Most drivers would not think that traffic lights can pick up a car accelerating to get through an amber, but they can - and they call those people 'amber-gamblers'.

Hertfordshire has one of the busiest road networks in the UK and to find out how this is all monitored and managed, I went down to the Integrated Traffic Control Centre (ITCC) in County Hall, Hertford.

The ITCC is run by Hertfordshire County Council and highways contractor, Ringway and with 229 camera, they monitor more than 3,000 miles of Hertfordshire's roads.

After a brief introduction, the manager of the centre Daniel Anderton, showed us the control room centre and talked us through the an average day at the office. The first thing you notice as you enter the room is the huge screen in at the front, displaying a maps, bullet-ins of live incidents and a CCTV images.

That screen is key in communicating traffic and travel updates to the public. This is done 7am-7pm Monday to Friday, but there is staff on standby 24/7 who will respond if alerted to an unusual traffic incident. The centre also coordinates the Highway Emergency Maintenance Response Service – 24 hours a day – including Christmas Day.

Mr Anderton told how on a daily basis, the ITCC monitor any unusual congestion or incidents which affect normal flow of traffic on our roads. Using the cameras allows the team to check key journey times: they can even change traffic light timings if necessary to ease congestion in a particular area.

He said: "The traffic lights also monitor how far the queue is to a certain extent - after that we can take over manually. This is often the case if for example there is an incident on the M1 and traffic is diverted on the ring road in Watford town centre."

Mr Anderton also mentioned that in cases such as the recent bomb scare, they also have procedures in place where they can help the emergency services evacuate motorists.

He said: "We would keep the lights green for all traffic heading out of the centre, and then divert the traffic that would have been coming into Watford back out again,"

In addition to the 229 cameras and controlling the traffic lights, the ITCC also use the 80 Electronic traffic information signs to warn drivers about current traffic problems and future road works. This is supplemented by 33 electronic parking guidance signs that provide information on available parking spaces within the main towns.

Annually, the centre coordinates more than 55,000 reactive road maintenance repair jobs with over 25,000 of those requiring an emergency maintenance response - 8,000 of which happen within one or two hours and 17,000 within 24 hours.

Emergency maintenance jobs can include anything from removing debris or spillages, managing drainage issues, mending damaged signs, bollards and bridges to fixing faulty traffic lights.

Speaking after the tour, Terry Douris, Hertfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, said that Hertfordshire is the only county which has four motorways running through - M1, A1(M), M25 and M11 - so keeping the traffic moving is essential.

He said: The latest technology used in the Integrated Transport Control Centre plays a really important role in helping us manage traffic on Hertfordshire’s busy roads.

"In an emergency, using the cameras in the control centre means we can prioritise those areas most in need. It’s all part of our commitment to keeping Hertfordshire moving and connected with an efficient and reliable transport network."

But it's not just responding to major road incidents that the ITCC deal with extreme weather such as when heavy rain causes flooding or when it snows - the team also monitor the network and deploy resources to those areas most in need. On the flip side, Mr Douris said you also get the weird incidents that you just can't forget.

He added: "We were recently called to an incident in Croxley Green where a thatched roof had fallen off and was blocking the road. Another incident was a few years ago, slaughtered pigs that were being taken to the butchers were thrown off the van on to the bypass near Welwyn Garden. There were 3,000 carcasses that needed clearing up afterwards."

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