EM/212/02 3 November 2002
The Highways Agency is leading the way in emergency roadside communications on two of the UK''s busiest routes thanks to the help of a Nottingham firm.
The Bulwell company Jasmin Simtec Ltd are celebrating after the launch of their new Emergency Roadside Telephone (ERT) systems as part of the new M25 package for road users in London.
As part of the Governments 10 Year Plan for Transport, Jasmin were awarded the £12 million Public Private Partnership contract in 2000 to design and produce improved ERT''s for road users to replace the existing SOS telephones.
The improved telephones boast a number of improvements and special features including high visibility, clearer communication achieved by cutting out background noise, improved sound quality, and non-voice communication through use of a text display facility with tick and cross buttons to answer preset text questions.
This will enable non-English speaking motorists, drivers with hearing problems to use the system successfully to receive emergency assistance. In addition the telephone has been designed to easier to use by motorists with restricted mobility.
A number of the new phones are on trial along the M25 and M11, and a further 6,500 replacement will be put into place on the core trunk roads and motorways throughout England over the next three years. One of the first areas to receive the benefits of this new telephone is the East Midlands. They will be seen on the M1 in the Notts/Derby area in early 2003. Phil Graham, Highways Agency Project Sponsor, explained: "It has taken over two years to take the redesigned phones from concept to reality, but the acoustics really are absolutely brilliant. There is a real improvement in speech quality.
"The background traffic noise on a high speed road can reach up to 90 decibels, which is very loud, but the new technology means that you can be heard perfectly, even if you whisper."
Notes to editors:
1. The Highways Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport, which manages, maintains and improves the network of trunk roads and motorways in England on behalf of the Secretary of state. It works closely with other transport operators and with local authorities to integrate the trunk road network with the rest of England''s roads and other forms of transport. 2. The existing design of telephone has been in service for more than 25 years and although reliable, advances in communications technology now allow for significant improvements to be made in sound quality and in facilities for the disabled. 3. The Highways Agency holds the intellectual property rights including patents for the new emergency roadside telephone. Jasmin will be granted an exclusive license for the period of the contract and encouraged to sell the telephone to other markets.
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