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'Screaming' motorway traffic cones to protect workers | 'Screaming' motorway traffic cones to protect workers |
(about 2 hours later) | |
"Screaming" traffic cones are to be used on motorways across England to protect road crews. | "Screaming" traffic cones are to be used on motorways across England to protect road crews. |
The cones are fitted with an alarm that "will literally scream" when the cone is struck, the Highways Agency said. | The cones are fitted with an alarm that "will literally scream" when the cone is struck, the Highways Agency said. |
The yellow-topped, "lighthouse" style wailers alert road workers to the danger of vehicles coming too close. | The yellow-topped, "lighthouse" style wailers alert road workers to the danger of vehicles coming too close. |
The agency said they will mainly be used on motorways, meaning students or other traditional cone nemeses are likely to be kept at bay. | The agency said they will mainly be used on motorways, meaning students or other traditional cone nemeses are likely to be kept at bay. |
The cones were unveiled by the agency near Perry Barr in Birmingham. | The cones were unveiled by the agency near Perry Barr in Birmingham. |
"We will only use them at certain localities, such as motorways or critical road works," a spokesman said. | "We will only use them at certain localities, such as motorways or critical road works," a spokesman said. |
"We wouldn't expect people to be able to get close to them. | "We wouldn't expect people to be able to get close to them. |
"Local authorities may use them for pothole repairs or similar, but they are still being rolled out." | "Local authorities may use them for pothole repairs or similar, but they are still being rolled out." |
'Crew alarms' | 'Crew alarms' |
A spokesman from manufacturers Intellicone said "an ordinary orange cone lantern" is placed on a red and white cone and when they are struck it is picked up by a yellow "portable site alarm" sensor. | A spokesman from manufacturers Intellicone said "an ordinary orange cone lantern" is placed on a red and white cone and when they are struck it is picked up by a yellow "portable site alarm" sensor. |
This transmits to "crew alarms" where road workers are operating to alert them to the potential danger. | This transmits to "crew alarms" where road workers are operating to alert them to the potential danger. |
The firm said there could be an unlimited number of alarms and they transmit "as far as you like". | |
The agency said eight workers had been killed in the last three years while maintaining England's road network. | |
Highways Agency spokesman Wayne Norris said: "We've had incidents where the gateman, who stands at the head of a closure to say that a stretch is closed, has been physically and verbally abused. | |
"The guys are only doing their job so having these sensors, it reduces the risk of serious injury for road workers." | |
Amey road worker Dale Butler, from Darleston in the West Midlands, said he was in a lorry on the M6 northbound carrying out repairs on the hard shoulder when a motorist crashed into him. | |
The driver came across into lane one which was closed off and on to the hard shoulder. | |
"He hit the back of the lorry pushing the back of the lorry into the air as the car went under it," Mr Butler said. | |
"I was in the lorry, I had a bit of whiplash and [the] four other guys [who] were working at the side of the lorry they had back injuries, spleen injuries and head injuries." | |
Wayne Leek, 43, a road worker for 15 years, said: "That extra couple of seconds can give you a lot more chance to move out of the way, nearer to the verge, that extra couple of seconds can save you life." |