New screens designed to hide road traffic accidents from rubber necking on the other side of the road will soon be soon on motorways across the UK after successful trials along the M25.
The six-foot-high screens can either be attached to road barriers or stand alone to help prevent traffic disruption and accidents on the opposite side of the road caused by motorists trying to get a look at the crash. The barriers can be erected in less than an hour and can stretch to up to 75 metres to shield motorists from the clear up of major crash scenes.
A police spokesperson said: "We have seen passengers leaning out of windows using camera phones more and more often. It is disgusting."
Major accidents can take several hours to clear which causes major disruption to traffic in both directions. It is hoped the screens will stop motorists going in the other direction from getting distracted so that the jams that the inevitable jams a crash causes at the moment will be a thing of the past.
Drivers who slow to view accidents are the third highest cause of traffic delays after congestion and roadwork according to a government poll. Distracted drivers are responsible for 18% of all fatal accidents on British roads and 19% of all accidents.
It is hoped the barriers will help reduce this figure as they are used around the M1 for road traffic accidents later this month.
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