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Traffic England

There are 4,818 miles of English strategic roads including motorways operated by the Highways Agency. Here are some hints and tips on how to make the most of the motorways, not just for greater convenience but as a means to get painlessly from one great riding road to another.

With the Highways Agency’s Traffic Information website available at www.highways.gov.uk/trafficengland  you can plan your way around traffic hotspots, incidents and road works. And it’s free. The constantly updated, real-time traffic conditions show the degree of delay. You can zoom in for more detail or out for the big picture. If you want to stop along the way for the latest updates, call 08700 660 115 (Available 24 hours. BT landline calls cost no more than 8p/min; calls from mobiles usually cost more). The information covers both motorways and “A” roads.

You may have seen motorway gantry signs, giving recommended speed limit or lane closure warnings. They’re not there because someone has forgotten to turn them off. The information is still hot. These are the signs of things to come – the Active Traffic Management system. As yet only operating on the M42, it automatically calculates the best speed to keep the traffic flowing and displays it overhead. The limits shown are mandatory and monitored by CCTV. The hard shoulder can be opened to traffic, when needed, to improve flow.

You may notice an extra speed sign over the hard shoulder lane. This becomes a red X when the lane is to be used for emergencies only.

Also new on network are the Traffic Officers. Traffic Officers started to appear on the motorways in the West Midlands in Spring 2004. The whole of the England's motorway network will have Traffic Officers introduced by the end of 2006. Eventually there will be around 1,200 Traffic Officers and 300 Regional Control Centre staff working to keep traffic moving and improving safety.

Traffic Officers are not there to enforce the law. Where incidents occur the police will still retain responsibility for investigation of criminality and, for major accidents, will be in charge at the scene and in control offices. However, the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service will help to coordinate resources of other emergency services, manage traffic and re-open routes when the police have completed their investigations.

If you do get into difficulty, you should pull up either on the hard shoulder or a safe spot. CCTV or a passing Traffic Officer will pick up on it and help will be on its way.

For more information on the Active Traffic Management system and Traffic Officers visit www.highways.gov.uk

If your journey takes you through a toll booth remember that although motorcyclists are offered free passage this can often come at a price. Bikers have and do try to follow other vehicles though only to be clobbered by the descending barrier.

Our advice is to stop at the barrier and make eye contact with the operator, once the light turns green, away you go.

Although the network carries one third of England’s traffic, only a tenth of serious accidents involving motorcycles happen on it. The Highways Agency has been asking riders how to make the network safer still. As a result they’re working to reduce risks from safety fencing posts and skidding on steel manhole covers and raised road markings.

For more general highways information phone 08457 50 40 30
Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. BT landlines cost 3p/min; more from mobiles. Standard rate number: 0121 335 8300. Alternatively you can email us at ha_info@highways.gov.uk