Despite seeing lower overall traffic, fatal accidents are significantly more common on rural roads than urban roads and motorways. According to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, there were 931 fatal accidents on Britain’s rural roads in 2019, compared to 627 on urban roads.
With the higher danger to road users on many country roads, it’s crucial that fleet managers take the necessary steps to keep their drivers and other vulnerable road users safe. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons these minor roads carry a greater chance of fatal accidents and how fleet managers can encourage car, van, and HGV drivers to take extra care when navigating them.
The Challenges of Driving on Rural Roads
Road Width
One of the primary concerns when navigating rural roads is the narrowness of these routes. Often, these roads offer limited space for vehicles to pass each other safely, especially when encountering slow-moving farm vehicles or pedestrians. The typical width of rural roads can be significantly narrower than urban roads, making overtaking and passing oncoming traffic a tricky manoeuvre.
Bends
In addition to the narrowness of rural roads, their winding nature further complicates the driving experience. Blind bends, where the road ahead cannot be seen until you’re upon it, are common occurrences on these routes. These blind bends pose a significant danger, as they limit visibility and increase the likelihood of unexpected encounters with oncoming traffic, pedestrians, or even animals crossing the road. Hidden dips in the road’s topography can also catch drivers off guard, making it difficult to anticipate the road ahead accurately.
Visibility
Moreover, rural roads often lack street lighting, which can be particularly hazardous in adverse weather conditions or during nighttime driving. Without adequate lighting, drivers may struggle to discern road markings, road signs, or even other road users, amplifying the risks associated with rural road travel.
Weather
Rural roads are more susceptible to the impacts of weather events due to their location in the countryside. Heavy rain can lead to flooding, making certain sections of these roads impassable or treacherous. When navigating rural roads in rainy conditions, drivers should be aware of the risks associated with flood water and should avoid driving through it whenever possible. Additionally, mud from fields adjacent to the road can be carried onto the roadway during rain, creating slippery and hazardous driving conditions.
Overcoming Rural Road Safety Challenges
Ultimately, fleet managers have a responsibility to ensure that their drivers are aware of the risks associated with rural roads and are trained to drive safely on them. With these challenges associated with rural routes in mind, how can fleet managers boost the safety and efficiency of their fleets? Here are a few ways.
Comprehensive Driver Safety Training
Fleet managers can help to improve rural road safety by ensuring that their drivers are aware of the Highway Code and other relevant legislation. The Highway Code provides guidance on how to drive safely on rural roads, including advice on how to approach a blind bend, how to pass slow-moving traffic, and how to deal with oncoming traffic on narrow roads. Fleet managers should ensure that their drivers are familiar with the Highway Code and that they are following its guidance.
Another way that fleet managers can help to improve rural road safety is by ensuring drivers are conscious of their speed. The national speed limit on single carriageway roads in the UK is 60 mph, but this may not be appropriate for all rural roads. Just because 60 mph is the legal top speed limit doesn’t mean that this is a safe speed for vehicles — especially on narrow or poorly-lit country roads. Fleet managers should encourage drivers to consider the road conditions, weather conditions, and other hazards, using their common sense when selecting a speed. Factoring in more time for rural journeys than urban journeys of an equivalent distance is important to ensure that drivers don’t feel the need to speed to meet time goals.
Training should also cover the risks associated with driving in the countryside. This includes the risks associated with driving near animals, driving on single track roads, and driving on roads with high hedges. Fleet managers should ensure that their drivers are aware of these risks and that they are taking appropriate precautions to mitigate them.
Vehicle Tracking Technology
Another way that fleet managers can help to improve rural road safety is by implementing vehicle tracking systems. With the help of GPS trackers fitted in each vehicle, fleet managers can gain real-time visibility over their vehicles’ movements as well as detailed data analytics about the journeys. Here are just a few features of vehicle tracking tools that can help boost safety on rural roads.
Route Optimisation
Route optimisation is one way that fleet managers can use vehicle telematics to boost safety for fleets driving in rural areas. For example, by analysing the routes drivers take and evaluating factors like speed limits, accident history, and particularly dangerous roads, fleet managers can optimise routes to only take the safest path from A to B.
While we often think about route optimisation as having the goal of achieving the fastest and most efficient journey, for rural dangerous roads it’s essential that routes are optimised around safety. This means optimising for roads that are wider, have better signage and lighting, and have passing places for slow moving vulnerable road users like cyclists, horse riders, and even people walking on the road.
Geofencing
Another way that vehicle tracking technology can be used to boost safety on country roads is through geofencing. Geofencing is a technology that uses GPS or RFID to create a virtual boundary around a specific geographic area. When a vehicle equipped with a geofencing system enters or exits this boundary, the system can trigger an alert or take some other action.
Similarly to route optimisation, geofencing allows fleet managers to create alerts and virtual boundaries for areas where country roads are more dangerous, for example if they have a poor road surface or road markings, or are single track roads without a passing place. With the help of vehicle tracking, fleet managers can instantly be alerted if a driver passes through a geofence boundary and onto roads that are considered less safe.
Driver Behaviour Analysis
Finally, driver behaviour analysis systems allow fleet managers to monitor the location, speed, and driving behaviour of their drivers in real time. This information can be used to identify drivers who are driving too fast or taking unnecessary risks on rural roads. Fleet managers can then take appropriate action to address these issues, such as providing additional training or disciplinary action.
With Crystal Ball’s driver behaviour analysis tool, fleet managers can even create league tables that make it easy to understand at a glance who the safest and best-performing drivers are who can be trusted on rural roads.
Lone Worker Protection Apps
Beyond vehicle tracking, another way that fleet managers can safeguard their drivers is through lone worker protection apps. These are designed to help protect workers who work alone or in remote locations. These apps can be used to monitor the location of lone workers, provide them with safety alerts, and enable them to call for help in an emergency, for example in the case of a road accident or health emergency.
For fleets operating in rural areas, lone worker protection apps are a valuable tool. As commercial fleet drivers primarily work alone, they are likely to be isolated in the case of an emergency in a rural area. With the apps installed on their phones, fleet drivers can quickly and easily get in contact with their manager if an issue arises.
Dash Cams
Dash cams are valuable tools for enhancing safety on rural roads in several ways. They continuously record road footage, providing crucial evidence in case of accidents or incidents, especially when witnesses are scarce. This evidence helps determine fault and liability, making it a vital asset for drivers on remote country roads.
Moreover, dash cams encourage responsible driving behaviour by recording drivers’ actions, leading to increased caution, adherence to speed limits, and reduced risky behaviours. Dash cam footage can be used as part of the training process for other drivers, giving an accurate indication of the conditions and challenges faced when driving on many rural roads.
Overall, dash cams provide peace of mind for drivers travelling in remote areas, knowing they have a reliable record of events to rely on in case of emergencies or disputes.
Conclusion: Ensuring Safety on Country Roads
In conclusion, fleet managers have a responsibility to promote the safety of their drivers and other road users in rural areas. This includes setting appropriate speed limits, monitoring driver behaviour, and ensuring that drivers are aware of the risks associated with driving on rural roads. Fleet managers should also ensure that their drivers are aware of the Highway Code and other relevant legislation, though drivers should be encouraged to use their common sense to drive safely in addition to this.
Fleet managers’ responsibility applies to a wide range of vehicles and businesses, including commercial vehicles such as lorries, tractors, vans, and pick-up trucks, as well as private vehicles used for business purposes. Fleet managers in the agriculture, construction, and logistics industries, among others, have a particular responsibility to ensure that their drivers are driving safely on rural roads.
To help fleet managers meet this responsibility on the UK’s most dangerous roads, Crystal Ball offers a range of vehicle tracking technology and lone worker protection apps. Crystal Ball’s vehicle tracking technology allows fleet managers to monitor the location, speed, and driving behaviour of their drivers in real-time, while their lone worker protection apps provide safety alerts and emergency features to protect workers who work alone or in remote locations. Contact us today to schedule a demo of the technology and learn how we can help you improve the safety of your drivers and other road users.