ROAD users are too often at the “bottom of the pile” when routes are closed by highway work and car accidents, the boss of Morebus has claimed.

Andrew Wickham is calling for a debate about how the ever-busier road network can be kept moving.

Mr Wickham, MD of the Poole-based bus operator, said: “UK PLC needs to have a long hard look at roadworks and also at the aftermath of accidents. It does sometimes seem the road user is the last person to be prioritised.

“The debate we’d like to see is looking at getting the work done quicker and with less disruption.”

He said one solution would be to ensure highway work was done for longer hours.

“There’s a cost to this and night work wouldn’t necessarily be welcome in residential areas but maybe they could do 12 hours in a residential area,” he told the Daily Echo.

“Maybe they could do longer hours, do night work and work with user groups – and that would include us – to design the roadworks so they’re less disruptive.

“It sometimes seems that the poor old road user seems to come at the very bottom of the pile,” he added.

He also suggested the scenes of road accidents could be cleared quicker, especially when therewere no serious injuries.

“In the aftermath of an accident, clearly the thing that’s most important is to save people’s lives. Once that’s been done, is it always necessary to keep the road closed for hours afterwards?” he said.

He cited the recent work on Gravel Hill as an example of good practice, with Borough of Poole and Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership consulting bus operators during their planning.

He said roadworks cost bus companies money as they sought to maintain punctuality.

“A car can divert and find a different route. We can’t do that because we have stops we have to serve,” he said.

“If you don’t take action, it gets later and later so we have to send extra buses and drivers when we have them. But all that does is put things right after the event.

“My poor bus drivers are on the route sometimes eight times a day, five days a week. It’s immensely frustrating.”

Gordon Page, chairman of Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said the county was benefiting from multi-million pound improvements to roads that were "congested, inadequate and suppressing growth".

He added: "These essential, major works inevitably impact on local communities and businesses. However minimising driver disruption and avoiding unnecessary travel delays are always key priorities when planning schemes.

"We work closely with local authorities across the county to ensure that we deliver well-sequenced and coordinated schemes which not only offer best value for the public purse and most economical benefit but also keep driver disruption and impact on business and the economy to an absolute minimum.”

Sergeant Joe Pardey of Dorset Police’s traffic unit said: “Officers consider a number of factors when making the decision to close a road, especially when that closure is likely to cause a significant disruption. The factors include safety, risk to the public and the need to secure and preserve evidence.

“We consider every road closure in accordance with the NPCC and Highways England guidance in their published document CLEAR, Keeping Traffic Moving.

“Although Dorset Police has a contract that prioritises police-requested recovery of vehicles, the practicalities of vehicle recovery can be difficult and complicated. Each incident is carefully considered as to whether or not a full investigation is required, even for minor-injury collisions."