Christmas Chaos as Motorway Emergency Phones Go Dark
Drivers across large parts of the UK faced a nerve-wracking Christmas Day as emergency phones along motorways went dead. The blackout hit the northeast, northwest, East Midlands, and east of England, raising serious safety concerns on busy holiday roads.
National Highways Scrambles Amid ‘Technology Issues’
National Highways, the body in charge of UK motorways, admitted to “technology issues” causing the outage. They urged travellers not to panic, reminding everyone to use their mobiles to ring their customer contact centre if trouble struck.
The problem was eventually fixed around 4:45 pm, bringing much-needed relief to motorists.
Traffic Officers on High Alert
Jon Allen, National Network Manager at National Highways, reassured the public that traffic officers were out in force, patrolling the roads and ready to assist any breakdowns immediately.
Safety Systems Stayed Strong Despite Phone Blackout
National Highways stressed that emergency phones are key safety features, but revealed most breakdown calls come via mobiles anyway. Crucially, no “safety-critical technology” failed during the incident, so road user safety remained intact throughout the outage.
