Highways England issues breakdown safety tips ahead of busiest time of year

One breakdown reported every two minutes at height of 'breakdown season'

Highways England issues breakdown safety tips ahead of busiest time of year
Image: Bigstock.

Highways England has this week issued safety advice to drivers – to be prepared at the start of the busiest time of the year for breakdowns on England’s motorways.

New data from the company shows more than 48,500 motorway breakdowns happened over the summer holiday period, between the final week of June and the first weekend of September last year.

Highways England is expecting to respond to an extra 700 breakdowns a week for the next 10 weeks, taking the average number of motorway breakdowns each week to almost 5,000.

The first weekend in August was the busiest weekend for breakdowns on England’s motorways in 2018 shortly followed by the final weekend in July, with one breakdown reported every two minutes as drivers set off on day trips and holidays.

New safety campaign

Highways England, which is responsible for running England’s motorways and major A road network, today launched a new safety campaign encouraging drivers to remember the basics of motorway driving, including what to do if you break down.

Richard Leonard, head of road safety at Highways England, said: “Highways England has done a lot of work to ease congestion on our motorways and make them safer, and our traffic officers are there to help get things moving if there’s a problem.

“We’re expecting to see a big increase in breakdowns over the next few weeks as drivers set out on longer journeys during the summer.

“So, we’re urging drivers to remember the basics of motorway driving, including carrying out simple vehicle checks before setting off, to help keep us all moving.”

Around a quarter of summer breakdowns are caused by punctures or other tyre issues.

Vehicles running out of fuel and engines overheating are also other common reasons for breakdowns on motorways.

Share your comments below.

Have your say!

0 0

Lost Password

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.