Emergency roadside telephones are usually situated at one-mile intervals along the hard shoulder of a motorway. These are free to use, connecting directly to a National Highways regional operations centre and identifying your location. Emergency areas are designed to offer places to stop in an emergency or breakdown for vehicles on roads without hard shoulders.

Do not exit an emergency area without speaking to National Highways first. They can set signs and warn approaching traffic that you’re about to exit an emergency area. Many breakdowns are avoidable – simple vehicle checks can help you have a safer journey while saving you time and money. Ensure you have suitable recovery in place in the event of a breakdown.

For more advice visit:
https://nationalhighways.co.uk/road-safety/driving-on-motorways/

Reporting incidents on the strategic road network:

If you see something ‘wrong’ while travelling on the strategic road network, if it’s safe and legal for you to do so, you can report it to National Highways’ Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000. If you see an incident, stranded vehicle, debris or obstruction in a live lane, call 999.

What information is useful when reporting an incident?

• what the issue is
• location
• marker post
• road number
• direction of travel
• junction number
• what3words (if you have a passenger in the vehicle)