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Speed Cameras in England and Wales

Summary of the impact

Corbett's research, which was broadly positive about the introduction of speed cameras, informed the DETR decision to roll-out of speed cameras nationally. Four statements developed in the research became part of the benchmark criteria used to assess public opinion on speed cameras and have featured in local audits of attitudes to speed cameras since 2008. Subsequent research has concluded that lives have been saved by speed camera installation thus Corbett's research has contributed positively to national road safety culture. Some estimates suggest that speed cameras save 1,000 people from death or injury per annum, 6,000 people since 2008.

Submitting Institution

Brunel University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Case Study 2: Research showing the capability of in-vehicle intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) to reduce injuries and save lives influences the Euro NCAP safety rating of new cars

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken by the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at the University of Leeds from 1995 to 2012 has demonstrated that in-vehicle intelligent speed adaption (ISA) - technology to discourage or restrict speeding - reduces drivers' propensity to speed and consequently can dramatically reduce injury and fatality risk. ITS Leeds research has also shown the environmental benefits of these systems and their high acceptance by users and the public. This evidence has led policy-makers at national, European and international levels to advocate ISA adoption. A key impact has been Euro NCAP's decision in 2013 - directly informed by the ITS Leeds research - to explicitly recognise ISA within the safety ratings of new cars. To this end, the ITS Leeds research has informed a significant change to European-wide `quasi-regulation' and, through encouragement to car manufacturers, imposed lasting influence on the safety features of new cars.

Submitting Institution

University of Leeds

Unit of Assessment

Civil and Construction Engineering

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Engineering: Civil Engineering
Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Economics: Applied Economics

Influence on National and International Road Safety Policy

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by the Accident Research Unit (ARU) at the University of Nottingham since 1988 has influenced decision-making processes for government road safety executives across the globe. A series of studies commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT), in addition to independent research, fed into research policy-making documentation, helping to frame national and international government policy on road safety in the UK, Europe, America, and Australasia. The work has informed publicity materials for professionals and the public with a particular focus on collisions involving young drivers, motorcycle safety, work-related traffic collisions and distractibility due to roadside advertising.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Decarbonisation of freight transport

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken by the LRC on `low carbon logistics' has informed UK government policy on the environmental impact of freight transport, altered the official method used in the UK to carbon audit road freight transport operations, provided guidance to industry on the measurement and management of freight-related CO2 emissions and resulted in the establishment of the first industry and government-endorsed target for cutting the carbon intensity of road freight transport.

Submitting Institution

Heriot-Watt University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Economics: Applied Economics

Carbon and Methane exchanges in wetlands

Summary of the impact

Vincent Gauci and The Open University (OU) Ecosystems Research Group have demonstrated human influences over exchanges of carbon within vulnerable, temperate and tropical wetland ecosystems, which are the largest source of the powerful greenhouse gas methane to the atmosphere. The group's work showing that acid rain pollution suppresses methane emissions from wetlands has influenced policy in the UK, particularly peatland restoration, where the group has had direct interaction with users. The group's work on carbon balance resulting from deforestation, drainage and fires in the carbon-rich Bornean peat swamp has also informed IPCC methodologies for carbon balance calculations in its 2013 Wetlands Supplement.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Earth Sciences: Geochemistry
Environmental Sciences: Soil Sciences
Biological Sciences: Other Biological Sciences

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