Highways England – helping you this Christmas

As well as keeping roadworks to an absolute minimum, Highways England’s traffic officers will help you stay on the move by changing their working hours to meet peaks in traffic volumes.

Highways England’s customer service director, Melanie Clarke, said: “We want to help you see loved ones this Christmas, so we’ll be doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible and to minimise any disruption.

“We’ll remove roadworks wherever possible and to help reduce the chance of breaking down, we’re reminding drivers to carry out simple vehicle checks before setting off on journeys.”

Before setting off remember to:

Check fuel: make sure you have enough fuel to get to your destination.

Check tyres: check your tyre pressure and the condition of your tyres, including the spare. Look out for cuts or wear and make sure the tyres have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm, which is the legal limit.

Check engine oil: use your dipstick to check oil before any long journey and top up if needed. Take your car to a garage if you’re topping up more than usual.

Check water: make sure you always have good visibility by keeping your screen wash topped up so you can clear debris or dirt off your windscreen.

Check lights: check your indicators, hazard lights, headlights, fog lights, reverse lights and brake lights. If they’re not functioning properly, you’re putting yourself at risk. Also, light malfunctions can be a reason for your vehicle to fail its MOT.

As well as checking your vehicle, if you’re:

• towing: make sure you have the correct licence and insurance to tow the weight of your load and it’s correctly connected and secured.
• driving on the motorway: follow the motorway signage, including the red X signals. Lanes are closed for a reason and drivers ignoring red X signs put themselves and others at risk.

Highways England will step up works to ensure the roads are prepared for bad weather, putting over 400 patrols on duty to rapidly respond to disruption. 

Over 200 Highways England staff will also be working over Christmas to provide 24/7 cover in Highways England’s 7 regional operations centres to keep traffic flowing. 

Information about traffic conditions is on our website and on Twitter. We can also be contacted on 0300 123 5000.

Journey planning advice, including making sure vehicles are ready for the road, can be found here

Information about how to avoid tailgating by giving fellow road users enough space, is available here

Highways England is the government-owned company responsible for modernising, maintaining and operating England’s motorways and major A roads.

Severe weather driving advice:

• In snow and ice, drivers should stick to the main roads where they can and only travel if necessary. Drivers are also encouraged to make sure they have a snow kit in their vehicle, including an ice scraper and de-icer, warm clothes and blankets and sunglasses to cope with the low winter sun. 
• In high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes, so drivers should slow down and avoid using exposed sections of road if possible. 
• In heavy rain, drivers should keep well back from the vehicle in front, gradually ease off the accelerator if the steering becomes unresponsive, and slow down if the rain and spray from vehicles makes it difficult to see and be seen.
• In fog, drivers should switch on their fog lights and not use lights on full beam as the fog will reflect the light back. If you really cannot see, you should consider finding a safe place to stop until it is safe to continue. 

Real-time traffic information for England’s motorways and major A roads is available via its website ( www.trafficengland.com), local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile apps. Local Twitter services are also available at https://highwaysengland.co.uk/highways-england-about-us.