Highways England – helping you this Christmas

Some 778 miles of roadworks on England’s motorways and major A-roads will be removed from the road network from 6am on Sunday 20 December to 12:01am on Monday 4 January 2021.

Where essential roadworks must continue, speed limits will be set at 60mph where possible.

To make journeys better for everyone, plan your route, check traffic conditions before setting out, make sure your vehicle is ready for the drive ahead and allow plenty of time for your trip.

As well as keeping roadworks to an absolute minimum, Highways England’s traffic officers will help you stay on the move by changing their working hours to meet peaks in traffic volumes.

Highways England’s customer service director, Melanie Clarke, said: “We want to help you see loved ones this Christmas, so we’ll be doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible and to minimise any disruption.

“We’ll remove roadworks wherever possible and to help reduce the chance of breaking down, we’re reminding drivers to carry out simple vehicle checks before setting off on journeys.”

Before setting off remember to:

Check fuel: make sure you have enough fuel to get to your destination.

Check tyres: check your tyre pressure and the condition of your tyres, including the spare. Look out for cuts or wear and make sure the tyres have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm, which is the legal limit.

Check engine oil: use your dipstick to check oil before any long journey and top up if needed. Take your car to a garage if you’re topping up more than usual.

Check water: make sure you always have good visibility by keeping your screen wash topped up so you can clear debris or dirt off your windscreen.

Check lights: check your indicators, hazard lights, headlights, fog lights, reverse lights and brake lights. If they’re not functioning properly, you’re putting yourself at risk. Also, light malfunctions can be a reason for your vehicle to fail its MOT.

As well as checking your vehicle, if you’re:

• towing: make sure you have the correct licence and insurance to tow the weight of your load and it’s correctly connected and secured.
• driving on the motorway: follow the motorway signage, including the red X signals. Lanes are closed for a reason and drivers ignoring red X signs put themselves and others at risk.

Highways England will step up works to ensure the roads are prepared for bad weather, putting over 400 patrols on duty to rapidly respond to disruption.

Over 200 Highways England staff will also be working over Christmas to provide 24/7 cover in Highways England’s seven regional operations centres to keep traffic flowing.

Information about traffic conditions is on our website and on Twitter. We can also be contacted on 0300 123 5000.

Get journey planning advice, including making sure vehicles are ready for the road.

Get information about how to avoid tailgating by giving fellow road users enough space.

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.