Research shows diversions to rural roads may create greater risk

Millions of motorists are being diverted onto higher‑risk rural roads as congestion, sat‑nav rerouting and road closures reshape everyday journeys, new research shows.

Data published by IAM RoadSmart shows that over the past 12 months, more than half (54%) of motorists have been forced to detour onto a rural road because of congestion on motorways, dual carriageways and other main A roads.

Four in ten (42%) drivers have experienced a mid-journey change from their sat-navs which ended up rerouting them away from the main network onto country lanes while nearly two-thirds (60%) were forced to do the same thing because of a road closure.

Despite carrying 45% of traffic, six in ten (60%) of all road fatalities occur on a rural road. Traffic shifting to rural roads may encounter additional hazards including tractors, wildlife, narrow lanes, restricted views from roadside foliage, as well as a lack of safe infrastructure such as pavements and cycle lanes meaning vulnerable road users are exposed to greater traffic danger.

Nicholas Lyes, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and external communications, said: “Every year, more people are killed on a rural road than any other road type yet worryingly we’re seeing a high number of people taking unplanned diversions to use them.

“Congestion is inevitable, but we would encourage people to question if a diversion onto an unclassified or single-track route is worth saving a few minutes considering the increased hazards they might face. Often, other people following sat-navs will similarly divert and you end up with traffic volumes that exceed what the road is designed for and may ultimately not save time the diverted driver expects.

“Traffic growth shows little sign of abating, yet without a commitment to increase capacity on the wider strategic network, we may see more traffic filtering onto the rural road network, with potentially grave consequences.”