Written question asked by Greg Knight (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 June 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 June 2011. It was answered by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Motorways: Accidents

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway was closed near Watford Gap on 26 May 2011; on whose authority the road was closed; and what steps were taken to reduce inconvenience to motorists as a result of the closure.

Answer: The M1 motorway was closed between Junction 16 and Junction 17 at 2.10 pm hours on 26 May due to a multiple vehicle collision. The incident resulted in a fatality which meant it was led by Northamptonshire police who had to perform an investigation in accordance with their Road Death Investigation Manual. This required the northbound carriageway to be sterile of traffic so the police closed the motorway.Steps taken to reduce the inconvenience to the motorist were to use agreed emergency diversion routes and to turn around traffic that had been caught between Watford Gap and the incident. Variable Message signs were set to warn of the closure and local media were informed of the closure and diversion routes.

Secondary information