Fog and ice cause chaos for commuters

Freezing fog, black ice and snow brought the region's roads to a standstill as motorists battled against even more treacherous driving conditions.

Rush hour commuters were hit with tailbacks stretching for miles, disrupted bus routes and tunnels closed due to falling icicles last night — and the chaos was set to continue today.

Drivers were stuck in 30-minute jams along Black Lake in West Bromwich today due to the slippery roads and temporary traffic lights.

Gritters were out in force again today, with trucks in Walsall on the streets at 5am to beat rush hour traffic.

The borough's community transport to and from day centres was also being reviewed today following concerns from pensioners about the icy conditions making it difficult for them to get to vehicles.

But it was last night's drive home that hit motorists hard. Birmingham city centre was at gridlock and jams stretched for miles on the A38 Aston Expressway.

The tailbacks snaked back to Junction 6 of the M6 for Spaghetti Junction and Junction 8 of the M5 which joins the M6.

The A38 tunnels were closed due to the danger of falling icicles and the traffic delays left bus passengers waiting next to shelters for more than 45 minutes in the freezing conditions.

Limited

National Express West Midlands ran a limited bus service, with some lines terminating short as buses were full to capacity from stops early in their routes and drivers swept past stops.

In Sandwell, people trying to visit loved ones in hospital were unable to travel as the 238 and 404A services could not serve Rowley Regis Hospital. In Tividale in Oldbury, the 120 had to miss out City Road and Oakham and instead operated via New Birmingham Road.

National Express said it was sorry for any inconvenience caused.

The AA said yesterday was its busiest day in its 105-year history. The company's control room at Oldbury sent out patrol men to 3,000 breakdowns every hour, twice the normal volume, during the morning peak and attended 28,000 calls in total compared with 10,500 on a normal day.

Edmund King, AA President, said: "The compacted snow, which has turned to ice, is causing major problems. We need to see more snow ploughs out."

The government faced pressure to bring in changes that would prevent a repeat of scenes where jack knifed lorries closed roads. West Bromwich MP Tom Watson said: "I have a simple request that we should allow the secretary of state for transport to oblige lorry drivers to drive in the inside lane only. This would help prevent jack knifed lorries closing all lanes of the motorway. I'm writing to the minister today."