H.A.T.O's: what exactly do they do?
Discussion
Sounds like a good idea this, to relieve pressure from the BIB getting them to clear up after accidents etc. But something on the M11 on Friday really ticked me off.
M11 was closed at Jcn 7 southbound (presumably a nasty crash) and all the traffic was being sent off at this jcn. After about an hour of queuing, we eventually get to the jcn, and pass a HATO transit, empty.
Excellent I thought, there'll no doubt be some friendly chap from the HATO at the top of the sliproad, directing people back to the M11 / M25.
Was there b
x thousands of cars get to the roundabout at the end of the sliproad, in the inevitable gridlock and there was nothing and no-one telling you where to go. Not a sign, a person or a L.E.D. in the back of a BIB car.
Why are we sooooo crap at dealing with traffic problems in this country? They happen ALL THE TIME. You can't just throw thousands of cars off the M-way (lots of which came from Stansted and do not know the local area) and expect them to get on with it.
All that, plus the 3 hour Ryanair delay made me
M11 was closed at Jcn 7 southbound (presumably a nasty crash) and all the traffic was being sent off at this jcn. After about an hour of queuing, we eventually get to the jcn, and pass a HATO transit, empty.
Excellent I thought, there'll no doubt be some friendly chap from the HATO at the top of the sliproad, directing people back to the M11 / M25.
Was there b
x thousands of cars get to the roundabout at the end of the sliproad, in the inevitable gridlock and there was nothing and no-one telling you where to go. Not a sign, a person or a L.E.D. in the back of a BIB car. Why are we sooooo crap at dealing with traffic problems in this country? They happen ALL THE TIME. You can't just throw thousands of cars off the M-way (lots of which came from Stansted and do not know the local area) and expect them to get on with it.
All that, plus the 3 hour Ryanair delay made me
Flat in Fifth said:
The reason you didn't see any HATO's is because they are not operating in your area yet, late 2005 according to link
As for roles and responsibilities see this
What you probably saw was an incident response unit, quite different.
Interesting links, cheers!
the van did have HATO written on the side though.
My car broke down on the M40 about 2 weeks ago, and after half an hour the HATO squad turned up.
All they do is put out cones to warn other motorists of the hazard on the hard shoulder.
They did of course advise me to wait on the embankment until the breakdown truck arrived.
The breakdown guy thinks HATO are clueless and complete waste of money, and not a replacement for Police patrols.
All they do is put out cones to warn other motorists of the hazard on the hard shoulder.
They did of course advise me to wait on the embankment until the breakdown truck arrived.
The breakdown guy thinks HATO are clueless and complete waste of money, and not a replacement for Police patrols.
ledfoot said:
The breakdown guy thinks HATO are clueless....
A while back came across one of the HATOs parked up in their nice new Range Rover, at a tea spot of course, when a member of public asked them fo directions to a very well known tourist attraction which was situated ~two miles away.
HATO gets out his road atlas and basically was indeed clueless. Muppet.
ledfoot said:
The breakdown guy thinks HATO are clueless and complete waste of money, and not a replacement for Police patrols.
Glad you got an informed opinion!
They are not intended to replace police patrols. The intention is that the deal with all the mundane stuff (preventing your car getting wiped out for example), thereby freeing up trafpol to concentrate on the stuff they are best at.
Personally I think they are a great idea.
Steve
towman said:
They are not intended to replace police patrols. The intention is that the deal with all the mundane stuff (preventing your car getting wiped out for example), thereby freeing up trafpol to concentrate on the stuff they are best at.
Think you need to follow the roles and responsibilities link above in an earlier post. Compare the changed situation between current and future roles as shown in that link.
The HATO roles include, management of fatal and serious collisions, high profile patrols, education of road users, and so on. Some are shared with plod, some are exclusive to HATOs.
Couple that with the reduction and disappearance of road policing units, except in East Riding of Yorks where they are to be reinstated, and I suggest you might like to review the situation presented in the above quote.
If you don't agree then that is OK, what debate is all about.
Remember these guys ONLY operate on the motorway. 1 mile away on a major trunk route, "not my job mate."
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