Open Roads Airwave Helps Keep Scotland on the Move

25 March 2010, 5:09pm

Vital services in the remote regions of Scotland were maintained during one of the worst winters on record, thanks to improved communication provided by Airwave.

The Airwave service, the UK’s national public safety communications service, is used by the police and other emergency responders, as well as the Highland Council, which operates the largest road network in Scotland.

Because the Airwave service is much more reliable than standard mobile networks – providing guaranteed clear coverage along all roads, for example – the Highland Council’s roads services team was able to work more effectively this winter. Their role was to keep the roads open as much as possible, particularly to ensure the emergency services could reach those in need.

Gary Black, Principal Radio Technician at the Highland Council, said: “No public mobile phone operator provides coverage over our diverse roads system. Therefore, prior to using the Airwave service, we managed our own radio system. We switched to the Airwave service a few years ago - not only does it provide immediate and direct communication with our teams, allowing us to manage our resources efficiently, it also means that we can communicate with other agencies such as the police, fire and ambulance.”

He added: “The emergency services often get called out to locations that are outside of the road network which we maintain. These can be inaccessible due to snow or fallen trees. The emergency services call upon our engineers to clear roads so that they can get access to crime scenes, patients requiring ambulances and live fires. We have had a number of situations this year which have required our assistance, including, for example, clearing a path for the ambulance service to reach a lady who was in labour.”

The Highland Council is responsible for 6,700km of road network using a fleet of 114 gritters, 54 footpath tractors and four snowblowers. Over a typical winter, around 52,000 tonnes of salt will be used.

Geo: International