M6 crash: Road to improvement planned to avoid repeat of 24 hour chaos

After a public inquiry sweeping changes have now been made to the way West Midlands Police, Highways England, and councils work together to avoid a repeat of the chaos after a fatal crash on the motorway on February 4.

The fact-finding mission was instigated by West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson with an initial hearing in March.

It heard an eight-month pregnant woman was stranded on the motorway for nine hours, mourners missed a funeral, and important deliveries weren't able to be made.

And one person said they were considering moving away from the region because of the 'daily nightmare' of the M6, which Mr Jamieson described as 'deeply troubling'.

A series of communication and management failures were also highlighted.

Yesterday the parties met again to reveal what changes had now been put in place.

They include extra training for police officers, earlier access to crash sites for Highway England workers, and better communication between different public bodies.

The public meeting at Lloyd House in Birmingham heard that as a result of the inquiry more information is now put on police logs for all agencies to use.

Highways England now has earlier supervised access to crash sites to assess the carriageway and traffic management needs with workers deploying hydroblaster cleaning equipment and resurfacing materials immediately. Major incident training workshops led by Highways England have taken place and there is now a hotline in which councils and the police can reach the highway control rooms straight away.

Highways England is also working to improve its social media output so it can connect with drivers quicker. The police has also boosted real-time information on its social media feeds.

Highways England's Andrew Butterfield said damaged road surfaces are now planed down, allowing traffic to get moving again quicker with resurfacing taking place at 'quieter' times.

A further fact-finding visit to London's traffic control centre, which managed the Olympic Games traffic issues, has been organised to learn lessons about how they deal with major incidents and events.

The hearing was told how these improvements have already strengthened the response to incidents on the motorway – nationally as well as regionally. For example, following a severe fire on the M6 northbound earlier this year, all three damaged lanes were resurfaced much earlier as a result of these new ways of working.

Highways England operations customer service director, Melanie Clarke, said: "We are committed to making journeys safer and better for all who use our motorways and major roads.

"We welcome the police and crime commissioner's interest and have worked closely with police, local authorities and other partners to improve the way we work together all the time, and particularly when incidents occur.

"Our aim is always to give drivers a better experience on our network. We're confident the changes we've made, including an overhaul of the way we deal with incidents, have already made a real impact and will continue to ensure roads are reopened safely, but as quickly as possible."

Superintendent Dean Hatton, head of the Central Motorways Policing Group, said: "Changes have been made to our collaborative approach with regards to incident management on the motorway network. Information sharing and early access to scenes has resulted in operational examples of how more effective joint working since February has improved overall incident management."

He said the Cabinet Office had since introduced new definitions of what constitutes a 'major incident' but would not be drawn on whether February's crash would meet that criteria.

He said the creation of the West Midlands Combined Authority – the so-called super council overseen by a mayor – would create new opportunities for different bodies to work together and how they respond to major incidents.

• Why the initial inquiry was established over the aftermath of the crash

• Updates from the initial inquiry held into the aftermath of the crash

There has also been changes to the agreement to open up the M6 Toll for free.

Codenamed Operation Freeway, it will now only require one hour's notice to suspend the tolls. But the decision will still have to be made by the Transport Secretary, with advice from Highways England.

Before advising the minister, Highways England will consult with the police, councils and other partners.

Mr Jamieson said the update had been promising but that there is still much work to be done.

He said the upcoming construction of HS2, due to start next year, poses other challenges all groups will need to take into account.

Huge numbers of construction lorries will be descending on the region for a decade to build the high-speed rail line.

Mr Jamieson will also be meeting government ministers about the issues and the work he has done. He said: "It took nearly 24 hours before the motorway fully re-opened and that is totally unacceptable.

"The public outcry at the time was very considerable and that's very understandable. People didn't get to hospital appointments or work, big companies didn't get their components and one lady who was eight months pregnant was trapped for nine hours on the motorway.

"And then there was the damage to the region's reputation, to people who might want to invest in our economy, and the risk to the health of the people trapped in their vehicles. Luckily that night it wasn't that cold, but a few degrees or so lower and it would be a different story.

"These hearings have proved to be extremely worthwhile, with a number of improvements made as a result. This just goes to show what PCCs can achieve if they think a little differently.

"We've come a long way since February but we still have an incredible amount of work to do. We need to make sure we are prepared for HS2 and its construction doesn't bring our region to a standstill.

"One thing is certain, the problems we have on the roads cannot be solved by one organisation: they are issues for all of us and we must all play our part. The combined authority will have a major role in bringing all these things together."