Chamber’s call for Rapid Recovery Scheme on A63 answered by enterprising

Freddie South pictured with his recovery truck after his latest patrol of the A63 outside the Chamber’s offices on Beverley Road, Hull.

THE Chamber’s calls for a rapid response recovery scheme for the accident-prone A63 have been answered by an enterprising business which is now patrolling the road during peak periods.

A brightly-decalled recovery truck is now patrolling up and down the A63 between the Ferensway/Clive Sullivan Way roundabout and the Humber Bridge roundabout, looking for broken down vehicles or collisions.

Directors of Recovery Solutions Hull Ltd, Freddie South and Lee Skinner, based on Clough, Road, Hull, are operating their free service between 6am and 9am in the morning and 4pm to 7pm in the evening, Monday to Friday.

The Chamber’s Shipping & Transport Committee raised the issue at the end of last year after regular accidents and traffic jams affected its member businesses in the city and on the docks.

Freddie said: “We saw the Chamber’s appeal for a rapid recovery service and have decided to do this ourselves as a public service.

“If we come across a broken down vehicle we are offering a free recovery service to the nearest place of safety along the A63 to try and ease the congestion we see so often at peak times and improve road safety and help local businesses. This will cut down the long delays waiting for other recovery operators to arrive on scene and hopefully avoid big queues developing after an incident which can easily lead to further accidents.

Freddie said: “We are offering this as a free service, but of course we hope to pick up some paying work from motorists who aren’t members of a breakdown organisation.

“I have spoken with the police who have welcomed our initiative, and have made clear to them we are not trying to take work from their contracted recovery suppliers. Once we have got a broken down vehicle off the carriageway to a place of safety, that’s the end of our involvement and if the police have called in their contractors to recover the vehicle that’s fine by us. It can take one of the police contractors at least half-an-hour to get to an incident from their bases, one of which is on the south bank of the Humber, during which time the queues are growing and clogging up the city.

“This way we clear the carriageway quickly and keep the traffic flowing.”

The Chamber’s External Affairs Manager, David Hooper, said: “This is a brilliant initiative by Freddie and Lee and will clearly help to keep the traffic moving in and out of Hull during peak periods and will undoubtedly improve road safety on the A63.

“The issue was raised by concerned businesses at our Shipping & Transport Committee after the city became gridlocked on several occasions following various minor accidents.

“This recovery service is intended to complement existing arrangements and we hope everyone will get behind Freddie and Lee and support their efforts to keep the traffic flowing on this crucial and dangerous stretch of road.

“The Chamber congratulates them on using their initiative to fill a gaping hole in their particular market – something all enterprising business owners are looking to do every day.”