Highways Agency

• Traffic Incident Management Bulletin

February 2008

Background

In July 2007, the TIM Bulletin featured an article on the collision investigation equipment project and its roll-out to Police Forces in England. Since this article, the project has reached a significant milestone where the majority of English Police Forces have now either upgraded existing survey equipment or added new systems.

It is anticipated that by March this year all 38 Police Forces in England (with the exception of City of London Police) will be using new state-of-the art technology. This satellite-backed technology equipment is being provided by the Highways Agency to help clear up after accidents more quickly and cut delays for road users.

Collision Investigation Equipment

During an initial trial conducted by TRL, it was found that collision investigation equipment reduces the amount of time it takes for the Police to conduct their investigation by approximately 5%. On average this is typically 40 minutes, however a time saving of 180 minutes at one incident has been reported. This enables the road to be opened more quickly, releasing any trapped traffic and contributing to the aim of reducing incident-related traffic congestion. The kit has recently been demonstrated at Exercise Valentine in Lancashire where the Police conducted their investigation whilst other stakeholders performed their role.

During April 2007, 11 Police Forces received the GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite equipment during the first phase of the roll-out. The equipment produces a virtual map of the collision scene much more quickly than previous equipment. In addition it helps to gather vital evidence and get motorists back on the move sooner thereby minimising any effect upon journey times.

Due to the success of the initial roll-out of the equipment the project has since obtained ministerial approval. As a result, the Highways Agency has invested £2.5million in purchasing equipment and is in the process of rolling it out. This is to ensure that all the Police Forces in England who patrol the Highways Agency’s network of motorways and major A roads; some 4,500 miles, can benefit from it.

Prior to the commencement of equipment roll-out, North Yorkshire and Avon & Somerset Police Forces had already completed their own investigations, identified the potential benefits it brings and purchased the up-to-date equipment themselves.

Tom Harris, Roads Minister, said:

“The Highways Agency is really demonstrating how it is committed to working with the police across the country, in a bid to make the roads safer for drivers, as well as making journey times more reliable. This is a sound investment in new technology that can really make a difference for everyone involved.”

Added bonus

To further enhance the service the equipment offers, the Highways Agency has negotiated a RTK (Real Time Kinematic) license package with Leica-Geosystems. The package consists of RTK licenses for up to 200 users at a vastly discounted rate to individual licenses. The license further enhances the collision investigation equipment through more accurate GPS readings.

24 of the 25 Police Forces who have recently received the collision investigation equipment have taken up the RTK license, alongside seven of the Police Forces who received their equipment in April 2007, they too will benefit from this package.

The collision investigation equipment has been purchased from three suppliers; Trimble, Topcon and Leica Geosystems.

Here is a full list of the Police Forces who have now received the equipment courtesy of the Highways Agency.

Stephen Green, Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police and Head of Roads Policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said:

"This is a splendid example of partnership working between English police forces and the Highways Agency who both have a vested interest in reducing the adverse effects of serious collisions on motorists. The equipment will help us to collect evidence from the scene more quickly without having any detrimental impact on its quality. This augurs well for our partnership working on the English strategic road network."

The Future

Between now and the end of March 2008 the Highways Agency will be co-ordinating the delivery of training to all Police Force Collision Investigators. This will ensure that they are all fully trained on how to use the new GPS technology.

To maximise the benefits of the equipment, Police Forces are able to use the equipment for any investigations they see fit, including those which occur on non-trunk roads (managed by Local Authorities) and as part of other criminal investigations. However, in order to gauge the benefits aligned to incident management on the Highways Agency's network, the Police will be completing monthly reports to obtain the following information: 

• where they have used the equipment
• how much time they feel they have saved

This information will be captured and any significant benefits featured in future editions of the bulletin.

Additionally…

Neil Westwood from Warwickshire Police's Accident Investigation Unit has recently held an informal coffee morning inviting a number of their incident management partners i.e. Service Providers, Traffic Officer Service, Local Authorities etc. The session enabled all stakeholders to be brought together, educated about the Police's collision investigation procedures, understand each others roles and responsibilities and to build and maintain relationships with their operational counterparts.

The session was such a success that it has been recommended that the 'get-together' occurs on a more regular basis - perhaps quarterly. It is believed that the informal meeting was the first of its kind to take place, and could be an important tool in establishing working relationships which can then be transferred to real-time incident management on the network.

Optima - the Area 11 Service Provider, are now looking to set-up a similar recurring event with their other Police counterparts - the Bulletin will keep you updated with these developments.

If you are involved in or aware of similar forums that take place between local organisations, please feel free to let the TIM team know on TIMBulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk. Likewise, if your local forum has been particularly innovative and you have initiated some ‘good practice’ as a result, please let us at the Bulletin know.

Has this article been worthwhile reading? Why not take a moment to send us your comments, thoughts or questions. Please e-mail TIMbulletin@highways.gsi.gov.uk.