Now that the snow has settled the AA says that
there are lessons to be learnt from the transport chaos on Monday.
While accepting that
the amount of snow did cause exceptional problems particularly for the highway
authorities the AA believes that the UK needs an action plan for extreme
weather, which could sweep in again as early as tomorrow.
Areas for improvement
include:
1.
Information highways: Many
websites collapsed or slowed down under the sheer weight of inquiries for rail
or road information. The AA believes that
essential sites should be more resilient. The
AA website coped extremely well with its Roadwatch section recording 1.25m page
impressions which equates to roughly 4 weeks of traffic in one day. Indeed,
theAA.com recorded more than three million page impressions which is the
biggest volume of traffic it has ever seen. All
the AA information and advice pages saw a peak in traffic.
2.
Bus highways: Part of the
bus problem in London was linked to problems getting busses from ungritted
depots onto the main roads. The AA
believes that bus depots should be a gritting priority. The AA also suggests that in extreme weather an emergency
bus or coach service should be provided and should concentrate on the Red
Routes. Many people were stranded in
London whereas an emergency red route bus service with North, South, East and
West routes advertised on temporary Variable Message Signs would at least have
served the key routes.
3.
Slip highways: Whereas the
key motorways were treated, there appeared to
be problems on some of the slip roads or link roads to motorways. The AA questions whether this was due to
different highway authorities having different responsibilities, and to a lack of joined-up responsibility.
4.
Winter highways: Many London
boroughs have limited winter maintenance budgets,
but the AA believes that emergency contingency plans and special funding should
be in place so that greater resources can be contracted in on these rare
occasions. In rural areas the highway
authorities often have contracts with farmers to increase snow ploughing
capacity so the AA suggests that similar opportunities should be explored with
civil engineering contractors in Metropolitan areas.
5.
Super highways: Despite
claims that 20% of employees were not working,
the AA believes that a significant proportion were able to work from home due
to laptop and broadband provision. The AA
uses home workers to man call centres and believes that other employers could
benefit from a flexible workforce.
Commenting on the travel
situation across the UK , Edmund King, AA president said, "Many of the highway authorities were doing their
best to keep key roads open but some were defeated by the depth and range of
the snow.
"The grit and salt on many roads
was ineffective due to the amount of snow and indeed snow being blown onto
highways already cleared. Whilst
improvements can and should be made in terms of planning for extreme weather
conditions it is wrong to suggest that 20% of the population were not working.
"Many employees
now adopt "Workwise" practices which allow key workers to be more flexible in
terms of when and where they work. The
provision of laptops, broadband and dial-in meeting facilities meant that a
good proportion of those unable to physically get to the office along the
highway were able to link to the office via the superhighway. For these employers,
the loss in terms of productivity due to the failings of the transport system
was minimised.
"The AA saw a 50% increase in breakdowns and insurance claims
yesterday which indicates that motorists had real problems on the roads. Whilst these extreme weather conditions are a
relatively rare occurrence, as a country we could be better prepared."
There is
still a risk of further major snow falls tonight and Thursday.
The AA
also stresses that with the coldest winter for many years, the majority of UK highway authorities will see significant if not over
expenditure on highway budgets - this must not become an excuse for cutbacks
later on fixing the inevitable pot holes and damaged road surfaces.
The government must step in and support local authorities if this winter
emergency is going to jeopardise the condition of our roads later - it would be
farcical if highway authorities have to pay out more in compensation than
putting the roads right.
Motorists caused
an estimated £60m worth of damage on Monday as thousands ignored warnings
against travelling.
The number of accidents recorded on Monday leapt
three-fold compared to normal levels according to Accident Exchange, a leading
accident management company.
However, not all accidents will have been reported yet, says Steve
Evans, chief executive of Accident Exchange. "The final toll of Monday will
only be known in the next couple of weeks but the cost of that ‘essential'
journey will be high." More than 10,000 incidents are reported on a normal winter's day leaving
repairs bills of £1,8001 on average. The number could rise to
30,000. In addition to the body and structural damage, the snow-related bumps,
scrapes and crashes will cost the UK economy upwards of £5.25m2 in
lost working hours in the coming weeks as owners spend an average of 3½ days
dealing with the aftermath.
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