Disabled Driver Questionnaire
We want to produce a driver information programme for our disabled customers. To help us produce the best possible guidance, please take a few minutes to fill in our questionnaire.
Race Equality Action Plan
For information on how we will deliver against our race equality duties over the next three years.
Travel and Delay Times on Variable Message Signs
We are now providing a new national information service for drivers and would welcome your feedback. This follows a successful trial in the West Midlands and South West.
Driver location signs help drivers when reporting incidents
When reporting a problem, use the driver location signs to help the emergency services and Highways Agency find you quickly.
Traffic news on your desktop
Helpful ways to access the latest traffic information when you need it.
Traffic Cameras
The Highways Agency has been using cameras to assist with the management of traffic on the motorway system for nearly 30 years. There are Traffic Cameras distributed around the Highways Agency's network, the motorways and trunk roads in England. Wales and Scotland have separate operations.
The Primary users of the traffic cameras are the Highways Agency's Regional and National Traffic Control Centre operators. The operators are able to move the cameras and zoom the lenses to help to identify and monitor congestion or incidents. The cameras give a bird's eye view of what is happening at an incident or accidents which helps the operator to decide what level of support needs to be mobilised. The images are sent to Highways Agency's Information Line (HAIL) in order to keep the public informed.
The traffic cameras are usually mounted on 12m high masts on the grass verge or on overhead gantries but are often inconspicuous because they are not painted with high visibility paint, primarily because they are not used for speed enforcement.
In recent years there has been a growing demand from members of the public and third parties to view images from traffic cameras that are being viewed by the operators. The third party users range from operational partners such as highway maintenance contractors, through travel information businesses, to the general public.
To meet this demand the Highways Agency has developed policies and a technical interface that will allow all these stakeholders to view the images in a format suitable for their needs. The mechanism by which third parties are linked to the Highways Agency's traffic cameras is known as the VIH (Video Information Highway).
This supports the Highways Agency's objective of providing improved information to the road user. In giving the public access to live images of the network we hope to help people to better plan their journeys prior to leaving the home or workplace.
Between now and March 2008, the Highways Agency intends to make images available to some of those stakeholders.
