More ‘safe refuges’ on motorways
DRIVERS are to be given more safety refuges on motorways where the hard shoulder is used as a lane in a bid to boost safety.
In future “All Lane Running” schemes, the gap between emergency areas is to be reduced from 1.5 miles to one mile where possible.
The moves follow repeated warnings that drivers fear for their safety if they break down on motorways without hard shoulders.
Highways England chief Jim O’Sullivan wrote: “On future All Land Running schemes we will be reducing the spacing from 1.5 miles to a lower maximum of a mile where practicable, in order to provide greater reassurance to road users.”
AA president Edmund King said: “As well as the change coming into effect with new schemes, we are encouraged that some retrofitting will take place on the most dangerous stretches on the network.
“More than half of drivers say that, faced with their vehicle breaking down, they are only prepared to drive up to half a mile before stopping in a live lane.” BRITAIN has moved to the sofa for dinner – with just 18 per cent of families eating at a table, according to research yesterday.
More than half of those surveyed said they do not eat together as a family every night – and busy schedules mean a fifth regularly dine alone.
The average meal lasts just 21 minutes, is eaten in front of a screen and a fifth of British households no longer even own a dining table, according to the poll for Co-op Food.
Instead, 34 per cent eat on a sofa and 20 per cent dine in the kitchen.
However, the desire for a shared meal is still there, with 49 per cent saying a shared family meal is the best way to spend quality time together.
Almost half of those surveyed (47 per cent) said they would like to share meals more often.
Dr Patrick Alexander, of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, said: “Families…identify eating together as an activity that most brings them happiness and a sense of togetherness.” He added: “What eating together means, however, is changing.”
More than half of people have a television set, computer or hand-held screen present when eating as a family. But Dr Alexander claims the shift in habits may not be a cause for concern.
He said: “Eating together can be defined in many different ways.
“Contrary to negative perceptions, certain uses of screentime – like interacting with friends or relatives living elsewhere, or sharing talking points from media or news content – may add to the richness of family meals, rather than detract.
“The ‘digital dinner table’ is likely here to stay and it’s important to explore how technology can be used productively and positively during ‘quality’ family time.”