Highways England launches biggest ever motorway safety campaign

More than 200,000 motorway breakdowns recorded in 2019

Highways England launches biggest ever motorway safety campaign
Image: Bigstock.

In a multi-million pound public information drive Highways England is giving motorists clear advice about what to do in an emergency.

Around 600 journeys a day involve a breakdown, and when you are on a busy motorway that can be frightening.

So today Highways England is setting out what drivers should do if they encounter problems with their vehicle – go left.

The campaign is being supported by partners across the recovery industry and independent road safety campaigner Meera Naran.

Set to the tune of the Pet Shop Boys’ hit version of the ‘Go West’ song, the advert delivers a clear, single-minded message – go left.

Testing with focus groups found that the distinctive characters, music and humour made the important message very memorable and people will remember what to do in the event of an emergency.

Highways England Acting Chief Executive, Nick Harris, said: “No one plans to break down on a motorway, but if the unexpected happens then I want all motorists to know what to do so that they can keep themselves and others safe.

“Everyone wants a safe journey and raising awareness is a vital part of helping to make sure that happens.

“This new campaign and its ‘Go left’ message is designed to deliver crucial information in an accessible way and to help make motorways safer for the people who use them.

“This campaign is just one of the many steps we are taking to invest in our network with safety as our number one priority, doing everything we can to help drivers feel confident on our motorways.”

The campaign is part of an 18-point action plan set out in the Evidence Stocktake published by the Department for Transport in March last year.

The Transport Secretary called on Highways England to deliver the campaign to improve safety and public confidence on smart motorways. The minister has requested a report updating progress on the action plan to date.

Meera Naran is campaigning for Safer Drivers on Safer Roads following the tragic death of her eight-year-old son Dev on the M6.

She said: “Having successfully campaigned for the implementation of the 18-point safety plan – this education campaign is an integral step in the right direction to support motorists.

“I’m pleased to see it is being supported by so many key road safety organisations and my only hope is that it will help save lives.”

In 2019 there were almost 230,000 reported breakdowns across the Highways England network including around 207,500 on motorways.

In the 12 months from June 2019, around 40,000 breakdowns were recorded as being due to tyre issues while more than 6,000 incidents were a result of vehicles running out of fuel.

Home Page Forums Highways England launches biggest ever motorway safety campaign

  • This topic has 4 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 3 years ago by jim croft.
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  • #209750 Reply

    In a multi-million pound public information drive Highways England is giving motorists clear advice about what to do in an emergency. Around 600 journ
    [See the full post at: Highways England launches biggest ever motorway safety campaign]

    #209794 Reply
    Meat-Head
    Blocked

    Stupid idea, should have not spent millions advertising just reinstalling
    Hard shoulders.

    #montego bay

    Who ever thought of smart motor way should work on them
    The emergency services were against them from start

    #209807 Reply
    Eddie Bamber
    Guest

    ‘Smart motorways’ has got to be the biggest misnomer of all time. They are not ‘smart’ they are dangerous and too many people have been killed on them already. The television advert is ridiculous. The guy gets a warning light on his dash and carries on to the emergency refuge. In reality, it doesn’t work like that. Quite often a car will stop dead where it is leaving you no choice – with trucks and other traffic thundering up behind you at 70 mph. They need doing away with.

    #209808 Reply
    Colin Harwood
    Guest

    No mention about what you should do if you’re left stranded in a live lane with no sign of a turn off or refuge area in sight.

    #209809 Reply
    jim croft
    Guest

    complete rubbish advert, how far will your car coast when the engine has packed up ? most people go into complete panic when their car breaks down on a busy motorway, they will not be looking for two fly’s for help!

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