WJ Supports RSMA Agenda in Parliament

Paul Aldridge WJ South Managing Director and Chairman of the Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA) provided the closing remarks at a drinks reception in the House of Commons recently. In this prestigious setting and at this rare event Paul applauded the good work of the RSMA team whilst also emphasising the need for collaboration, fairness and inclusion. The unprecedented event follows a year of fact-finding, consultation and round table discussions under the theme “Making the Network Work”, a project led by George Lee Chief Executive of the RSMA.

The RSMA has taken a central role in highlighting the needs of the industry because road markings are so fundamental to safer road journeys whilst having a direct impact on the efficiency of our road networks by providing clear delineation and assurance to the driver. A Safety Foundation report highlighted, in 60% of the most improved roads, in terms of safety, crash reduction and lives saved, road marking improvements were at the core of the treatments implemented. “Last night, we paused to summarise valuable input from industry leaders, national and local politicians, trade associations and academics, but this is the start of a major project to develop the themes into a report to be published in the Spring,” said George Lee, Chief Executive RSMA. The event hosted by Karl McCartney Member of the Transport Select Committee was designed to highlight the importance of the RSMA agenda and vision for an improved transport system. Minister of State for Transport The Rt Hon John Hayes MP and Daniel Zeichner MP for Cambridgeshire and Shadow Transport Minister both commended the work of the industry generally, assuring the group of highway maintenance practitioners at the reception that Government understood and would act across parliamentary groups to address needs of transportation for the future. Geoff Allister OBE, Executive Director of the Highways Term Maintenance Association (HTMA) thanked the RSMA on behalf of the highways sector, and called for longer term certainty in local authority funding, to give companies and the supply chain the confidence to invest in people, plant and equipment. He also stressed the importance of achieving a balance between new build infrastructure and the need to maintain the existing network. He renewed his call on the highways sector to implement innovative approaches to protect vulnerable workers, and to collate and report all incidents of road worker abuse, describing it as “one of the biggest issues facing the industry. Dedicated staff of the RSMA and the HTMA both represent and support their members and the industry providing a base for discussion, training and standards that help to ensure the health and safety of operators and to develop a highly trained, fully-qualified workforce. They could hardly take their key messages much higher than the House of Commons.

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