The Highway Agency completes the rollout of the south-east’s jam-beating traffic officer scheme.

United Kingdom – The Highways Agency has completed the rollout of its highly successful £14 million traffic officer scheme in the south-east.

Traffic officers in Hampshire begin patrols today, increasing the number of round-the-clock patrols across the region to 14.

About 4,000 incidents a month have been dealt with by Agency traffic officers in the south-east since August 2005, when the scheme was first introduced.

The officers attend the vast majority of incidents within 15 minutes, with ten per cent of incidents being identified by traffic officers on their normal patrols.

"This is excellent news for drivers in Hampshire," comments roads minister Dr Stephen Ladyman.

"Traffic officers are already playing an increasingly important role on our motorways, freeing up valuable police resources, making sure our roads are safer and that traffic is kept moving.

"Drivers will benefit from more reliable journey times as well as up to the minute information about conditions on the local motorway network."

About 177 on-road staff are being supported by 41 people working from the South East Regional Control Centre situated at Godstone at Junction 6 of the M25.

These staff are responsible for setting signs and signals, monitoring CCTV images of the motorway network and answering emergency roadside telephones.

The scheme also enables local police authorities to devote more time to fighting crime both on and off the roads.

"By working in partnership with the Highways Agency we hope to be able to improve the overall service that we provide to communities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, making our roads safer for everyone," said Superintendent Mark Bradford, head of roads policing in Hampshire.