The Traffic Management Act (TMA) received Royal Assent on the 22nd July 2004. Its main objective is to reduce congestion and disruption on the road network.

The TMA sets out certain Network Management Duties, to help and encourage local traffic authorities (such as Swindon Borough Council) to achieve its traffic aims:

• More effective co-ordination by highway authorities of the various works carried out in the street, whether these are authority road works, utility street works or miscellaneous activities such as the placing of skips, scaffolds and deposits on the highway
• Co-ordination of any operation that may effect the highway network for example refuse collection, deliveries, school transport and events such as carnivals, sporting events etc
• Introducing a range of new powers to allow utility works to be better controlled by the introduction of The Traffic Management Permit Scheme 2007.Allowing certain contraventions of the law, such as parking offences, to be dealt with by civil means by Civil Enforcement Officers, rather than through the criminal process.

The Traffic Management Act can be broken down into seven parts:

1. Traffic Officers

The Secretary of State for Transport, in his capacity as the highway and traffic authority for England, has established a uniformed on-road 'Traffic Officer' service to manage the traffic consequences of random incidents, such as crashes, obstructions, debris and break downs on the strategic road network.

The Highway Agency, acts as an executive agency of the Department for Transport and the Traffic Officers are employed by them. The Traffic Officers are highly trained people who patrol the motorway, keep traffic moving around incidents and make road users journeys as safe and reliable as possible. They are employed to stop and direct traffic, support the Police, clear up debris after crashes, remove vehicles that have either been damaged or abandoned and carry out high visibility patrols.

2. Network Management by Local Traffic Authorities

The Network Management Duty is a statutory duty placed on all local traffic authorities to help improve the flow of traffic their own networks and on the network of others. The duty applies to all traffic to include pedestrians, horses, motorcycles, lorries, cars and bicycles.

Under the Network Management Duty, the local authority has a duty to reduce the causes of congestion and disruption on the road network, by co-ordinating and managing road and street works effectively, the management of incidents, event planning, the control of parking and the network as a whole.

These duties must be carried out by working with all partners and stakeholders involving consultation and view from the general public.

We as a local traffic authority have appointed a Traffic Manager who has overall responsibility for these statutory duties. If these duties are not carried out to the satisfaction of the Government, a Traffic Director will be appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport, to intervene in the local authority and take of the role of a Traffic Director.>

3. Permit Schemes, Street works and Fixed Penalty Notices

Permit schemes provide a new way of managing activities in the public highway. They were introduced by Part 3 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 to improve authorities' abilities to minimise disruption from street and highway works.

Permit Schemes provide an alternative to the 'notification system' of the New Road and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA). Instead of informing a street authority about is intention to carry out work in the area, a utility company would need to book time on the highway through a permit as would a highway authority for its own works. At least initially, it is likely management and control of works on the road in England, will be undertaken through a permit scheme in some areas but a notices system in others. It is, therefore, the intention to encourage the use of similar concepts to the notices system in a number of key areas e.g. road categories, works categories etc. This will hopefully ensure consistency and facilitate better coordination.

• Under the TMA and the Permit Scheme, fees can be charged for the following:
• Application for permits;
• Issuing permits;
• Applications for variations to permits or the conditions attached; and
• Variations to permits or the conditions attached.

Under Section 37 (8) regulations can define the amount (or maximum amount) of fees, when they are payable and when not, discounts and the use of income. Permit Schemes are not intended to generate revenue for permit authorities although subject to the constraints an authority may cover its costs.

The TMA also contains a series of measures concerning the keeping of apparatus, including apparatus belonging to the highway authorities. It is the intention that a review of the Records Code of Practise will be dealt with by HAUC.

The Act also allows for the existing Inspections Code of Practice to be made statutory and for wide ranging changes to be made to the system for authorities charging undertakers fees to inspect their works. The aim is to revise the existing Inspections Code to reflect these.

At present, the Safety Code of Practice only has statutory force in relation to undertakers; works. The TMA allows it to apply equally to works carried out by highway authorities. The code will need to be revised to account of this and to update it generally.

The Permit Schemes are due to be fully operational by the 1st April 2008.

4. Street Works

This provides for changes to the regulatory regime for utility companies' street works. The TMA also provides for increase in levels of fines of specified offences, and provides for highway authorities to issue Fixed Penalty Notices for certain offences.

5. Highways and Roads

The TMA includes special measures to control other works in the street. In particular, it allows the existing powers to impose a daily lane charge on utilities when their works overrun, or to charge them 'lane rental' to be extended to allow charges to cover the placing of skips and scaffolding and the storage of material on the highway.

6. Civil Enforcement

This TMA provides a single framework to make regulations for the civil enforcement by local authorities or parking and waiting restrictions, bus lanes and some moving traffic offences. This will allow the Civil Enforcement Officers the powers to cover some moving traffic offences (such as ignoring the rules at boxed junctions and banned turns) using camera evidence, and additional powers in respect of parking enforcement which already exists in London.

7. Miscellaneous & General

The final part of the TMA covers two unrelated areas. Firstly it provides new powers allowing the Police, Local Authority Civil Enforcement Officers to require those displaying Blue Badges in their vehicles to provide evidence that they actually do hold a badge. The legislation for Blue Badge Scheme changed as of the 15th October 2007. Changes in particular are:

• Extended eligibility to children under the age of two
• Extension of the eligibility criterion for people with severe disabilities in both arms
• Allow for badges to be issued for a period of less than to people awarded the Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance, or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement for less than three years
• Change of the design of the badge
• Modernise the regulations, so that the scheme is no longer available to individuals with 'blue trikes' as such vehicles are no longer in use.

Secondly, this part of the Act extends the purposes for which local authorities surplus income from on-street parking penalties and charges can be used, once the costs of operating the scheme have been covered.

Please note: Sections of the Traffic Management Act are becoming law at different times. Please be assured that when new legislation comes into force, changes to procedures are necessary or when staff training is required, further information will be forthcoming.