Hazard Operating on SMART and all lane running (ALR) motorways - Developed and maintained by the NFCC - National Operational Guidance

Hazard
Operating on SMART and all lane
   running (ALR) motorways

     Developed and maintained by the NFCC

Contents
Hazard - Operating on SMART and all lane running (ALR) motorways ........................................ 3
    Control measure - Use agreed operating procedures .................................................................... 4

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Hazard - Operating on SMART and all lane
            running (ALR) motorways

Hazard Knowledge

For an appreciation of SMART and all lane running (ALR) motorways, refer to:

      www.highways.gov.uk
      www.gov.uk
      The AA
      The RAC

SMART and all lane running motorways (ALR) present unique hazards and risks for emergency
responders, including:

      A lack of hard shoulder or periodic use of the hard shoulder as a 'live' lane
      Potential difficulties for emergency responders attending the scene of a given incident, who
      are travelling with the flow of traffic

Motorways using SMART and all lane running (ALR) arrangements are each subject to deliberate
and thorough liaison between the agencies that are likely to be required to respond to incidents in
these areas. The aim of liaison is to:

      Improve the tactical management of traffic to enable faster access
      Encourage a greater degree of operational co-operation between agencies
      Establish a greater degree of information sharing between agencies

This is in addition to basic improvements such as agreeing common terminology amongst partners,
reflecting the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP); for example, in relation to
carriageways and slip roads identification:

Main carriageways are identified by the letters 'A' or 'B'.

Carriageway 'A' = Ascending junction numbers and away from origin of motorway.

Carriageway 'B' = Descending junction numbers and back to origin of motorway.

Slip roads off the main carriageways are identified by the letters 'J', 'K', 'L' or 'M':

      'J' - Slip road off Carriageway A,
      'K' - Slip road onto Carriageway A,

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'L' - Slip road off Carriageway B, and
      'M' - Slip road onto Carriageway B.

Figure 13: Carriageway and slip road identification

Source: Highways England

Standard lane referencing is used throughout all lane running motorway sections. Within a four-
lane section, lane one is closest to the nearside verge and lane four is adjacent to the central
reservation. Some small lengths of hard shoulder have been maintained on certain sections of
SMART motorways.

On SMART motorways, lanes are referred to as LBS 1, 2, 3 and 4. LBS stands for 'lane below signal',
so, for example, LBS1 is the dynamic hard shoulder. This method of identification prevents
confusion when the hard shoulder is open or closed.

Efforts have recently been made to reflect operating agreements nationally, ensuring those
agencies, such as Highways England, who operate beyond fire and rescue service boundaries, are
following consistent and uniform procedures.

            Control measure - Use agreed operating
            procedures

Control measure knowledge

The SMART motorways and all lane running (ALR) motorways regional operating agreement (ROA)
is a nationally agreed document that provides additional guidance on the preparations that a
SMART or all lane running motorway undergoes in terms of infrastructure changes, along with
guidance on specific collaboration and the activation of unique operating procedures in certain
incidents. Examples are 100% camera coverage and the pre-planned use of reverse access
(standard or dynamic).

Emergency response in normal traffic flow will be the initial and preferred approach to incidents.
This entails approaching the incident from the rear using the reported carriageway and in the same
normal direction of traffic flow.

On an all lane running (ALR) motorway, where traffic flows indicate that access can be achieved by

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travelling with the normal flow of traffic on the affected carriageway, the highways authority control
centre will set red X lane closure signals to provide an access lane to the incident scene (as there is
no hard shoulder for access). To encourage compliance, the red X is supplemented by a legend, for
example, 'Lane 1-3 closed - slow', 'Lane closure slow down' or 'Emergency vehicles on hard
shoulder'. The access lane will be established well in advance of the incident and can be set back as
far as the previous junction, or beyond, where necessary.

It should be noted that an incident scene may not specifically be within an all lane running (ALR)
motorways section. However, access to the scene could be through an all lane running (ALR) section
of motorway; this will require traffic to be managed using variable message signs and signals to
provide an incident access lane, for example. This would also help deal with other emergencies in
traffic on the all lane running (ALR) section.

If traffic is stationary, emergency responders should ease through the gaps in traffic queues (ideally
between the offside lanes where parallel parked large goods vehicles are unlikely to be
encountered) or through gaps created by motorists moving their vehicles.

Reverse access may be used when it is not possible to approach the scene of the incident from the
rear; it allows vehicles to approach from the front of the incident safely and in a structured manner.
In essence, the carriageway is turned into a two-way road, allowing emergency responders to get to
and from the scene of operations.

There are two types of reverse access:

Standard reverse access

The following criteria should be considered before standard reverse access is implemented:

      Criteria 1 - A police service, fire and rescue service or highways authority commander has
      control at the head of the scene. The most important and over-riding requirement before
      reverse flow can be implemented is establishing a commander at the incident scene who can
      verify that no vehicles can pass the scene, and that any vehicles stopped after the scene
      remain stationary and will not move until instructed to do so. The commander will be
      responsible for co-ordinating all vehicle movements to and from the incident scene.
      Criteria 2 - It has been confirmed that there are no vehicles between the incident scene and
      the chosen access point. Before emergency response vehicles can enter the carriageway from
      the access point, it is necessary to check there are no vehicles between the head of the
      incident scene and the access point. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including
      using CCTV, line of sight or a vehicle. If there are vehicles in an emergency refuge area the
      highways authority control centre will try to contact them to advise them not to leave.

To establish a commander at the incident, the police service and fire and rescue service may
consider attending via the opposite, unaffected carriageway using their standard operating
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procedure for stopping in a 'live' carriageway. This should only be used in extreme circumstances to
access the head of the incident, such as a known life risk, or to prevent a catastrophic escalation of
events. Each emergency service will advise the highways authority control centre if their resources
will be deployed to the unaffected carriageway. The highways authority control centre will use
variable message signs and signals to support access to the incident from the unaffected
carriageway, as directed by each emergency service.

For information, ambulance services should not, under any circumstances, stop their vehicles on
the opposite carriageway unless the lane or carriageway is confirmed closed by highways authority
or the police and scene safety has been established.

Dynamic reverse access

Dynamic reverse access may apply where the criteria above for implementing reverse access are
not met and should only be considered in extreme circumstances, for example, known life risk or to
prevent catastrophic escalation. Based on their own dynamic risk assessment and standard
operating procedures, Emergency services may enter the carriageway to access the scene between
the chosen access point and the incident.

Strategic actions

Fire and rescue services should:

      Engage in developing operating agreements with partner agencies, as described above, when
      SMART and/or all lane running (ALR) motorways are planned or in operation in their
      respective areas
      Consider applying operating procedures carefully, such as reverse access, which can be
      challenging for some organisations as it requires a change of culture associated with
      managing the hazards and risks posed by roadways
      Participate in any associated exercises and post-incident reviews/audits, ideally of a multi-
      agency nature, to assess the effectiveness and safety afforded by such unique arrangements

Tactical actions

Incident commanders should:

      Consider implementing reverse access procedures to SMART or ALR motorways

      Consider implementing reverse access, following communication with highways authority,
      control only if it is not possible to access an incident with the flow of traffic on the affected
      carriageway

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Advise mobilising control if difficulties accessing the incident are encountered

      Consider using affected motor​way carriageway as a two-way road, following service
      procedures

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