VOSA Traffic Control

[Saabyfox]

Was cruising down the M4 to Bristol today and saw some White flashing lights up ahead. Puzzled, I then realised that the traffic behind were slowing down behind this vehicle. A couple of lorries were nearby so i guessed from a distance that one may be an abnormal load in some way.

But no, the VOSA vehicle was not paying any attention to the lorries, or anything else for that matter from what i could see. He was, however, driving in the middle lane at 65 mph.

What is a VOSA traffic control vehicle for ? Do they have any powers ? And why did they have flashing lights on when there was nothing to panic or alert drivers about ?

[Hooli]

its a rolling road block, quite a common tatic.
they hold you all up at a set speed creating a gap in the traffic flow. further down the road another womble runs across the motorway & picks up lumps of tyre/side of a truck/mudguard/etc out of the fast lane - or any other task that needs a couple of minutes traffic free to complete safely.

[Vaux]

I think we need to watch those VOSA boys.

Maybe they're just HATO wannabees?

[MiniMac]

Coming of Chester High Road onto M56 there is a Lorry checkpoint with a VOSA type in there. Bright yellow van. The sheep stand on their brakes, despite doing 35 on a (absurd) 40.

[Vaux]

Saabyfox said:

What is a VOSA traffic control vehicle for ? Do they have any powers ? And why did they have flashing lights on when there was nothing to panic or alert drivers about ?

Have a read of the Highway Code.
Maybe rules 107/108 and 281.
There's been a couple of successful prosecutions against MoP breaking HATO rolling road blocks (4 points/fine and 6 points/fine IIRC).

[Hooli]

didnt notice the OP said VOSA not HATO, they seem to congregate in the same places though so i assume they work together a lot?

[Vesuvius 996]

Hooli said:

didnt notice the OP said VOSA not HATO, they seem to congregate in the same places though so i assume they pull each other off in laybys a lot?

EFA.

[Vaux]

MiniMac said:

..despite doing 35 on a (absurd) 40.

Due to roadworks.
And the speed camera coming off the M56 at J16.

[Vaux]

Hooli said:

so i assume they work together a lot?

Nope.

"The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) provides a range of licensing, testing and enforcement services with the aim of improving the roadworthiness standards of vehicles ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers, and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners."

HATOs:
"Traffic officers assists motorists at following scenes:

Motor vehicle accidents
Removing damaged and abandoned vehicles
Clearing debris on carriageways
Undertaking high visibility patrols
Providing mobile/temporary road closures
Supporting police in their duties"

plus other good stuff.....

I've never even spoken to a VOSA person.

[Saabyfox]

Vaux said:

Hooli said:

so i assume they work together a lot?

Nope.

"The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) provides a range of licensing, testing and enforcement services with the aim of improving the roadworthiness standards of vehicles ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers, and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners."
"

plus other good stuff.....

I've never even spoken to a VOSA person.

So they may have been studying the lorries then ? Good info folks, thanks.

[Hooli]

Vaux said:

Hooli said:

so i assume they work together a lot?

Nope.

"The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) provides a range of licensing, testing and enforcement services with the aim of improving the roadworthiness standards of vehicles ensuring the compliance of operators and drivers, and supporting the independent Traffic Commissioners."

HATOs:
"Traffic officers assists motorists at following scenes:

Motor vehicle accidents
Removing damaged and abandoned vehicles
Clearing debris on carriageways
Undertaking high visibility patrols
Providing mobile/temporary road closures
Supporting police in their duties"

plus other good stuff.....

I've never even spoken to a VOSA person.

i'm the other way, ive spoken to several VOSAs but no HATOs. I thought id see HATOs wombling about at VOSA check points in the past, misdriecting parked lorries & so forth. maybe i was wrong? was just an observation anyway.

[Dogwatch]

Hooli said:

misdriecting parked lorries & so forth.

Them pesky SatNavs again...

[DucatiGary]

out of interest, what is the penalty if you dont stop for a HATO or VOSA?

and also, what is the penalty for pretending to be either HATO or VOSA ?

seems too many people are allowed to pull you over now, and its a bit confusing even for me, who likes to keep on top of these things.

[MiniMac]

Vaux said:

MiniMac said:

..despite doing 35 on a (absurd) 40.

Due to roadworks.
And the speed camera coming off the M56 at J16.

Aint seen many workies mooching about recently, they are all down the other end. Perfectly safe to do 60 there.

Not sure where J16 goes so can't comment.

[Vaux]

Hooli said:

I thought id see HATOs wombling about at VOSA check points in the past, misdriecting parked lorries & so forth. maybe i was wrong? was just an observation anyway.

Yep, you're wrong

VOSA do their own stopping and directing. I seem to remember in the early VOSA days they had to use Police to stop vehicles.

[Vaux]

MiniMac said:

Aint seen many workies mooching about recently, they are all down the other end. Perfectly safe to do 60 there.

Not sure where J16 goes so can't comment.

Who knows how they make up the speed limits? J16 is the start of the motorway to Manchester.

[Vaux]

DucatiGary said:

out of interest, what is the penalty if you dont stop for a HATO or VOSA?

and also, what is the penalty for pretending to be either HATO or VOSA ?

seems too many people are allowed to pull you over now, and its a bit confusing even for me, who likes to keep on top of these things.

Relating to HATOs

Traffic Management Act 2004

Section 10
Offences (1) A person who assaults a traffic officer in the execution of his duties is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (or both).
(2) A person who resists or wilfully obstructs a traffic officer in the execution of his duties is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (or both).
(3) A person who, with intent to deceive—
(a) impersonates a traffic officer,
(b) makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he is a traffic officer, or
(c) makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he has powers as a traffic officer that exceed the powers he actually has,
is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (or both).
(4) A person to whom this subsection applies who fails to give his name and address to a traffic officer in uniform on being required to do so by that officer is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(5) Subsection (4) applies to a person whom the traffic officer reasonably believes to have been the driver of a vehicle at a time of a failure to comply with—
(a) a direction given in relation to that vehicle under a power conferred by section 6, or
(b) the indication given by a traffic sign placed under a power conferred by section 7.
(6) In the case of offences committed before the commencement of section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003—
(a) subsections (1) and (3) apply as if for “51 weeks” there were substituted “six months”; and
(b) subsection (2) applies as if for “51 weeks” there were substituted “one month”.

[clived]

Saabyfox said:

saw some White flashing lights

White?

[Sgt Bilko]

clived said:

Saabyfox said:

saw some White flashing lights

White?

If VOSA then they still have crap strobe amber lightbars and in certain conditions the core of the flash looks white. It's just very bright amber. Unless it was the alternating headlamps.

Edited by Sgt Bilko on Saturday 24th November 16:38

[dangerous5017]

Hooli said:

didnt notice the OP said VOSA not HATO, they seem to congregate in the same places though so i assume they work together a lot?

Both work for the Dept of Transport