Better information for your journey
The National Traffic Control Centre collects real-time information on road conditions.
The Project Control Framework
On 1st April 2008 we launched the Project Control Framework. The Framework sets out how we, together with the Department for Transport, manage and deliver major improvement projects.
Free Traffic Information Seminars
Helping your business get its customers, drivers and goods where they should be, on time and stress-free.
Capability Assessment Toolkit 3
Introducing new and challenging indicators in the area of corporate social responsibility.
Efficiency Gains from Collaborative Roads Procurement
Delivering efficiency and best value is central
Incident Screens
April 2007
Motorways are one of the safest road systems in England, transporting large volumes of traffic each day with little or no issues experienced. However when something does go wrong, the impact on the movement of traffic can be significant.
Each year, the Highways Agency deals with many incidents on the motorway network. Unfortunately we cannot prevent all incidents from occurring and therefore limiting the impact of these incidents is essential.
It has been recognised that when an incident occurs on one side of the carriageway, it can directly impact the opposite carriageway, affecting both vehicle speed and rate of flow. This occurs through road users slowing down when approaching and passing the incident to see what is going on which is often referred to as “rubbernecking”.
‘Rubbernecking’ is now becoming one of the primary causes of incident related congestion. As drivers begin to brake on the approach to the incident scene this results in the slowing down of the general traffic speeds dramatically and therefore increasing the likelihood of secondary incidents (i.e. collisions) occurring.
What are Incident Screens?
Incident screens have been developed to be used to prevent road users from observing the incident and post incident activities on the opposite carriageway. The aim is that if the scene is not visible to the traffic from the opposite carriageway then the instances of ‘rubbernecking‘ can be reduced.
Research carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) established that the quick deployment and setting up of screening around serious incidents can reduce the amount of rubbernecking, alongside the knock-on effects of congestion and collisions occurring.
Stewart Evans, Operations Manager in the East Regional Control Centre has observed Incident Screens being used within the region, his comments on their performance and impact are detailed below:
“The incident screen makes a significant impact when it can be quickly and easily deployed”. He added, “I’ve used the incident screen at fatal, long duration incidents and serious collisions; and provided you have a central crash barrier on which to erect it, the reduction in ‘rubbernecking congestion’ can be seen as soon as it goes up”.
“We only wish we had more now, as they’ve proved their worth so far on the M25, M11 and M1 for example”. Both Area 5 and 8 have had them some months now and hope to buy more, including a free standing screen, which is not dependant upon the central barrier being intact."
For further technical information, please see the PDF document.
Current status of trial
A six month trial, using incident screens, has recently been completed in Area 5 on the southern section of the M25 and in Area 8 on the M1 motorway between Junctions 7 and 19. A barrier mounted screen was allocated to be trialled in both of these areas, however the initial usage was limited and they were deployed on few occasions.
The limited deployment of the barrier mounted screens was due to a number of issues, which included the following:
- incidents were positioned in a way that prevented the screen from being deployed
- different types of barrier installed on the network, therefore preventing fitting due compatibility issues
- concrete barriers
- tensioned wire type barriers
- the prevailing weather conditions (especially strong winds) at the time of the incident
During the trial, incident scene attendees in Area 5 found that the incident screens were effective and proved beneficial in improving traffic flows, this however was subjective due to there being no statistical evidence to support it. The East and East Midlands Regional Intelligence Unit (E & EM RIU) have since been commissioned to research the relationship between vehicle speed / flow against the impact of using a incident screen. The research has established that there is a distinct response to the deployment of a incident screen, however it is difficult to assess whether this reduces rubbernecking itself.
Future Trials
As part of an extended trial to capture data in order to demonstrate both the impact of the screens on congestion and the effectiveness to respond to incidents, the Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Programme has recently funded the procurement of a freestanding version of rubbernecking screen for Area 8. The trial will also offer the opportunity to compare the differing styles of screen. Delivery is currently awaited. This extended trial, throughout 2007, will enable work on developing a plan for the roll-out of incident screens across the wider HA network to be formalised.
For further information on incident screens and current trials please contact the TIM team.
Many Thanks to:
Stewart Evans, Operations Manager, East Regional Control Centre
