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Traffic Managers from across Country visit Birmingham's National Traffic Control Centre
Traffic Managers from across the country are descending upon Birmingham this week for a conference aimed at showing how better traffic management and use of the latest technology can be used to cut congestion.
A key part of the tenth annual Urban Traffic Management and Control conference, on the 29 & 30 November at the Council House, will be a visit by delegates to the hub of the country's motorway network, the National Traffic Control Centre at nearby Quinton. Here, delegates will be shown how the centre works with operational partners from across the country to manage traffic and get the most up-to-the-minute traffic information out to the driving public.
Staff at the control centre are responsible for providing motorists with the latest information on traffic on England's motorway and major 'A' roads. They collect information from a variety of sources including 3,750 automatic sensors in the road surface and over 1,000 traffic cameras as well as human sources such as the police and contractors working on the roads.
This information is then given to the media as well as directly to motorists using overhead and roadside electronic signs, the Highways Agency website and automated telephone helpline, information points at motorway service areas and the Highways Agency's new DAB digital radio station, Traffic Radio.
Steve Crosthwaite, Head of the National Traffic Control Centre said:
"This is a great opportunity for traffic professionals from local authorities across the country to gain a better understanding of the work of the National Traffic Control Centre and to develop relationships that will help us get the latest traffic information out to motorists the length and breadth of the country."
There is also a team at the National Traffic Control Centre dedicated to helping those businesses that rely on our motorways and major 'A' roads for their businesses. They can provide access to up to the minute traffic information, even showing the average speed between individual motorway junctions, using their Atlas Pro system which is used by radio station travel presenters across the country.
