New emergency motorway phones
The Highways Agency has announced that 6,500 new emergency roadside phones will be installed on motorways and trunk roads in England over the next three years.
The Highways Agency has announced that 6,500 new emergency roadside phones will be installed on motorways and trunk roads in England over the next three years.
The project, which is costing £3 million, will use the latest technology to improve communications for people experiencing problems on the motorways. Features of the new phones include:
- A loud siren and flashing light to signal that the phone is ringing on the roadside, making use easier in noisy locations and for the hearing-impaired.
- A text display which can be activated by the operator, with questions which can be answered with tick and cross buttons, benefiting those with hearing difficulties.
- Users will be given a choice of languages through a text facility with preset questions; the preset responses will be sent back in the selected language.
The new phones, which will be powered partly by solar energy, will be connected to one of the Highway Agencys seven regional control centres. Fewer inspections of the phones will be required because the phones have been designed to check themselves for faults and to report them.
The new phones, which will be manufactured by GAI-TRONICS, have already been installed on roads in Kent, Essex and Nottinghamshire.