Traffic roadside study to resume

Drivers will not be warned in advance where the surveys will be conducted

Drivers in Dorset and Hampshire will be asked to pull over and fill in a form as part of an ongoing £2m survey into improving the flow of traffic.

From 9 September, motorists will be stopped at 31 locations until October.

But they can refuse to answer the questions surrounding the purpose of their journey and their destination.

Without the study, transport improvements in South East Dorset, estimated at £400m, cannot be delivered, the Borough of Poole said.

'Less stressful journeys'

Drivers will not be informed in advance of the surveys as organisers wanted "people to go about their usual business".

A council spokesman said: "Results of the surveys will be used to develop a comprehensive transport model for the Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch conurbation and surrounding areas.

"This will help to build an accurate picture of traffic movements and influence future road and transport improvements, plus housing and employment developments, over the next 20 years."

So far, information has been gathered from about 33,000 drivers at 30 roadside surveys undertaken in the spring, he added.

Rick Clayton, project manager for the South East Dorset Transport Study, said: "We would like to thank drivers for their co-operation so far and ask for their patience during the autumn when the surveys will be on some of the more major routes into and out of the area.

"The surveys may cause some delays, but collecting this information is the first step in the process of delivering the new roads, buses and transport policies that should make moving around the area less stressful in the future."