To anyone sitting in a long tailback, the hard shoulder can look like an underused and expensive luxury.But in an emergency it is a place of refuge for broken-down vehicles, and a life-saver when police, fire and ambulance crews use it to reach an accident ahead.
“Ideally busy motorways should be widened but in the real world of tight government spending the IAM Trust is happy to support greater use of hard shoulder running as an interim measure. The key for us is the ‘active’ in Active Traffic Management (ATM)”, says Neil Greig, Director IAM Motoring Trust, “in new road layouts drivers like to know that someone is controlling the traffic ahead and around them in the best possible way”.
The results from the ATM trial are clear.Congestion is reduced, accidents and emissions go down and public support is high.Safety concerns have been resolved by the use of technology and the provision of refuge areas.ATM is not a cheap solution to growing traffic congestion (more than £100 million for a few miles of motorway), but the Highways Agency has demonstrated that computer-based traffic monitoring, linked to command-and-control technologies, can be deployed to improve journey time reliability whilst not compromising safety or journey time reliability.
ends
Notes to Editors; For more information on the Highways Agency’s ‘Active Traffic Management’ go to http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/1334.aspx
The IAM Motoring Trust www.iamtrust.org.ukis the research and advocacy arm of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists).
Media contacts; IAM Motoring Trust Media Relations – 020 8996 9777
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