Press Release - Tackling congestion by making better use of
England's motorways and trunk roads
26 November 2004
The Highways Agency, as part of its Making Better Use
programme to bring quick relief from road congestion on England’s
motorways and trunk roads, is taking steps to improve the
information it gives to motorists and to strengthen its ability to
deal with incidents and accidents. According to today’s report by
the National Audit Office, however, with congestion levels a
pressing problem, the Highways Agency has been too cautious in
introducing or testing out measures more readily used abroad and is
behind some of its overseas counterparts in adopting technologies
to tackle congestion. The Agency has managed its trials of some
measures poorly and has not installed the most appropriate
technology on the most congested motorways. It also needs to be
better prepared for events that cause congestion, including major
sporting and entertainment events.
During the 1990s, the government’s emphasis was on building new
roads, maintaining existing ones and improving road safety. It was
not until 2000 that the Agency had a target to reduce congestion.
Since then, the Agency has continued to concentrate much of its
technology projects on improving road safety and the management of
incidents.
Today’s report points out that the Agency has been slow to
introduce new measures to relieve road traffic congestion. Despite
their widespread adoption and reported beneficial impacts in some
other countries, Tidal Flow, Dedicated Lanes, Ramp Metering and
Variable Speed Limits are being used to only a very limited extent
in England, while the Agency does not use Hard Shoulder Running
anywhere on the network. It considers that measures used in other
countries would operate differently in England and has not been
convinced about the assessments of measures used abroad.
The Agency told the NAO that there have for many years been
safety concerns that, if Hard Shoulder Running were adopted,
emergency vehicles might have difficulties in reaching accident
sites. Overseas experience suggests, however, that there have been
no insurmountable obstacles to addressing safety concerns
associated with Hard Shoulder Running. The Agency has recently
embarked on a trial of the measure.
The Agency has run a small number of trials of various
congestion-reducing measures to make a business case for adopting
the measures elsewhere. But it has managed its trials poorly and
the very small number of trials has limited its ability to find
trial sites with the right characteristics and conditions for
success.
Motorists have been dissatisfied with the quality of on-road
information that they receive. They often want information before
they join motorways, to enable them to consider alternatives to
congested routes, but only a few sections of trunk roads are served
by message signs. The Agency has installed its most sophisticated
signs on congested motorways in the North and Midlands, but has not
installed them on equally congested motorways in the South East. In
2001, it started to install additional signs in the South East, but
these were not the most appropriate for the traffic volumes
involved. It subsequently changed its mind, and now plans to
implement the most appropriate technology instead. The disparity in
the provision of technology between regions will, however, take
several years to address. In the meantime, the Agency expects its
new National Traffic Control Centre in Birmingham to improve the
quality of information provided to drivers. The Centre is expected
to be fully operational in 2005.
Major sporting and entertainment events and accidents can cause
significant congestion. The Agency has not been aware of some
planned events and has therefore not been well prepared to deal
with them. The NAO recommends that the Agency should become a body
which has to be consulted in the licensing of major events so it
can better prepare for them.
The Agency is taking over from the police many of their
responsibilities for clearing motorways after incidents and
accidents, establishing a uniformed motorway patrol service of its
own. It is carefully managing the associated risks, taking over
responsibilities in stages, and expects to have the service
available on the whole of the motorway network by September
2006.
Today’s report recommends that the Agency carry out more trials
of congestion-reducing measures at more sites to increase their
chances of success, and also improve the design, management and
delivery of its trials. The Agency needs to address the lack of
appropriate technology in the South East and should also provide
motorists with the information they need as they approach
motorways, to allow them to consider other routes, as well as on
the motorways themselves
Sir John Bourn, the head of the National Audit Office,
said today:
"Road traffic congestion on our motorways and trunk
roads is an enduring problem. I welcome the Highways Agency’s
efforts to attack the problem by making better use of our existing
roads. In particular, it is aiming to improve roadside information
to motorists and to deal more effectively with incidents and
accidents.
"I am looking, however, for the Agency to adopt a less
risk averse approach. It must not only carry out more effective
trials of proposed congestion-reducing measures; but also, if the
trials are successful, follow the lead of its overseas counterparts
in implementing these technologies more widely on the
network."
Notes for Editors:
- The latest available data show that, nationally, although
congestion levels improved between 1998 and 2003, they were still
worse than they were in 1995. Average traffic speeds, for example,
fell by up to 6 per cent (four miles per hour) between 1995 and
2003, depending on the time of day. Speeds have fallen as the
volume of traffic has continued to grow – up by 14 per cent on all
roads between 1995 and 2002. Around seven per cent of the network
suffers heavy congestion at peak times, while a further 13 per cent
of the network suffers heavy congestion on at least half the days
of the year. The Transport Research Laboratory has estimated that
weight of traffic accounts for some 65 per cent of congestion,
while accidents and incidents account for 25 per cent, and road
works account for 10 per cent.
- Tidal Flow involves reversing the direction of
traffic in one or more lanes of a carriageway to cope with morning
and evening peaks in demand. Dedicated Lanes
consist of sections of a carriageway where access is restricted to
certain types of vehicle, such as buses, to speed their journeys.
Ramp Metering controls the rate at which vehicles
join a motorway from a slip road, using traffic signals.
Variable speed limits involve adjusting speed
limits on motorways according to traffic volumes in order to
improve traffic flow, thereby reducing the number of accidents and
congestion. Hard Shoulder Running aims to increase
road capacity by allowing traffic to use the hard shoulder on
motorways, under controlled conditions, during peak periods or to
by-pass accidents and incidents.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is now at
www.nao.org.uk.Hard copies can be obtained from
The Stationery Office
on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 69/04
All enquiries to Barry Lester, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 7937
Mobile: 07748 181692