Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Related pages

• Key Features
• Better Driver Information
• Congestion and Incident Management
• What Happens if I Break Down?
• Why the M1 Junctions 10 to 13?
• Hard Shoulder Running Route

What Happens if I Break Down?

What happens if I break down?

If you break down you should:

• Stop in an emergency refuge area
• Use the emergency roadside telephone to contact the control centre

The emergency roadside telephone automatically pin points your location for the control centre.

Depending on your situation the control centre operator can send a Highways Agency Traffic Officer or recovery vehicle, or advise your recovery service.

Emergency refuge areas

Emergency refuge areas, for use in emergency or breakdown only, are located approximately every 800 metres.

Features include:

• New emergency roadside telephones
• Additional separation from the main carriageway

Emergency refuge areas will also have:

• Sensors to alert the control centre that a vehicle has entered
• CCTV so the control centre can monitor vehicle and send assistance as necessary

Emergency roadside telephones

If you need help, you should always contact the control centre using an emergency roadside telephone located in each emergency refuge area.

Features include:

• High visibility design
• Text-messaging facility for the hard of hearing
• Text-messaging facility for non-English speakers featuring 8 different languages
• Back-lit display for user prompts, volume control and text facility
• Improved audio performance
• Easily accessible for wheelchair users
• Located behind safety fencing

Leaving an emergency refuge area

For your safety, you should always contact the control centre using the emergency roadside telephone for advice on how to leave the emergency refuge area safely.

How you exit an emergency refuge area depends on whether traffic is using the hard shoulder, and the type of vehicle you are driving.

The following offers information on how to drive out of an emergency refuge area:

Normal motorway conditions:

• No congestion or incidents
• No speed limits shown on signals; national speed limits apply
• You can drive out of the emergency refuge area onto the hard shoulder (if safe to do so)
• Use the hard shoulder to build up speed to join the main carriageway
• Check overhead signals for current speed limit and availability of lanes

Variable speed limits without hard shoulder running:

• Incident or congestion ahead
• Signals are set and must be obeyed
• Red cross over hard shoulder means it is for emergency or breakdown use only
• You can drive out of the emergency refuge area onto the hard shoulder (if safe to do so)
• Use the hard shoulder to build up speed to join the main carriageway
• Check overhead signals for current speed limit and availability of lanes

Hard shoulder running in operation:

• Incident or congestion ahead
• Signals are set and must be obeyed
• Use an emergency roadside telephone to contact the control centre and for advice on leaving the emergency refuge area
• DO NOT use the hard shoulder to build up speed
• A control centre operator can control traffic to enable you to exit safely
• Check overhead signals for current speed limit and availability of lanes

Highways Agency Traffic Officers

Highly trained, uniformed Traffic Officers patrol motorways across the whole of England. They help keep traffic moving and make your journey safer and more reliable.

Traffic Officers assist broken down motorists and help the police to manage incidents. They also clear the motorway of debris. Traffic Officers will also clear the hard shoulder of debris before opening the hard shoulder as a running lane.

Traffic Officers also have the power to stop traffic, close roads, lanes and carriageways, direct and divert traffic and place and operate traffic signs.

It's an offence not to obey the instructions of a Highways Agency Traffic Officer