Weather disruption
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These notes are for guidance. They are not a statement of law and you should seek legal advice if necessary.
Events, both on and off the highway, are an important part of the community, but they can also cause significant traffic disruption on both the local and wider road network. It will also have bearing on how successful the event is deemed to have been, possibly affecting future attendance.
It is important that events are carefully planned to minimise traffic congestion and risks to safety on the highway. This guidance will assist an event promoter identify potential traffic problems and provides advice on how to avoid them.
The information in this document complements the advice in the documents:
Putting an appropriate traffic management plan in place may not be cheap, but it is not acceptable to cut corners with this important process on the grounds of cost, even if the event is a charitable event, as safety cannot be compromised.
Events should always be scheduled to avoid clashing with peak travel times.
Wherever possible, on-highway events, such as triathlons, should be arranged to be undertaken on private land, or away from busy roads and with as few right turns as possible. Running races should also be planned to make use of footways.
Events should be planned to ensure that access for residents, businesses and premises is not compromised, or where it is, mitigating measures should be negotiated. The event organiser should advise and discuss with local representatives to ensure that the local community is aware of the event and that their concerns are addressed.
The public have no lawful powers to direct traffic at planned events.
Dorset Police operate a scheme whereby event promoters or traffic management companies may obtain accreditation for staff to direct traffic for events. Accredited staff can then direct traffic on the public highway in strict accordance with the traffic management plan for that event.
Find out more about the Dorset Police Community Safety Accreditation Scheme.
Directing or control of traffic can also be achieved using signs and most events will require signing of some sort, either to advise traffic of road closures and diversion routes, changes to road layouts or to help in minimising traffic disruption.
The test of any signing schedule is “do the travelling public have the information they need at the right place to enable them to complete their journey safely and not to have to perform any dangerous manoeuvres for themselves or endanger anyone else”. The signing must be clear, simple and fit for purpose to the required standards for the class and speed of road.
Any signs placed on the highway must be deployed by a competent person, and an event organiser should consider employing a traffic management company to reduce risk.
Advance signage should also be considered to advise motorists of upcoming events so that they can plan alternate routes. This is important to help reduce the background traffic on the network that does not want to get caught up in event traffic. Such signs should only include the key information and be set up generally one week prior to the event.
Once the use of signs has been decided the event promoter should create a sign schedule clearly listing the following:
Any signing schedule must be submitted to the council for approval. The Community Highways Liaison Team can authorise signing for small scale events. However, if the signing is part of a large event that requires a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order, then approval is required from the Traffic Team.
The event promoter is responsible for procuring the appropriate signs and employing appropriately trained staff to set out, maintain and remove them at the end of the event.
Signs are not allowed to be attached to lighting columns in Dorset.
Portable variable message signs (PVMS) should be considered on higher usage roads, as their visual impact is much greater and are key for any major event traffic management plan. You will need to hire these from a traffic management company. You can either instruct them to submit an application on your behalf, or apply for a PVMS licence yourself.
Road space should be booked at least 6 months in advance in line with Home Office guidance. This is to ensure the event doesn’t clash with any planned works or other events.
As road closures cause disruption to drivers, pedestrians, residents and businesses, they should only be considered once all other options have been exhausted.
Closing a public road, footway, footpath or verge without a lawful closure order is illegal.
If an event cannot be run without a road closure, then event promoters are advised to consider the following factors in the earliest planning stages:
See appendix 2 for information about the law governing road closures. Event promoters should engage with the council at an early stage to discuss strategies for engaging with key stakeholders.
The event promoter must consider alternative transport arrangements for people attending the event. Facilities should be considered to prevent pedestrians being dropped off on unsuitable verges, and safe pedestrian access via footpaths must also be considered.
Event organisers should plan for drop off points and access / arrangements for people arriving by public transport. It is strongly recommended that the event promoter encourages the use of public transport wherever possible. Shuttle buses and special arrangements with local public transport operators must be considered for events with large numbers of attendees.
The arrival times and modes of transportation event attendees take, will be directly influenced by their knowledge of the local area and the information provided by the event organiser.
Event organisers are encouraged to provide event attendees with as much information as possible for them to be able to plan their journeys. Details of public transport facilities should be provided, including any special arrangements made for the event. For well attended events it is recommended that event organisers encourage attendees to arrive over a long period.
These events have specific regulations - the Cycle Racing on Highways Regulations 1960.
The regulations require the promoter to notify the police at least 28 days before the start of the event. For time trials, if notice is given in accordance with these regulations the event is authorised. Less notice may be given, but this would be subject to police approval. For races, no automatic authorisation exists. Permission from the police must be obtained before the event can go ahead.
Event organisers should book road space to try to ensure their event does not clash with any planned works. There will be a small charge for this service. View planned roadworks on a map. The promoter is reminded that authorisation of the event by the police does not remove the liability for safety or disruption, or the obtaining of any other authorisations, permits, closures etc.
Event promoters should prepare written plans for adverse weather, because it can significantly worsen the event’s impact on local traffic.
Promoters should have a plan for cancelling or postponing the event at short notice, with arrangements for contacting all organisations involved.
If wet weather is likely, promoters should also arrange to have equipment on site for moving stranded vehicles from entrances and exits and cleaning the public highway of mud. Equipment could include: tractors with towing hooks, road sweepers and tyre washes.
Wet weather is also likely to severely reduce ingress and egress rates to ‘off highway’ events and car parks. The event promoter should make alternative arrangements for maintaining optimum ingress and egress rates. For example; providing matting or hard-standing on fields for car parks or having additional access and egress points.
Before the event, we strongly recommend that event promoters arrange a traffic management meeting in addition to, or as part of the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting that are arranged through the council. Those attending usually include:
Alternatively, after reviewing draft event plans, the council or the police may call a traffic management meeting.
At the meeting the event promoter will:
The council and the police will:
Depending on the size and nature of the event, other organisations may need to attend the meeting, such as:
A meeting after the event can sometimes help promoters highlight measures that worked well and improve planning for future events.
We recommend that all events have a written Traffic Management Plan (TMP) as part of the overall Event Management Plan (EMP). The events TMP should be submitted to the council with a minimum of three months’ notice prior to the event together with any application for Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (road closures, speed limits, etc) which need a minimum of three months notification.
The TMP is a very useful document for everyone involved in managing an event because it:
In some cases, approvals for event licensing, road closures, or use of traffic signs may be conditional on the event promoter having a TMP.
The size of a TMP document will largely depend on the impact an event will have on the highway. Impact is not necessarily only determined by the size of the event. Other factors, such as the nature of the roads to be closed / affected will also have a significant affect. As a rule, any event planned to take place on, or affect any road with a speed limit of 50mph or higher, or that is classified as an A or B road is likely to have a higher impact on traffic and will therefore require more detailed planning.
TMPs for a local fete or carnival may only run to a single page. TMPs for major events such as the Great Dorset Steam Fair will consist of several chapters. In all cases, the same main issues must be covered although the detail and extent of coverage will be different.
The TMP should include information on all or most of the following:
Smoke from large bonfires may drift over roads and obscure the vision of drivers and pedestrians' vision and potentially lead to accidents. It is essential that organisers of bonfire events take this risk into account in their risk assessment.
If it unfolds that the traffic management for an event is not safe, the council may intervene, and if the event promoter is not able to rectify the situation in an agreed time frame, then the council may take any appropriate action to recover the situation.
All reasonable costs incurred by the council will be recharged to the event promoter.
The event promoter should also consider any further requirements, licences or permits that may be required, for example: