Police sergeant explains A1 issues
Almost everyday there is an incident on the A1 causing delays to drivers.
Seeing this puts fear into many people that they will get stuck in traffic, or worse be involved in an accident.
However, much of the time it is not a crash causing delays, according to Sergeant Paul Kear.
The Rutland officer said: “A lot of the cause to delays on the A1is broken down vehicles and debris on the road.
“Often vehicles have dropped a ratchet strap which has big webbing and a metal strap as when they unload they don’t secure it but just chuck on the back of the lorry.
“This is dangerous for other drivers.”
When debris is on the road, officers in Rutland work with Lincolnshire Police and the dedicated highways team to remove it from the carriageway.
Officers are required to slow the traffic down, identify the location of the debris and remove it from the road.
With broken down vehicles police are often the ‘first port of call’ to ensure everyone is safe and draw other drivers’ attention to the hazard.
They may also be required to close a lane of the dual carriageway while the vehicle is recovered.
Although there are crashes Sergeant Kear says there have been few fatal and serious incidents in recent years.
Data from the website CrashMap, shows that in the first half of last year there were two serious crashes on the A1 at Greetham - one in February and one in May - and a number of minor accidents.
Sgt Kear said: “Everybody should take their time. A lot of lorries overtake and lose patience, then speed up until the next one.
“Everyone is then jostling for position to get an advantage. People need to be patient as they will get there in the end.
“They also need to be mindful of distractions such as phones or infotainment.”
