ROAD safety chiefs have announced a trial scheme to put rumble edge strips along Fenland drain roads as part of a possible one million pound countywide package of improvements. Cambridgeshire County Council s Cabinet meeting agreed that the laying of Vibr

ROAD safety chiefs have announced a trial scheme to put rumble edge strips along Fenland drain roads as part of a possible one million pound countywide package of improvements.

Cambridgeshire County Council's Cabinet meeting agreed that the laying of Vibraline along the waterside of the road as part of a programme of possible schemes to be carried out this year in the County.

The Vibraline is ridged and give drivers both a physical and audible warning, which is felt through the wheel, when their tyre runs over it. Its makers also say it has better visibility than ordinary lines in the dark or wet. The trial will be carried out on stretches of drain roads, which are yet to be identified, to see if it is effective. The announcement comes on the same day as Councillor Matt Bradney attends the national road safety conference at Westminster titled - Road

Safety: Beyond 2010 - which was also attended by the Road Safety Minister John Fitzpatrick.

Cllr Bradney raised the question of improving safety for Fen Drain roads during the debates and workshops at the conference.

Investigations of some of the accidents where vehicles have gone off the roads near waterways shows that understandably drivers may over correct if they put their wheel onto a verge and cause the vehicle to go out of control.

The new strips will not only show up the edge of the road but also give the drivers an early warning that they can hear and feel that they are getting too close to the verge.

It is used as an edge marking on motorways and trunk roads, and on airfields to demarcate vehicle routes. Vibraline is endorsed by the police, local authorities, motoring organisations and airport authorities alike.

The scheme is just part of an overall package of road safety improvements in the Fenland area, including education campaigns, enforcement and physical engineering measures.

Cllr Matt Bradney, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: "Since I took this position as cabinet member I have made reducing accidents on the County's roads one of my top priorities.

Fenland has seen one of the largest percentage reduction in injury accidents this year, than any other part of the county. However, there are still too many people being killed or seriously injured on these roads.

This ridged lining will help along deep drain roads and is part of an overall campaign to reduce accident in Fenland and the rest of the county.