Road patrols to combat gridlock

Drivers were stuck all night on the M11 motorway

Fears of gridlock on Britain's roads have led to the setting up of emergency patrols carrying life-saving equipment.

From next spring the Highways Agency will send out patrols in a pilot scheme on motorways in the West Midlands.

They will also be given extra powers to enforce variable speed limits and use motorway message boards to stop queues building up.

The move comes amid concerns that whole cities or trunk routes could seize up - leaving drivers stranded in their cars.

Highways Agency operational policy director Nick Carter told The Observer newspaper patrols would be run up and down jams to find drivers or passengers in need of medical help.

Their second task would be to ensure ambulance crews and paramedics could reach and possibly evacuate emergency cases, he added.

The police will be able to spend more time dealing with crime and we will take on a greater role in dealing with congestion Highways Agency

The patrols might also provide water, food, and even portable toilets, Mr Carter told the newspaper.

A Highways Agency spokeswoman said they would "make sure accidents are cleared up quickly so traffic can keep moving".

"They will also direct traffic.

"The police will be able to spend more time dealing with crime and we will take on a greater role in dealing with congestion.

"If it is successful we plan to roll it out over the next few years to other parts of the country."

The patrols will also take responsibility for co-ordinating the transport of heavy loads, answering roadside calls and dealing with abandoned and broken down vehicles.

And a new network of regional control offices, operated jointly by the Highways Agency and police, is being set up to manage traffic and co-ordinate responses to incidents.

AA transport and roads policy director Paul Watters told The Observer there were already "about half a dozen major incidents a month" in which traffic was held at a standstill by gridlock for more than three hours.

Last winter drivers were stuck all night on the M11 motorway in freezing conditions.