This week’s Highways Voices comes from CRASH 26, an event which brought together road safety professionals, local authorities, suppliers and infrastructure specialists for a day of live demonstrations showing what really happens when vehicles collide with roadside equipment.

The event gives delegates the opportunity to see products perform in realistic scenarios while discussing how the lessons learned can improve future road design and safety.

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In this podcast, organiser Andy Pledge explains how the event has gone from showcasing passive safety products into promoting the wider Safe System approach, bringing together experts from across road safety, emergency services, traffic management and industry to encourage better-informed decision making.

You can watch the crashes here.

We hear from Magnus Backholm of Swedish manufacturer Jerol, Neil Levett representing Multipatcher, Olly Samways of Westcotec, Ash Starkey from AS Safety and Technology, Ian McDonald from Hydro and Peter Hoban from Innovative Road Safety Solutions, each demonstrating products designed to reduce the consequences of road traffic collisions or improve the safety of those working on or alongside the highway.

The conversations cover everything from passive-safe signposts and rapidly deployable crash barriers to remotely managed roadside technology, inflatable work zone protection systems, passive-safe lighting columns and innovative products that combine environmental benefits with practical roadside infrastructure.

Together the interviews provide a fascinating snapshot of how innovation is helping move the industry closer to Vision Zero, demonstrating that improving road safety isn't simply about developing better products, it's about sharing knowledge, understanding real-world performance and ensuring everyone involved in designing, maintaining and operating the road network has the information they need to make safer decisions.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our podcast partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ITS UK and ADEPT.