Cones Hotline

The Cones Hotline was a telephone hotline introduced by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major in June 1992 to allow members of the public to enquire about roadworks on the country's roads and report areas where traffic cones had been deployed on a road (to close a lane or otherwise restrict traffic flow) for no apparent reason.

The telephone number for the hotline (originally 0345 504030, later 08457 504030, then 0300 1235000) was usually displayed on signs after sections of roadworks.

[1] The hotline was widely seen[citation needed] as being a waste of government resources, costing several thousand pounds per year to run.

[2] The hotline continued after this date, with a broader remit, and renamed as the Highways Agency Information Line or HAIL.

You can report a breakdown, including your own, debris on the highway, other incidents or make enquiries about road conditions.