Ask a Highways England Traffic Officer anything

Ask a Highways England Traffic Officer anything

Author
Discussion

BossHogg

Original Poster:

6,051 posts

180 months

Friday 30th March 2018
quotequote all
What are your previous jobs? there's a guy who works with me whose operational experience was in retail.

dacouch

1,172 posts

131 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
quotequote all
Why can you not do this when there is a horse running around a motorway
https://twitter.com/MarieAnnUK/status/980609140727...

BossHogg

Original Poster:

6,051 posts

180 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
quotequote all
Yeah right! Elfin safe tea would have kittens! laugh

AndyNetwork

1,835 posts

196 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
quotequote all
This may have been asked before, but why do hiways officers sit watching the traffic build up when 5 mins with their 4x4 they could clear the motorway of a broken down car stuck in the middle lane at rush hour?

This occurred on the M60 anticlockwise a few days back, near junction 22 - the motorway has 4 lanes, one which becomes the exit for junction 22, one which becomes a junction for 23, A car had broken down in the third lane, which was the fist of the lanes to carry on around the M60, but the hiways officers were sat in their Mitsubishi, on the raised platform as the traffic backed up to get around the broken down car. Why not just help and pull it off the motorway onto the hard shoulder?

bongtom

2,018 posts

85 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
quotequote all
Elf and safety guv.
They’ve got to get the go ahead from the blokes back in the office, who’ve never been out on the streets. Probably.

BossHogg

Original Poster:

6,051 posts

180 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
quotequote all
They probably couldn't see the vehicle from their location and assumed the back log was normal rush hour traffic. As soon as they are aware, they'll drag the car to the hard shoulder or nearest emergency refuge area.

mcdjl

5,455 posts

197 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
What's the reason for parking emergency vehicles on the opposite carriage but unaffected way like so:
I get that everyone would be slowing down to rubber-neck anyway but it still seems to double the traffic congestion?

anonymous-user

56 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
In your picture there's a bloody great horse box in the outside lane!

mcdjl

5,455 posts

197 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
janesmith1950 said:
In your picture there's a bloody great horse box in the outside lane!
That'll teach me! I thought it was something in the camera :s
Though I'd still be interested to know why they're in that side on the road, rather than where the car is.

Edited by mcdjl on Friday 6th April 07:45

hashtag

1,116 posts

156 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
mcdjl said:
janesmith1950 said:
In your picture there's a bloody great horse box in the outside lane!
That'll teach me! I thought it was something in the camera :s
Though I'd still be interested to know why they're in that side on the road, rather than where the car is.

Edited by mcdjl on Friday 6th April 07:45
I would guess it was a quicker way of dealing with the incident. Perhaps the distance to be able to turn was too far

BossHogg

Original Poster:

6,051 posts

180 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
You can't see the whole scene on the left side of the picture, there's probably a closure on that side too, the horsebox may be loaded.

gothatway

5,783 posts

172 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
That looks like quite a manky old horsebox. I wonder what happened - hope any livestock are ok as it won't have been their fault.

And one for the Traffic Officers ... I remember being told that if you have livestock on board a lorry or trailer and are stuck in a motorway stand-still that you can contact AHVLA/DEFRA who will arrange for you to be escorted off the motorway (if possible). Any truth in that ?

The Mad Monk

10,493 posts

119 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
gothatway said:
- hope any livestock are ok as it won't have been their fault.
What does that mean when you hold it up to the light?

BossHogg

Original Poster:

6,051 posts

180 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
gothatway said:
That looks like quite a manky old horsebox. I wonder what happened - hope any livestock are ok as it won't have been their fault.

And one for the Traffic Officers ... I remember being told that if you have livestock on board a lorry or trailer and are stuck in a motorway stand-still that you can contact AHVLA/DEFRA who will arrange for you to be escorted off the motorway (if possible). Any truth in that ?
We've recently completed animal handling courses to enable us to deal with horses and dogs, we'll be trained with livestock and swans next. We have an list of contact numbers for each type of animal we attend.

Flibbertygibbet

29 posts

167 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
BossHogg said:
We've recently completed animal handling courses to enable us to deal with horses and dogs, we'll be trained with livestock and swans next. We have an list of contact numbers for each type of animal we attend.
It’s amazing how things go full circle. I remember years ago when the patrols used to have a dog pole and they were removed due to “lack of training”. THat said there’s little funnier than watching someone in high vis doing their best Big Bird impression trying to get a swan or goose to fly away...

CharlesdeGaulle

26,576 posts

182 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
The Mad Monk said:
gothatway said:
- hope any livestock are ok as it won't have been their fault.
What does that mean when you hold it up to the light?
I'm glad it wasn't just me.

StanleyT

1,994 posts

81 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
Flibbertygibbet said:
It’s amazing how things go full circle. I remember years ago when the patrols used to have a dog pole and they were removed due to “lack of training”. THat said there’s little funnier than watching someone in high vis doing their best Big Bird impression trying to get a swan or goose to fly away...
or sadder.....years ago as two swans lifted from J21 NB on the top end of the Thellwall viaduct, headed east, gaining height like a fully loaded Lancaster bomber heading for Dresden in the 1940s, to be slotted side on by a 40 tonners cab at 50mph on the SB lane. Probably not very pleasant for the driver either unless of Eastern European origin in which case Sunday roast was sorted!

Are you allowed to shoot animals if the risk to a human life is higher? I have been in a country where swans were shot (they were "South of the border so not the Queens'") but that was 1998 so the world might be a bit more enlightened in animals / roads/ shootiness?

Pothole

34,367 posts

284 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
Why did your colleague call me "kid" last night on the M6 Southbound? I'm 52 (but had a helmet on anyway). He sounded like a proper Yamyam but that's besoides the point!

BossHogg

Original Poster:

6,051 posts

180 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
It could have been his way of greeting people, one of my managers is from Birmingham, he addresses us as kid. I address people as mucker.

anonymous-user

56 months

Friday 6th April 2018
quotequote all
StanleyT said:
Are you allowed to [-]shoot [-/] kill animals if the risk to a human life is higher? I have been in a country where swans were shot (they were "South of the border so not the Queens'") but that was 1998 so the world might be a bit more enlightened in animals / roads/ shootiness?
I don't see any issue in killing an animal to prevent an accident or possible fatality http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wale...
Unlike many of the keyboard warrior dog/animal loving idiots who haven't worked with animals on a high speed road in the dark with light flow high speed traffic.
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/...

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 6th April 23:34