Highways Agency shut a motorway again

[Panic Button]

Is it just me or do the Highways Agency seem to over react and close motorways these days? When they recruited the highways patrols it was supposed to improve things, but sometimes I wonder if they feel the need to justfy their jobs by closing motorways.
Today the M1 has been shut all day, because a dam near it has cracks in it. Its hardly going to flood the motorway without warning is it? If it did start to give way they could easily stop traffic before it reached the carriageway.

[redcrx]

could they? have you seen the aerial photgraphy? the water is up at either side of motorway already, a sudden release of water could, by the look of it, wash cars away. They may only have a minutes notice, hardly enough time to get police to the area and close the road off

With 3 people having already lost their lives to the flooding do you realy think that the motorway should be open?

[Panic Button]

I once went past a nasty crash on the M25 near Clacket Services. The opposite carriageway was closed, quite reasonably, as a couple of cars had smashed through the wooden fence and tumbled in a field. They had screens up by one vehicle so I presume their were severe injuries or fatalities.
There were emergency vehicles on the hardshoulder and lane 1, but all the wreckage was all in the field. I heard on the radio that the air ambulance landed on the carriageway, so no complaints about the closure.
However I listened to the traffic reports as the south side of London was getting into severe gridlock, and the carriageway was still closed four hours later! Ridiculous.
The government claimed when setting up these highway patrols that it was going to help re-open roads more quickly. No chance.

[NORMANTHEDOG]

i must agree with you,they do tend to overeact in some circumstances,but i think todays closure was needed for safetys sake,god forbid anymore people losing their life to this dreadful flooding.

[Panic Button]

Just found the reservoir on Virtual earth. It is almost a mile from the M1!

[Ethel]

It's partly due to the compensation culture too - people are very quick to sue.

They really can't do right for doing wrong.

[heybridge1]

I've just seen the floods either side of the M1 and its not surprising the motorway is closed. Also if the dam bursts it's the first thing after a nearby sewage works that it will hit and looks likely to wash the banked motorway away. The powerstation beyond that have 15 minutes to shut down and evacuate and they supply the whole of Sheffield / Rotherham (one of the two). With my local motorway, the M25, though I agree: they never seem very quick to clear up and I guess thats because its effectively a crime scence and they have to take pictures, mark up the various relevant crash positions etc. They need to have screens up to stop the other side slowing down to look. Theres an idea for Dragons Den!

[claguey]

Dont't forget, the road often has to remain closed for the Police Collision Investigation Teams to do their work or Fire & Rescue teams to do clean ups etc. Safe closures are done for a very valid reason and more traffic on the roads these days is probably why it takes longer to get everything moving again - we're all far too impatient!

[Panic Button]

It costs the economy millions with all that traffic being delayed. Perhaps it would be cost effective to equip each lamp post with miniature cameras which digitally record everything and store it for a matter of hours.
Then instead of plodding around with cameras and chalk, the accident investigation team could download from the local lamp posts and see what actually happened.
They could also drag the debris off the road and get us all moving again.
Another Dragons Den idea?

[madman06]

highways agencys r there to help the police they can not close any road (A) (B) or motorway without the police say so the M1 was closed for saftey only and it was far better to get traffic doing the divert too early as too late,know what your saying about highways but if the diversion is in place early doors then its not a mad rush

[NORMANTHEDOG]

Madman,i think you will find that these new traffic officers have all the powers they need to shut any road they deem needs shutting,according to the situation,they do not have to wait for the police to give the ok,thats why they have been put on our motorways to help the police