The body responsible for England’s roads has formally apologised to Somerset drivers over repeated closures on the motorway

National Highways has issued a formal apology to Somerset drivers over the repeated closures that have plagued the M5 in recent years. Drivers in Somerset have endured numerous serious incidents on the M5 in recent memory, with collisions and welfare concerns leading to prolonged closures and diversions through quieter, more rural areas of the county.

Somerset councillors seized upon a recent climate, environment and place scrutiny committee meeting to voice their frustrations, demanding answers from police and National Highways regarding the duration and frequency of the disruption.

Both organisations acknowledged that further work was required to address the problems, while conceding there was “no silver bullet” and only limited funding at their disposal.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for highways and transport, informed the committee meeting (held in Taunton on July 9) that there were “significant concerns” about both the frequency and length of motorway closures, and urged a “positive and collaborative” approach to tackle the underlying problems.

Mr Wilkins – who represents the Curry Rivel and Langport division – said: “We need to address the year-on-year increase to the frequency and duration of the closures on the M5, and the far-reaching, region-wide impact these incidents can have.

“When traffic is displaced onto the local road network, our roads can quickly become gridlocked, affecting people’s daily lives, disrupting businesses and services, and placing considerable pressure on our communities, our local economy and the wider south west economy.

“That’s not to mention the devastating impact to any individuals and their families who are directly caught up in any incident.

“I am keen to explore what more can be done collectively to reduce both the number of motorway closures and the length of time the motorway remains closed when incidents occur.”

Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, said that congestion on the M5 had “deteriorated markedly”, even beyond the peak summer holiday season.

Mr Rigby – who represents the Lydeard division near Taunton – said: “What once appeared to be a summer problem is now year round. This year has been appalling.

“Put simply, we’ve had enough – and by ‘we’, I mean the populations and businesses of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

“Following the abandonment of proposals to dual the A303 and A358, we are left with one strategic road in and out of the peninsula, and it needs to work much better than it does.

“The position is immeasurably worse now that it was even a year ago. We have had the rough end of the stick regarding highways investment in the south west, and we’re not prepared to see the only decent road we have turned into a car park.”

Ian Thompson, National Highways’ lead officer for stakeholder relations in the South West, issued a formal apology for the disruption experienced to date, saying: “We’re fully aware that 2026 has not been a good year for the M5.

“We are sorry, and we fully appreciate the impact that these incidents and closures have on the local communities – particularly Bridgwater, Taunton and the surrounding villages on the diversionary routes.

“The approved diversionary routes when the M5 is shut goes through both rural and urban locations; we accept that is not ideal.

“The solution to that is to build a new road along the M5 – that’s not happening. So the only way to deal with the impact of congestion is to reduce the number of incidents.”

Somerset remains the only county in the South West to house two National Highways depots along the M5 — one situated near the Edithmead roundabout in Highbridge (close to junction 22) and another in the Chelston area of Wellington (close to junction 26).

Mr Thompson noted that the positioning of these depots had been “very carefully thought out” to minimise response times to incidents.

He added: “We also use strategic signing campaigns around driving standards, such as drink and drug driving, middle lane hogging – which we know is an issue on the M5 – along with our ‘TRIP’ campaign and other safety measures.”

The majority of the M5 was built during the 1960s and 1970s, with Mr Thompson suggesting that considerable upgrades would be required in the years ahead to accommodate contemporary traffic demands.

He said: “The road is getting old. We need to invest a lot of money, and we are doing that.

“To make sure that’s done seamlessly and efficiently, with the least impact possible, we have established the M5 board to make sure we’re not clashing with local roadworks.

“The majority of the work will happen overnight – you’ll see well over £100m invested up to 2031. It’s an unprecedented amount of money.”

National Highways defines a ‘serious incident’ as one which closes one or more lanes on either or both carriageways of the motorway – such as a major collision or a “person in crisis”.

Mr Thompson explained that police were ultimately responsible for determining how much of the road was shut and for what duration, stating: “What we do is work closely with the police and the council to make sure that, when any investigation is complete, we know what infrastructure damage there is to our asset.

“Our resources are positioned so that, when we get the scene back, our officers will attend with our supply chain. So if we’ve got a significant fuel spill, or a vehicle fire, or there’s significant damage to the road surface and barriers, we’re ready – we come in and we fix what’s happened.

“No incident which has occurred that has shut the M5 this year has been down to our assets – it’s been down to other factors beyond our control.

“It’s driving standards on the M5 that are causing these incidents. These might well be vehicle condition, the way those vehicles are being driven, or just poor driving standards.”

Somerset accounts for 12.9 per cent of the south west’s motorway network, and 15.7 per cent of incidents leading to a closure – but 29.1 per cent of incidents caused by “persons in crisis”, according to National Highways’ own figures.

Karl Parfitt, chief executive of the Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner’s office, said road safety concerns were being prioritised by current commissioner Clare Moody, given the increasing number of fatalities and serious injuries across Somerset’s road network.

He said: “We need to look at the current coordination and communication we’ve got during an incident, and work to see where we can improve on that.

“There may be scope or merit in having pre-planned contingencies agreed in advance, which identify what resources may be required. There is no silver bullet that can solve this.”

Johnny Hill, National Highways’ current route manager for Somerset, Devon and Dorset, said the agency was exploring measures to alleviate congestion elsewhere across Somerset’s road network in order to reduce the strain on the M5.

He said: “We’re not coming here today to say ‘everything is perfect and there’s no work to be done’. Nobody wins when the road is closed, and nobody wants the road to be closed.

“We are looking at the route between South Petherton and Honiton, and how we can look at that holistically, to see if we try to reduce the number of incidents on it, and therefore increase its resilience. We are looking to address flooding hotspots.

“The current road investment strategy is massively renewals-heavy. Our network was all built at roughly the same time; it all starts to creak at roughly the same time, and that time is basically now.

“That’s not to say they are going to be no improvements. There will be a number of smaller-scale improvements after the next five years.”

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Many people assume single people gamble more. The usual story sounds reasonable: fewer household demands, more freedom to make their own choices, and fewer people watching what they do. It makes sense in theory, but the research doesn’t line up with that picture.

The twist is that marriage often appears to act as a protective factor, while divorce or separation can mark a period where gambling risk rises. Consequently, the relationship between gambling and relationship status is less about being single or married and more about how major life circumstances can influence gambling behaviour.

The Surprising Disconnect between Marriage and Gambling Behaviour

As online gambling has become more accessible through platforms such as VoltRush, discussions about who gambles the most have become increasingly common. One assumption that often surfaces is that relationship status can predict gambling behaviour.

In reality, there is no widely available Australian dataset that directly compares gambling participation or gambling-related harm by marital status. That makes it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions about whether married or single Australians gamble more. Instead, broader demographic factors, including age, gender, and socioeconomic circumstances, provide a much clearer picture of gambling participation.

Why the Single-Person Stereotype Continues

The idea that singles gamble more has remained popular because it connects gambling with independence and free time. Someone living alone may appear to have fewer external influences on their decisions. They may have fewer conversations about their habits, fewer shared routines, or fewer outside checks on their entertainment choices. However, someone’s relationship status does not reveal their financial situation, gambling habits, or level of risk.

This means a divorced person, a married person, and a single person may all have very different experiences despite their relationship labels. For casino-related discussions around brands like VoltRush, the more useful question is not if someone is married or single. It is how gambling fits into their wider life and whether it remains balanced.

Australia’s Gambling Picture Tells a Different Story

Australian participation patterns show a clear gender gap, highlighting that factors beyond relationship status can strongly influence gambling participation. Men participate in gambling at substantially higher rates than women, with some measures showing male participation at around three times the female rate.

Age is another important factor. According to research findings published by Roy Morgan Research, nearly a fifth, or 17.5%, of Australians aged 65 and above play pokies, clearly higher than any other age group. Older adults are also more likely than younger adults to have been married at some point, although age groups include a range of relationship statuses. Together, these patterns highlight how demographic trends play a significant role in gambling participation across Australia.

State Differences: NT and WA Show Different Patterns

Australia’s states and territories also show that gambling behaviour varies by location. The Northern Territory has recorded some of the highest levels of pokies participation in Australia, while Western Australia has recorded lower pokies participation compared with many other jurisdictions. These differences demonstrate that gambling behaviour is influenced by local patterns, population characteristics, and the types of gambling activities that are common in each area.

Different Gambling Activities Attract Different Participants

One additional challenge in comparing gambling behaviour by relationship status is that gambling is not a single, uniform activity. Rather, it encompasses a range of distinct products, including pokies, lotteries, sports betting, racing wagering, and online casino games on platforms such as VoltRush. Each product tends to attract different demographic profiles and participation patterns, which makes broad comparisons by relationship status less reliable.

For example, lotteries typically draw a broad cross‑section of the population, whereas sports betting has historically been more prevalent among younger men. Pokies, by contrast, are particularly popular with older Australians. These differences mean that an individual who occasionally purchases a lottery ticket is engaged in a different pattern of gambling behaviour from someone who regularly sports bets or plays pokies. Here is how they look:

Understanding these differences helps explain why broad statements about gamblers, especially those based solely on relationship status, can be misleading. Meaningful comparisons require considering demographic factors, the types of gambling people choose, and how frequently they participate.

Relationship Changes May Be a Bigger Warning Point

The strongest message from research is not that marriage prevents gambling problems. Rather, major relationship changes deserve closer attention. Divorce or separation can involve changes to living arrangements, routines, social connections, and emotional well-being. These transitions may coincide with periods where some people are more vulnerable to developing harmful gambling patterns.

While marriage may provide some protective social factors, it does not remove all risk. Married people can still experience gambling problems, which can impact the relationships, while single people can have healthy, controlled gambling habits. Therefore, the connection between gambling and personal circumstances is much more complicated than the old assumption that singles simply gamble more.

What This Means for Understanding Gambling Habits

In the end, gambling behaviour is best understood by looking at multiple influences rather than marital status in isolation. A better understanding of someone’s risk of problematic gambling always comes from considering several factors together, including:

• gender differences
• age groups
• relationship changes
• local participation patterns

Australian data shows clear differences in gambling participation by gender, age, and where people live. But there is no dedicated national dataset that breaks gambling down by married versus single. Therefore, relationship status alone cannot be used as a reliable predictor of who gambles more, especially when examined alongside broader research findings.

Responsible Gambling Reminder

Gambling should be treated as entertainment, not a way to make money. Set limits before you play, stick to your budget, and take a break if it stops being enjoyable.

July’s full moon, known as the Buck Moon, reaches peak illumination Wednesday morning, offering skywatchers across the country a chance to catch one of the year’s most anticipated lunar events as it rises into the evening sky.

The Buck Moon occurs at 10:36 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Because the moon will be below the horizon at that exact moment for most of North America, the best viewing opportunity comes later in the day. Skywatchers should plan to look toward the southeast after sunset to watch the moon rise into the evening sky.

When and Where to Look

The best evening to watch the Buck Moon rise is Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at the exact time of moonrise for a given location, with the best views across North America expected as the moon rises in the southeast during dusk. The full moon will rise this evening within about 20 minutes of sunset, meaning skywatchers in most locations should head outside shortly before the sun goes down to catch the moon as it climbs above the horizon.

For those hoping to capture the most dramatic view, timing matters. Viewers can consult a moonrise and moonset calculator to determine precisely when the Buck Moon will become visible in their specific area, since exact rise times vary by location. To see the full moon at its best, skywatchers are encouraged to find an elevated location, an open field, or a coastline with a clear, unobstructed view of the horizon.

A Striking Optical Illusion

One of the most compelling reasons to catch the moon shortly after it rises is a well-known visual phenomenon. The best time to notice the July full moon illusion is shortly after moonrise, when the Buck Moon is still low above the horizon, at which point the lunar disk tends to appear larger and more dramatic than it does later in the night once it climbs higher into the sky.

Why It’s Called the Buck Moon

The July full moon’s name traces back to a seasonal pattern in nature that has been observed for generations. The full moon in July is called the Buck Moon because the antlers of male deer are in full-growth mode at this time of year, with bucks shedding and regrowing their antlers annually, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by. The moon earned its name from northeastern Native American tribes who observed that deer antlers were in “full-growth mode” during this period of the summer.

Other cultures and traditions have applied different names to July’s full moon, many of which also draw on seasonal and natural themes. Alternative names include the Feather Moulting Moon among the Cree and the Salmon Moon among the Tlingit, marking when fish returned to the area and were ready to be harvested, along with plant-inspired names such as the Berry Moon, the Moon When the Chokecherries Are Ripe, and the Raspberry Moon.

Its Place in the 2026 Full Moon Calendar

The Buck Moon is the eighth of 13 full moons occurring in 2026, a result of the mismatch between the roughly 365-day solar year and the approximately 354-day lunar year, which occasionally produces calendar years containing 13 full moons instead of the usual 12. The moon will appear in the constellation Capricornus during this month’s full phase.

What Comes Next in the Night Sky

This month’s full moon also sets the stage for a string of notable celestial events in the weeks ahead. The Buck Moon arrives just two weeks before a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, one of the biggest sky events of the year, and roughly four weeks before a partial lunar eclipse. The next full moon after the Buck Moon will be the Sturgeon Moon on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, which coincides with a deep partial lunar eclipse in which nearly 97% of the moon will pass into Earth’s dark shadow, making it appear dimmed and reddish-orange, though it will fall short of a full “blood moon” total eclipse.

A Night With Cultural and Spiritual Significance

Beyond its astronomical importance, this month’s full moon also holds meaning across several religious and cultural traditions observed around the world. The July full moon marks the celebration of Guru Purnima for followers of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths, a day when worshippers honor their teachers and spiritual guides through fasting, temple visits and acts of service and gratitude. July 29 also coincides with the holy day of Asalha Puja for the Theravada Buddhist community, commemorating the Buddha’s first sermon, delivered in Sarnath, India, where he taught the Four Noble Truths.

Other Sights to Look For

While the moon’s brightness will make it harder to spot fainter deep-sky objects on the night of the full moon itself, skywatchers can still find other highlights nearby. Despite the glare of the Buck Moon washing out many fainter objects in the night sky, observers may still be able to spot the Summer Triangle asterism, along with an evening star shining low on the western horizon, which will set less than two hours after sunset.

Tips for the Best Viewing Experience

For those planning to watch the Buck Moon rise, weather conditions, viewing angle and timing will all play a role in the experience. Clear skies and an unobstructed eastern or southeastern horizon offer the best chance to catch the moon as it first emerges, when the optical illusion that makes it appear unusually large is at its most striking. As with most full moons, no special equipment is needed to enjoy the view, though binoculars or a telescope can enhance the experience for those hoping to pick out surface details once the moon has climbed higher into the sky later in the evening.