Motorway screens to stop rubbernecking

The Government is to roll out 3,000 screens in a bid to stop motorists from slowing down to look at crashes on the opposite carriageway.

Bought by the Highways Agency, the new boards will be placed around serious accidents or deaths on roads in an attempt to reduce traffic jams.

Each set is made up of 30 screens and can reach 75 metres if used end-to-end, with each individual screen measuring in at around 2.1m by 2m high. The total cost for the screens was £2.3m, with each set costing £22,000.

The screens are set to come in to use sometime in the next 12 months, with a Department for Transport (DfT) spokesman claiming that they could be in use by the summer.

The screens will form part of the Government’s CLEAR (Collision, Lead, Evaluate, Act and Reopen) initiative, which began last year and attempts to get roads reopened quicker after accidents and keep other traffic moving. Other measures include 38 DfT/police funded 3D scanners that allow police to capture evidence quicker, and a smart phone app that notifies drivers of any incidents.

The Government is hoping the new measures will help reduce the estimated £750 million cost to the economy incidents on UK roads cause.

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