National Highways teams are gearing up to make sure motorists heading home for Christmas don’t end up “top to toe in tailbacks”, with “red lights all around”.
While festive songs, Christmas jumpers and loading presents into the car will be the order of day for many of us, frontline teams from the organisation responsible for running England’s major A-road and motorway network will be working around the clock over the holiday period to help make sure any disruption is kept to a minimum.
Last year, National Highways traffic officers attended almost 400 incidents on England’s motorways and major A-road network on Christmas Day according to organisational data released today.
These included everything from vehicle breakdowns to animals on the network and even abandoned vehicles.
To make sure motorists enjoy hassle-free journeys, a team of frontline staff will be working hard to help motorists and keep traffic flowing over the Christmas and New Year period.
National Highways traffic officer Gaye Bayliss will be out on patrol on Christmas Day on parts of the Midlands motorway network including the M5, M40 and M42.
She has been with National Highways for the past nine years and has worked on Christmas Day six times during her time as a traffic officer.
Whenever there is an incident, Gaye’s priority is to keep people safe. She will also stop traffic to clear obstructions and spills, help remove broken-down vehicles, and support the police and other emergency services by managing road closures when there’s a serious incident.
Gaye said: “I like working Christmas Day because there’s a real team spirit and you know how important the day is to everyone because they’re travelling to see friends or family for a special occasion. On a personal note, I take pride in helping to make those journeys happen and by working to clear incidents.
“The day itself can be busy and I’d say one of the most common occurrences is people running out of fuel. I’ve been stood at the roadside before with people who are on their phones desperately trying to find the nearest filling station which is open on 25 December.”
Gaye added: “It’s really important that motorists fill up their tanks before setting off and make sure they follow our T.R.I.P acronym to help the plan their journey.
“Our advice would always be to firstly make sure that you have plenty of fuel for the trip and if in doubt, go out and top up the day before to make sure you don’t run out. It’s also important to plan a rest every two hours, check your tyres are in good condition and to make sure you have a warm coat and fluids with you in case of severe weather.”
And to make sure any incidents on England’s major A-road and motorway network don’t cause widespread gridlock across the country, a hidden army of staff will also be working throughout the festive period at the National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC) near Birmingham.
The teams working at NTOC have a strategic overview of the network – sort of like air traffic control – and can see everything at a glance.
National Incident Liaison Officer Megan Cartwright from Old Hill will be on shift Christmas morning from 6am to 2pm.
Megan joined the company three years ago and this year will be the second time she has worked on 25 December.
She will be responsible for working with the seven regional control centres to ensure they have a strategic picture of the road network to help inform decision-making as well as keeping motorists informed of incidents on social media channels.
She said: “I will start my shift at around 5.45am and finish around 2pm which is a key part of the day because they will be up and about to make journeys to see friends and family. Our social media channels play a key part in helping people to plan their journeys and we update them constantly to make sure everyone has the very latest information from us.
“I enjoy working on Christmas morning because there’s a real sense of teamwork here and people will often bring in food to make a breakfast. The sense of comradery is really great, and you feel part of an extended family.
“I’ll be home in the afternoon so I can spend time with my family and that’s when I’ll see my mother because she is also working on Christmas Day. As a family, we’ve become accustomed to people working shift patterns, but we always make sure we spend time to mark the occasion.”
National Network Manager, Amy Fellows from Wolverhampton will also be working at Quinton on Christmas morning.
Amy’s job includes making sure that she manages a reporting framework, keeps social media updated alongside the NILO team and maintains a strategic overview of the road network.
She said: “Working on Christmas Day is a unique experience because you know that people’s journeys are going to be varied and it is unpredictable as to what might happen. Some years the roads have been quiet, but a lot depends on the weather and some people often travel on the morning itself.
“My role is to make sure that we co-ordinate any incidents from a national perspective and that we keep drivers and our stakeholders informed of what is happening on the network. Our NILO reports will be issued to utility companies, train companies and colleagues in the Department for Transport to make sure that they know what is happening in real-time.
“As a team there is always a good spirit in the control room on the morning itself and we all know that we’re here to help make those journeys to see friends and loved ones smoothly and with as little disruption as possible.”
For more information on driving safely including tips on looking after your tyres and how to keep oil levels topped up, head online to https://nationalhighways.co.uk/road-safety/
