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Better information for your journey
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Find out about the history of roads and the work the Agency does to preserve archaeological remains.
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Controlled Motorways
Aim
To improve traffic flow, improve journey times and cut accidents by delaying or preventing the start of stop-start conditions familiar to many drivers. This smoother traffic flow is achieved by automatically reducing speeds at peak times in response to traffic speed and flow.
What it means for motorists:
- Less congestion and improved traffic flows
- More reliable, smoother journeys
- Less aggressive driving such as tailgating
- Better use of lanes and less lane changing
- Reduction in accidents
- Increased throughput of vehicles
- Environmental improvements i.e. reduced traffic noise, vehicle emissions and fuel consumption
Main features
- The system uses mandatory speed limit signals, displayed on overhead gantries, which are strictly enforced by the police to achieve the high levels of compliance required for successful operation.
- Sensors detect the speed and flow of traffic travelling on the motorway. When the onset of congestion is predicted, the speed limit is automatically reduced to 60mph or 50mph before critical flow is reached. The limit is then raised when traffic flow improves.
- There is also an automatic queue detection and protection system that sets 40mph speed limits to protect queuing traffic.
- Text messages are automatically displayed to explain to drivers the reasons for the reduced speed limits.
Plans for the future
- Extension of current successful system on the M25 to other motorways with similar stop-start congestion problems (for example, the M20 junctions 5 to 7).
- Use of the system to assist in controlling traffic in special circumstances (for example, during long-term roadworks or special events).
Further Information
Controlled Motorways incorporate alot of the same technology and work in a very similar fashion to our Active Traffic Management System. The main difference being that the Controlled Motorway System does not allow for the use of the hard shoulder at times of peak congestion but Active Traffic Management does.
To find out more about how Controlled Motorways work in practice you can read our case study on the M25.
Alternatively you can download the M25 Controlled Motorway Pamplet in PDF format:
