Valuable police time is taken up managing traffic on UK’s road system. Now under new arrangements, the Highways Agency will jointly manage traffic using ‘jam busting patrols’.

For the first time uniformed Highways Agency traffic officers will patrol Britain's motorways twenty-four hours a day.

The plans mean that from 2004 the Highways Agency will play a more active role in managing strategic roads and perform some traffic management duties currently provided by the police.

The new arrangements were developed jointly with the Association of Chief Police Officers. Under the new plans:

• A new network of regional control offices, operated jointly by the Highways Agency and police, will be established to manage traffic and co-ordinate responses to incidents. The first office covering the West Midlands will be operational on the Birmingham motorways early next year.
• The Highways Agency will be responsible for dealing with the traffic consequences of an incident, setting message signs and signals for traffic diversions and incidents and adapting speed limits.
• The Highways Agency will also be responsible for co-ordinating the transport of heavy loads, answering emergency roadside calls, dealing with abandoned, damaged and broken down vehicles.
• The police will continue to investigate accidents and be entirely responsible for law enforcement.

Alistair Darling, Transport Secretary said: "Currently 42 individual police forces manage traffic on our roads - taking up valuable police time on traffic management.”

“By simplifying traffic management arrangements - we can take a more strategic and co-ordinated view of congestion across the network.”

"This will free up police time for law enforcement and ensure motorists are given the best possible traffic information so that time stuck in jams is kept to a minimum."