{"id":44862,"date":"2014-07-10T15:05:12","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T15:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=8d5714cde4be53b204fbddab145685c5"},"modified":"2014-07-10T15:05:12","modified_gmt":"2014-07-10T15:05:12","slug":"press-release-highways-agency-helps-drivers-in-west-midlands-to-have-a-happy-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=44862","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Highways Agency helps drivers in West Midlands to have a happy holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It is also using data from previous years to analyse popular routes and times<\/a> in the West Midlands \u2013 allowing drivers to better plan their journeys.<\/p>\n

Agency figures show that out of 19595 incidents in the West Midlands last year during the summer months, 1908 of them were potentially preventable \u2013 with 1833 tyre-related breakdowns and 75 out-of-fuel breakdowns. <\/p>\n

Simon Sheldon-Wilson, Director of Traffic Management, said:<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll be doing all we can during the summer to ensure road users get to their destinations smoothly and safely. Our traffic officers will also be on hand to clear incidents from the roads and get traffic moving as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital that people check and maintain their vehicles before setting off. A single preventable breakdown can cause chaos for thousands of people \u2013 and congestion costs the economy an estimated \u00a33bn every year.<\/p>\n

Inevitably there will be times where routes become congested, and many people will be driving on unfamiliar roads, so we ask road users to help themselves by planning ahead to avoid peak times, using our journey planning tools and allowing enough time for their journeys.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Chief examiner of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, Peter Rodger adds: <\/p>\n

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A major cause of breakdown is running out of fuel. Check that \u2013 and while you\u2019re doing it, water, oil and tyres \u2013 and you will be well on the way to preventing a breakdown that could make your summer getaway an unpleasant experience instead of the brilliant one you hoped for.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Agency is publishing a list of potential hotspots on its roads<\/a>, which \u2013 along with its summer travel advice<\/a> \u2013 will help people as they travel this summer.<\/p>\n

The Agency has analysed traffic information from the last three years for two key summer periods \u2013 the first weekend of the school holidays for many areas (18 to 20 July) and the August bank holiday weekend (22 to 25 August). For each of these periods, they have identified routes that can become busy.<\/p>\n

Journeys to Wales using the A5 from Telford and the A40 and M50 can become busy at specific peak times on 18-20 July and 22-25 August. The Agency will be suspending or completing as many road works as possible during the bank holiday period to help road users.<\/p>\n

Drivers can check planned road works on motorways and major A roads in advance on the Agency\u2019s website. Just before they set out they can get up-to-date information about incidents and congestion hotspots on the road network by calling the Agency\u2019s helpline on 0300 123 5000 or by checking Twitter.<\/p>\n

Information about the Agency\u2019s road network is available on the Traffic England<\/a> website and drivers can download a live traffic info app to their smartphone<\/a> so they can check on current road and traffic conditions while en-route. But remember it is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving.<\/p>\n

General enquiries<\/h4>\n

Members of the public should contact the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000<\/p>\n

Media enquiries<\/h4>\n

Journalists should contact the Highways Agency press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the school summer holidays almost upon us and more drivers using its roads, the Highways Agency is urging road users in the West Midlands to check and maintain their vehicles this summer \u2013 as figures reveal that 1908 of incidents on the region\u2019s roads last summer were potentially preventable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44862\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}