UK transport authority Highways England has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve efficiency in addressing road incidents across the West Midlands.

The 52-page MoU seeks to improve coordination between emergency services and reduce disruptions through better traffic management.

The agreement outlines the role of roles and responsibilities of each service, improve information sharing between services, and provide the necessary support for better handling of incidents.

It was signed by police, fire and rescue and ambulance services across the region as well as Highways England and its maintenance contractor, Kier.

Highways England service delivery manager David Yates said: “Any incidents on the network can cause widespread disruption and we all want to manage the situation as efficiently as possible and get traffic moving again.

“With so many organisations often on scene, good collaboration and communication is essential. These agreed protocols ensure our roles are set out beforehand and better enable us to deal with incidents smoothly, swiftly and effectively.

“All the partner organisations have been working together for some time on this agreement and we are delighted that it has now been agreed and signed by all concerned.”

The MoU will be reviewed annually.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “By the nature of our job, the quicker we can get to patients in distress and begin treating them, particularly when seriously injured, the better.

“We very much welcome this new agreement and will be working with Highways England colleagues and other emergency services to help provide the very best level of care possible whenever a road traffic collision takes place.”

Earlier this week, Conduent Transportation secured a tolling contract from Highways England to implement and manage an automated free-flow charging solution.

The solution will be installed at the River Thames’ Dartford-Thurrock Crossing, thought to be one of the UK’s busiest road routes.