Members of the public driving under red cross signs on gantries are a big safety issue for the workforce, highways bosses have been told.
Highways England programme lead Stewart Evans told delegates at the Highways Health and Safety Conference 2016 how the company has used automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to tackle drivers’ inappropriate use of the dynamic hard shoulder.
He told delegates that Highways England had used the technology to identify and write to drivers who repeatedly used the hard shoulder on its smart motorway network when it was closed.
This, he said, had resulted in a 97% non-repeat rate and some letters of apology.
The company plans to develop a smart motorway spine linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, Mr Evans said, adding ‘we will continue to do more to educate our customers about smart motorways’.
Mr Evans was asked by one delegate what plans the company had to penalise people who drive under red gantry crosses generally.
He replied: ‘I’ve heard that being talked about. I’m not aware of the strategy or the policy that we currently have around it but I appreciate it is a [big] issue, both for the traffic officer service and for our supply chain.’
Transport Network has asked Highways England to clarify its approach.
