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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 can be an unlimited number of alarms and they can transmit "as far as you like". The firm said there could be an unlimited number of alarms and they transmit "as far as you like".
The agency said eight workers have been killed in the last three years while maintaining England's road network. The agency said eight workers had been killed in the last three years while maintaining England's road network.
"At times, your protection is a plastic cone and your faith in the ability of the person at the wheel to keep it in lane," a Highways Agency spokesman said. 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.
"Where roadworks have narrow lanes they are 3.25 metres wide. An HGV is typically up to 2.5m wide. "The guys are only doing their job so having these sensors, it reduces the risk of serious injury for road workers."
"That's less than 40cm spare either side - about the width of the computer screen you're reading this on." 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."