A motoring organisation is calling for the A34 to be brought up to motorway standards as county planners admit there are no emergency procedures to deal with yesterday's gridlock on roads around Oxford.

Police and emergency workers at the scene of yesterday's crash on the A34Motorists endured hours of delays on their way to work after a horrific smash involving three lorries near the Botley interchange, and further delays on their way home last night.

The AA says the fact that the A34 is a dual carriageway with no hard shoulder, coupled with the lack of an obvious alternative route for traffic, made chaos unavoidable.

The A34 was shut between the Pear Tree and Botley interchanges following the crash at about 4.30am.

The northbound stretch re-opened at 8.20am, but the A34 southbound, where the accident happened, did not re-open until late last night.

Motorists were diverted via the Oxford ring road and there was a knock-on effect around the county as motorists tried to find alternative routes using minor roads.

There is no set emergency plan held by the police, county council or Highways Agency to deal with major disruption along the A34 or any other major trunk road.

John Kelly, Oxfordshire's emergency planner, said though the hold-ups had an economic and commercial impact, jams did not constitute a risk to anyone's welfare and hence did not constitute a "major incident".

He said if snow had resulted in drivers or schoolchildren being stranded, that would justify action. Mr Kelly added: "When it is an inconvenience to you and you are late for work, that does not trigger the emergency plan." Emergencies include chemical or biological attacks, foot and mouth outbreaks, plane or train crashes, fuel rationing, and flooding.

Police spokesman Kate Smith said: "Diversions were put in place for people to take alternative routes to their destination.

"Unfortunately, when a major road is blocked, alternative routes become congested. The sheer volume of traffic makes it impossible to find a perfect solution."

AA spokesman Rebecca Rees said the A34 was carrying far more cars than it was designed for, and called on the Government to investigate widening it to three lanes and introducing a hard-shoulder.

She said: "It is only two lanes but it is the link between the south and the midlands. Because there's no hard shoulder, there's nowhere for the wreckage to go.

Christopher Quinton, Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce council member, said: "It is long overdue for the A34 to be converted into a motorway."

He also called for more heavy equipment to be available so carriageways could be cleared quickly.

Two months ago, Vale of White Horse district councillor Gervase Duffield said a new motorway, the M34, was needed west of Oxford to link the M40 and M4.

Keith Slater, president of Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said a new motorway linking the M40 and the south coast was the only solution.

A Highways Agency spokesman said there are no plans to widen the A34.

The accident happened at about 4.30am yesterday when a 44-tonne articulated lorry travelling south lost control just north of the Botley interchange and came to rest on its side, blocking the southbound carriageway.

A car transporter collided with the first lorry, trapping the driver in his cab. A 20-tonne lorry then collided with the wreckage, ending up on its side.

Last night, the driver of the car transporter, who was cut from his vehicle, was still in a serious condition in the John Radcliffe Hospital.