Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Related pages

• Traffic Incident Management Bulletin

July 2007

Introduction

Any incident resulting in the obstruction or partial obstruction of a carriageway is likely to need traffic management (TM). As the severity and duration of the incident increases so does the amount of TM required and the standard it is laid to. A "Chapter 8 closure" is often requested by incident responders but not always correctly so. This article outlines what Chapter 8 is, some recent changes and the basics of Emergency Traffic Management.

In 2006 the latest revision to Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual was released, please follow the link to Chapter 8. This document is applicable throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is a Code of practice and not a mandatory standard, however, it does make recommendations based on good practice and sets out what measures are required to meet traffic regulation and health and safety laws. The update has introduced and formalised the term Emergency Traffic Management (ETM) and has set out best practice for deploying TM during incidents.

Chapter 8 - The Basics

When using temporary traffic management there are two objectives.

1. Maximise the safety of the workforce and the travelling public.
2. Keep traffic flowing as freely as possible.

Safe and efficient traffic management is founded upon the following simple principles:

• Provision of clear and early warning of obstructions in the highway.
• Optimisation of road space and the provision of an adequate safety zone and working space at works locations.
• Clear directions relating to decisions/actions required from road users.
• Minimisation of potential conflict between road users.
• Credibility of traffic signs and temporary requirements.
• Speed limits and restrictions appropriate for the temporary highway geometry and safety features.

Chapter 8 consists of two parts which provide guidance that should enable competent persons to design the TM and carry out operations on the carriageway. ETM requirements are only detailed in Chapter 8 Part 2: Operations as implementation is based on dynamic risk assessment. 

Chapter 8 - What has changed

There have been numerous changes made to the Chapter 8 document during the update process. To describe them all would result in a very lengthy article so only those most relevant to incident management have been highlighted.

The new Chapter 8 documents do not contain complete layout drawings as per the old 1991 document. TM layouts in Chapter 8 Part 1: Design use a 5 zone system. Very simplistically the Designer determines the layout for each zone from given principles thereby generating the overall layout. For example, a lane 1 closure in one location would be different to that deployed in a location with additional hazards.

The 5 zone system in Chapter 8: Part 1: Design

The sizes and location of some of the signs deployed has been changed slightly from the previous version but the most noticeable addition is the requirement for sequential flashing road danger lamps on tapers involving a lane drop. These have been shown to provide a clearer message to road users than the traditional lamps.

Emergency Traffic Management

ETM has previously not featured in Chapter 8. In the new document ETM is detailed within Part 2: Operations. This provides advice on deploying ETM using the limited traffic management resources available upon arrival at an incident.

When managing an incident it may not be practicable to implement TM complying with Chapter 8 Part 1: Design. To overcome this problem ETM described in Chapter 8 Part 2 : Operations should be deployed to:

• Provide short-term protection to those dealing with or involved in the incident;
• Prevent escalation of the incident;
• Protect and give direction to other traffic approaching the scene;
• Protect the scene of a crime until such time as the police take over; or
• Help manage incident-related congestion.

The initial closures for an incident are likely to be installed or instructed by the Police or Traffic Officers. All ETM is dynamically risk assessed to ensure it is adequate and appropriate given the nature of the incident and the resources available. This is re-assessed throughout the duration of the incident.

Traffic Management for different incident durations

To ensure adequate and appropriate TM is provided at incidents it is important to consider the location of the incident, lanes to be closed and expected duration. For example, debris in the carriageway may be easily removed using gaps in the traffic or a rolling road block, whereas a major incident will require a full traffic management deployment.

Incident duration up to 20 minutes

• ETM compliant with 'Chapter 8: Part 2' normally implemented by the Police or TO service (but could also be the service provider).

20 - 90 minutes

• The Service Provider would normally provide TM support to reinforce the 'Chapter 8: Part 2' compliant ETM. This reinforcement typically uses larger cones and signage than those initially deployed by the Police or TOs.

Over 90 minutes or total closures

• The Service Provider would normally design and implement TM in accordance with 'Chapter 8: Part 1: Design' using the 5 zonoe methodology.