GPS to help clear accident congestion
By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2006-04-05
In Britain, lane closures after accidents are blamed for a quarter of all highway congestion. Much of this time is taken up by crash investigation teams, who have to finish their work before the Highways Agency can move in to make any necessary repairs.
Now, the Highways Agency, which is an executive agency of England's Department for Transport, is teaming up with two police forces to test technology that can speed up the process. Police forces in Surrey and Warwickshire will be provided with GPS data of accidents fed into their hand held PCs by the Agency.
A three-month trial, which started on April 3, will use Ordnance Survey data to pinpoint the accident location along with any other information that the police will require.
If the system works, it will be a welcome break for motorists, who are frequently delayed by as much as 6 hours as crash investigations are completed.
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