It points out that variable message signs giving advice on main routes much further away from the point of disruption may help motorists make better decisions. This might mean that deteriorating conditions in Devon, for instance, are relayed on signs as far away as Birmingham to encourage more drivers to stay away.

The suggestion is mentioned in a report identifying lessons learned from extreme weather emergencies on UK highways, prepared by consultant Dr Hugh Deeming on behalf of the Department for Transport and the Local Government Technical Advisers Group.

The report makes 28 observations, including a view that responsibility for road closures during extreme weather events should not be managed by just one single agency. It is also said there appears to be ‘ambiguity’ around the strategic road network operator’s support of local highway authorities in managing designated diversion routes.

Another observation is that while the military has previously provided welcome support to local authorities affected by extreme weather events, authorities can ‘positively affect their own resilience’ by developing response and recovery contingencies ‘that do not, and should not need to, include a military component’.
 
The report praises Cumbria’s response to the ‘Beast from the East’ extreme weather event and also says that authorities should increase their focus on preparing personnel for dealing with all types of extreme weather emergency, given they may occur more often and with increasing intensity in future.

Local Government Technical Advisers Group past president John Lamb said the Department for Transport in publishing the report has shown “real leadership about how the sector must co-design better ways to support communities over coming decades”.

To read the full report, click here.

(Photograph: Ian Francis – Shutterstock)