RSTA News

The Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) has welcomed calls from the AA for a 2p a litre from fuel tax to be diverted into a fund to repair potholes. According to the AA, the monies generated would provide £140 million, enough to repair the estimated 2 million outstanding potholes in 3-4 months.

Innovative and fast acting road surface treatments are coming to the rescue of local councils as the thaw reveals the damage done to our roads by the recent ‘Big Freeze’.

Despite the proven success of high friction surfacing in reducing the potential for accidents, its use is declining as local highway authorities face increased budgetary pressures. This has serious consequences for road safety warns Howard Robinson, chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association.  With road accidents each costing over £1 million, not installing high friction surfacing also has significant financial costs.

When it comes to meeting the carbon footprint reduction requirements of the National Indicator 186, many local authorities are 'talking the talk but failing to walk the walk'. That is the unfortunate conclusion following this week's Joint IHT/ICE Conference on Transportation Delivery at Loughborough University.

One area where the present or incoming government should not be looking at to make cuts in order to balance the nation’s books is our road network warns the Roads Surface Treatments Association (RSTA). The discrepancy between what central government takes in road and transport taxation and what it spends on road construction and maintenance is already huge and needs to be narrowed if the safety and efficiency of our roads are to be improved.