THURROCK councillors have been consulted about proposals to install an electronic message board for drivers on part the A13 in the borough which has been designated as an accident blackspot.

Council highways officers have put forward a proposed scheme to implement a VMS (Variable Message Sign) on the A13 eastbound carriageway between the Manorway roundabout and the Five Bells junction at Fobbing.

The stretch of road comes after the three-lane widening of the A13 between the Orsett Cock roundabout and the Manorway junction, with councillors suggesting that part of the problem is three lanes filtering into two may be causing delays and frustration which might have contributed to accidents. They have also pointed out the stretch has a number of laybys, which do not feature on earlier parts of the carriageway.

The A13 eastbound between the Manorway and Five bells includes laybys and is often criticised for being in a poor condition with potholes.

Councillors in Orsett and the Homesteads have been advised of the scheme and asked for their views, though not councillors in other wards in Stanford, Corringham and Fobbing.

They were told: "Due to the high number of incidents, the section of the A13 from Stanford Interchange to Five Bells was identified under the Road Safety Engineering programme as an area to be investigated.

"Following investigation and review of the recorded accidents it was found that the most common factor highlighted was "poor driver behaviour" which effectively lead to minor accidents consisting of rear or side shunts from lane swapping and suspected lack of attention.

"The sign can display the information/message we want to share. It will display information on the network including any planned closures on the Network and expected delays to pre-warn drivers and promote safe driving messages to encourage drivers to drive with care. All messages displayed on the VMS are prescribed messages.

"By implementing this VMS and regularly changing the messages we hope it will keep drivers aware and encourage safe driving."

Councillors have been invited to comment, with Homestead councillor Gary Byrne saying: "I remain to be convinced that this will be beneficial, and my main question is, 'can we justify this type of spending when we clearly see savage cuts across the board'.

Cllr Byrne, and his son Ross who serves as a councillor in neighbouring Stanford West, has also questioned the usefulness of existing message boards in the borough, illustrating an incident this week when Stanford Road was blocked for several hours by a crash near to the Manorway junction.

This week's crash blocked a main road for several hours but Thurrock Council says it wasn't on its highways' officers' radar.

Police blocked the road at the point of the incident, forcing motorists, including HGV drivers, to make U-turns.

A council-operated message board on Stanford Road did not notify drivers of the accident or blocked road, nor offer advice on alternative routes. It simply remained at its standard setting, saying: "Drive safely."

Cllr Ross Byrne, queried the point of having that message board in place and not using it when it could have alerted drivers to a situation and stop significant congestion in his ward.

He told Thurrock Nub News: "Sometimes you wonder why we have these things. They rarely show any messages of use and it most cost a significant amount of money to install them, and then maintain them. Why, if they are rarely used?"

Nub News put those questions to the council which responded by referring to the Stanford Road incident and saying: "No messages were shared on the signs in the borough about that.

"The road traffic collision was not on Thurrock Council's part of the A13, as such our highways team was not made aware of it."

In relation other questions, the council says the signs, which it acknowledges 'are operated and monitored by our highways team' serve a useful purpose, stating: "These signs are utilised on major routes around the borough as a tool to provide advance warning of major works on busy roads. They are also used to share road safety messages. 

"Where possible, and appropriate, we will endeavour to include reactive messages when we are aware of accidents that are likely to cause significant delay on our main routes.

"Annual inspection costs of the sign are approximately £550 plus energy usage.

"They are an effective tool in helping to manage the road network and for keeping road users informed of upcoming works and possible delays."