Highways Agency prepares for heavy traffic

Easter is a busy time on the motorways

The Highways Agency has launched a new service that allows live traffic information to be accessed via a mobile phone and other portable devices, as well as from the standard web site.

The agency has also upgraded its web site to provide for the increased demand on its services because of the Easter holiday.

Denise Plumpton, director of information at the Highways Agency, said planning travel can take the stress out of a holiday.

"Thousands of people already take advantage of our web site to check the latest traffic information before they leave, now we are making that same information much easier to access when people are away from their PC too," she said.

Drivers can visit www.highways.gov.uk/mobile on their phone to check that the road ahead is clear.

The traffic information is presented in a simple text-based format specially designed for smaller screens that will deliver faster download speeds. It includes the latest incident reports which are searchable by region and motorway.