the different classes of road is also important. Lower class roads have higher casualty rates per veh-km than Motorways or Class A roads. Furthermore, forecasts suggest that traffic flow is likely to increase more on rural than on urban roads.

Secondly, 84% of all fatalities on rural roads and 95% of all casualties occur to drivers or passengers of motor vehicles (mainly cars). This is a very different picture from that on urban roads where pedestrian fatalities and casualties dominate. Nevertheless pedestrians make up 10% of all deaths on rural roads, and 2% of casualties.

There are also important road safety issues for the small villages or townships (of population less than 3000) subject to 30 or 40 miles/h which lie basically in rural areas.

Accident data quantify some of the major concerns on the open road, namely: junctions; state of road (dry or wet) and light (daylight or darkness); type of carriageway(single or dual); and bends. The major problems are accidents at junctions (especially T junctions), and relatively high proportions of fatalities in darkness, taking into account the relative amounts of traffic in daylight and darkness: also, an appreciable proportion of accidents occur on dual carriageways, and there are major problems on bends.

While a strategic approach to management of safety in urban areas has been addressed over a period of 20 years, culminating in 1990 in the publication of IHT Guidelines, no such approach has been considered for rural roads. Techniques for route and area action in accident investigation are not being exploited widely for rural roads, and only recently has a "whole route" approach been adopted. This is a natural step towards a more comprehensive management of safety over a broader network.

These Guidelines build on this work to present procedures for the safety management of rural roads. Conventionally, when considering accidents, a rural road has been assumed to be a road subject to a speed limit greater than 40 miles/h. Such roads form the basis for these Guidelines for "Rural Safety Management". However, there are many villages and small townships with lower speed limits lying on what are essentially rural routes. These Guidelines therefore also relate to lengths of road passing through such areas: defined as pockets of population of less than 3000.

For the future, it will be important that the use of rural roads is critically considered in terms of the hierarchy of Motorway and Class A roads, Class B, and Class C and Unclassified roads. The different levels of the hierarchy are also an essential element of the Guidelines.

These Guidelines for "Rural Safety Management" recognise that life in rural communities has been affected by the increases in traffic flow and speed over the last 30 years. Many local people feel that it is now unsafe to walk or cycle to the various village facilities. Villages are now either divided by strategic transport corridors, or they have become isolated islands surrounded by abused country lanes. Conditions are made worse by a diversion of traffic from the main roads in the event of an incident or congestion.

The increased traffic flow has also created a perception that rural roads are now unsafe for walking or cycling. A decline in the dependency on the private car, and an increase in leisure walking and cycling will provide a challenge for rural road safety.

Highway authorities must make full use of their powers to make the necessary improvements in the interests of public safety, as recommended in the Guidelines.

Issues considered in the Guidelines are as follows. Chapter 2 outlines the strategy principles involved in rural safety management, and identifies links to the Transport White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone". Chapter 3 examines road user behaviour including: drivers' and riders' perception of, and attitudes towards, risk and safety; vulnerable road users (cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders); and how to influence road users to improve speed control and improve behaviour at junctions.

Chapter 4 considers development of procedures for a road safety management strategy including: client and contractor roles; accident investigation techniques; accident prevention, and safety audit; and public acceptability, consultation and publicity.

Chapter 5 details techniques for different hierarchies and types of road covering matters relating to the objectives; design and use issues; standards and advice notes; and environmental issues.

The final Chapter 6 summarises the key requirements for the implementation. A critical issue will be the allocation of funding. The Guidelines recommend that value for money must be established for route and area schemes on rural roads, as well as for individual sites.

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