ROAD tunnels in Britain are among the worst in Europe but the gap in safety standards with the rest of the Continent is closing.

German inspectors found that British tunnels were congested, had poor emergency lighting, unsophisticated fire ventilation and inadequately signposted escape routes. Four of the country’s busiest tunnels were included in the annual Eurotest survey and none ranked in the top half of the 25 sites examined.

The northbound section of the Blackwall tunnel in East London was one of only four rated “very poor”. This is an improvement on last year when only the Loibl tunnel on the Austria-Slovenia border was rated worse. It was again criticised for its narrow lanes and lack of lay-bys and an emergency lane.

The Rotherhithe tunnel, also in East London, in 16th place, was the best of the British tunnels this year but was rated “poor” like the Blackwall tunnel southbound and the Tyne tunnel.

However, motoring agencies found room for hope in the increased investment being committed to road tunnel safety, with £14.5 million in improvements to the Queensway tunnel linking Liverpool and Birkenhead and a £15 million refurbishment of the Blackwall tunnel southbound due for completion next year. A planned second Tyne tunnel is the subject of an inquiry.

Bert Morris, deputy director of the AA Motoring Trust, part of the European consortium that conducted the survey, said that British drivers were not well served compared with those in Europe. Modern safety features, such as automatic ventilation systems, escape routes for pedestrians, fireproof cabling, loudspeakers and adequately soundproofed telephones were missing in many British tunnels, he said.

However, the survey had helped to support increased investment in British tunnel safety since the AA joined it in 2000, he said.

The best tunnel in the survey was the Weserauen tunnel near Porta, Westfalia, Germany. The Soller tunnel in Majorca was judged the worst.

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