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| Councils could be fined £5,000 a day for unmanned roadworks | Councils could be fined £5,000 a day for unmanned roadworks |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Councils and utility companies could be fined up to £5,000 a day for leaving roadworks unmanned at weekends, the Department for Transport has said. | Councils and utility companies could be fined up to £5,000 a day for leaving roadworks unmanned at weekends, the Department for Transport has said. |
| The proposal is among measures the government is considering to try to reduce congestion on English A-roads. | |
| Those carrying out work on major routes would have to operate seven days a week, or remove road restrictions when no work was taking place. | Those carrying out work on major routes would have to operate seven days a week, or remove road restrictions when no work was taking place. |
| The transport secretary said the plans offered "welcome relief" for drivers. | The transport secretary said the plans offered "welcome relief" for drivers. |
| Patrick McLoughlin said: "Roadworks can be essential but that doesn't mean they should be in place any longer than is absolutely necessary. | Patrick McLoughlin said: "Roadworks can be essential but that doesn't mean they should be in place any longer than is absolutely necessary. |
| 'Common sense measures' | 'Common sense measures' |
| "These common sense measures will be a welcome relief to those trying to get from A to B on our local roads." | "These common sense measures will be a welcome relief to those trying to get from A to B on our local roads." |
| It is estimated there are about two million roadworks every year, with drivers losing millions of hours annually by being stuck in traffic. | It is estimated there are about two million roadworks every year, with drivers losing millions of hours annually by being stuck in traffic. |
| Councils and utility companies would be fined for needlessly inconveniencing drivers by leaving roadworks in place over weekends when no-one is working on them. | Councils and utility companies would be fined for needlessly inconveniencing drivers by leaving roadworks in place over weekends when no-one is working on them. |
| Penalties could also be handed out to those who leave temporary traffic lights in place after work has finished. | Penalties could also be handed out to those who leave temporary traffic lights in place after work has finished. |
| Daily fines of £5,000 are already in place for roadworks that overrun. | Daily fines of £5,000 are already in place for roadworks that overrun. |
| The Department for Transport plans would apply only to A-roads, which are managed by local authorities. | The Department for Transport plans would apply only to A-roads, which are managed by local authorities. |
| 'Pay the price' | |
| Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Road users see red when they come across sets of temporary traffic lights that are stopping traffic but there are no workmen in sight or the work has actually finished. | Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Road users see red when they come across sets of temporary traffic lights that are stopping traffic but there are no workmen in sight or the work has actually finished. |
| "Ministers can't stop utility companies digging up the roads but they can make firms pay the price if the work is not done swiftly and they do not tidy up after themselves." | "Ministers can't stop utility companies digging up the roads but they can make firms pay the price if the work is not done swiftly and they do not tidy up after themselves." |
| Edmund King, president of the AA, said there had been "many false dawns" when it came to cutting the time it takes to complete roadworks. | |
| "Sometimes it is essential work, and the cones are there for safety reasons," he said. | |
| "I think the bigger problem is when one of the utilities has dug down into a trench, they've found a pipe is damaged and then they haven't got the parts [to fix it] so the roadworks are just coned off with no work going on, sometimes for several weeks. | |
| "And I think it's situations like that that the government wants to crack down on." |