Safety Information

According to RoSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents 95% of all road accidents are down to human error, which takes many forms from tiredness to stress. On motorways specifically, figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that the accident rate is the lowest, at 4.7%, of all rural and urban road accident casualties. This is attributed to a number of qualities. Motorways are designed and built to higher standards than other roads, make use of hard shoulders, have low junction densities and a one way traffic flow with little opportunity for pedestrian and cycle conflicts.

When motorway accidents do occur, however, the DfT suggests that this may be attributed to driver fatigue and high quantities of traffic. The DfT also looked at the contribution of speed to accident risk, and found that on motorways, the accident rate when the route is congested is nearly twice that of the rate on a non-congested route.

Falling asleep at the wheel accounts for up to 20% of the crashes on Britain's motorways and other similar roads. The DfT have the following facts about falling asleep at the wheel and how to avoid tiredness related accidents.

• sleep-related crashes are more likely to result in serious injury than the 'average' road accident because a sleeping driver does not react before a crash
• men aged 30 years and under are more likely to have a sleep-related crash than other drivers
• driving between the hours of midnight and 0600hrs presents a particular risk, as this is when you are naturally more prone to tiredness
• many tired motorists continue to drive, even when they are consciously 'fighting sleep' by doing things to keep them awake such as winding down the window

However, opening a window or turning the radio up does little to prevent a driver from falling asleep at the wheel, but there are some effective steps you can take to help keep yourself alert:

• plan your journey to include a 15 minute break every two hours of driving
• drinking 2 cups of coffee or other high caffeine drinks and having a rest to allow time for the caffeine to kick in are effective methods of combating tiredness
• don't start your journey tired. Be aware of the risks if you get up unusually early to start your trip, or have a long drive back at the end of your holiday
• avoid making long trips between the hours of midnight-0600hrs and 1400-1600hrs when natural alertness is low
• share the driving if possible
• if you start to feel sleepy find a safe place to stop (not the hard shoulder of a motorway) as soon as possible

M6 Toll Safety Features

• as with other UK motorways, the national speed limit applies and although the route is free flowing, it is imperative that drivers adhere to road safety legislation and guidelines
• we have regular police patrols along the motorway and anyone caught speeding will be prosecuted
• by maintaining a free flowing route, MEL traffic speeds remain steady and consistent, avoiding a driver's urge to speed between congestion in order to make up for lost time
• our maintenance team also regularly patrol the road in their Incident Support Units and are on hand 24hrs a day to deal with any situation quickly and safely
• our 24hr control centre means that if you stop at a toll booth and need help or advice there will always be someone on the end of a help point to assist you
• noise-reducing tarmac used to surface the M6 Toll decreases noise levels by approximately 3 decibels compared with conventional road surfaces. Reduced surface noise is less tiring for a motorist which should help to alleviate the monotony of motorway driving
• CCTV is installed along the route for the control centre to monitor traffic activity and take any appropriate action
• emergency phone boxes are posted at regular intervals along the hard shoulder for customer use
• if you feel tired, it's very important to take a break; this is why our motorway service area is a state of the art building including a large car park, restaurant, coffee shop, petrol station and restaurant, plus hotel accommodation