- in the case of minor incidents, identify when a road is safe to be reopened. For more major incidents, this decision is likely to be taken by the police or a traffic officer. However, if repairs are required following the initial incident, the manager from the managing agent or Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) may make this decision in consultation with the appropriate control centre (if applicable).
O7.2.5
ETM will normally be provided by the first to arrive at the incident, e.g. police, traffic officer or ISU, using whatever resources are available to them at time of deployment. The situation where an ISU is first to arrive is dealt with in paragraph O7.2.8.
O7.2.6 ETM involving carriageway closure or stopping of traffic shall only be deployed under the control of the police or a traffic officer. ISUs may deploy such ETM only when acting under the instructions of either the police or a traffic officer acting within their powers as defined under Part 1 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.
O7.2.7 Contractors do not have any general authorisation or powers to stop or direct traffic. However, under section 65 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended by the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991) a Highway Authority can permit contractors employed by them to place ETM on any part of their network without a specific instruction. Contractors should confirm with the Highway Authority employing them, whether or not they are permitted to deploy ETM complying with this section.
O7.2.8 If an ISU discovers an incident where police or a traffic officer are not already in attendance, they should follow their own emergency traffic management procedures based on the amount of equipment they are carrying. ISU’s ETM should always make full use of the equipment available to them and shall at no time be less than the basic ETM layout described in this section. If police or traffic officer assistance is required, e.g. to instigate a carriageway closure, they should immediately summon the appropriate assistance.
O7.2.9 Emergency traffic management shall be deployed only to deal with emergency situations, i.e. where the event/incident is unplanned. It shall not be used for planned short-duration highway maintenance works.
O7.2.10 Examples of typical circumstances when ETM may need to be deployed are:
- road traffic accidents;
- broken-down or abandoned vehicles: broken-down vehicles present a hazard not only through the presence of the vehicle itself, but also because other vehicles may need to attend to effect recovery, and hence require protection; and
- debris on the road: small manageable items should be removed as soon as it is safe and practicable to do so; unmanageable items may need to be protected in the same way as road works.
O7.2.11 Any ETM layout shall take account of all the road users likely to be affected by management of the incident, including pedestrians and cyclists.
O7.2.12 Any ETM layout deployed should be adequate and appropriate to the nature of the incident and the traffic management resources available throughout the duration of the incident. Consideration should always be given to the topographical and environmental conditions under which the ETM will be deployed, e.g. the extent of visibility at the time of the incident may require the use of warning lights to help guide traffic past the incident scene.
O7.2.13 ETM should be continually assessed to ensure it remains appropriate to the circumstances and duration of the incident and to decide if replacement temporary traffic management is required.
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