Ask a Highways England Traffic Officer anything
Discussion
DaveGoddard said:
I've read some stupid s
t during my time on the web, but that has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. What happens if one of your vehicles gets a puncture or some damage then - do you just leave it there and walk off up the hard shoulder? :P
We phone for a tyre fitter and they come and replace the tyre.t during my time on the web, but that has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. What happens if one of your vehicles gets a puncture or some damage then - do you just leave it there and walk off up the hard shoulder? :Pcahami said:
Are you allowed to do that ? Surely that’s the recovery guys job.
If your not allowed to help a stranded woman change a wheel I can’t imagine you are allowed to upright overturned vehicles are you trained to do so ?.
Yes, we're all trained in the uprighting of overturned vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.If your not allowed to help a stranded woman change a wheel I can’t imagine you are allowed to upright overturned vehicles are you trained to do so ?.
limpsfield said:
Is it really necessary to have the cars liveried up to look like police cars?
Could they not be given a different colour scheme that makes them stand out, without making every lane 2 and 3 hogger slam on the anchors when they see one 1/4 mile away?
I do think that many of these highway officers must quite revel in this pretend police thing - but for the non-paying attention road user, the reaction of others can be quite dangerous.
The same could be said of DVSA(VOSA) we have the same colour battenburg as that's the colour that was allocated to DfT. You see all kinds of strange battenburg on the roads, the design is meant to be the most visible on fast roads, hence the reason why our cars are marked the way they are.Could they not be given a different colour scheme that makes them stand out, without making every lane 2 and 3 hogger slam on the anchors when they see one 1/4 mile away?
I do think that many of these highway officers must quite revel in this pretend police thing - but for the non-paying attention road user, the reaction of others can be quite dangerous.
Evanivitch said:
What equipment do you carry?
I'm intrigued as so far you seem to have ruled out most things!
We carry, 20 cones, 9 flashing lights, 3 keep left signs, 3 keep right signs(these are interchangeable for full carriageway closure) shovel, 2 brushes, auxillary braking strap, 4 recovery straps and load cell, crow bar, first aid kit, rain capes and foil blankets, 6 bags of spagzorb spill kit, full spill mats hazwaste bags, box of rubber gloves, tub of handwipes and roll of paper towels and that's about it.I'm intrigued as so far you seem to have ruled out most things!
Pistom said:
Never really given HETA a second thought before this thread.
I've just seen them out and about doing what I thought was not a important job but this thread is making me think.
I certainly hadn't thought of you as doing all this for just £27K!
I've never had issues with the livery as they are so clearly not plod that I treat them like any other car on the road.
As for calling them names or other abuse - how old are some people on here. Not old enough to drive, that's for sure.
So here is my questions.
How long is your shift, how many days/ hours do you work and what happens if near the end of your shift an incident occurs which means you work over?
We work 6 8 hour shifts, normally, 3 earlies (6-2) 3 lates (2-10) 3 rest. 3 variable shifts (earlies, lates or nights) 3 nights (10-6) 3 rest then repeat. If a job comes in at the end, if an oncoming crew is in and ready, they'll go, if not, we'll go and get relieved by the oncoming crew once they're ready.I've just seen them out and about doing what I thought was not a important job but this thread is making me think.
I certainly hadn't thought of you as doing all this for just £27K!
I've never had issues with the livery as they are so clearly not plod that I treat them like any other car on the road.
As for calling them names or other abuse - how old are some people on here. Not old enough to drive, that's for sure.
So here is my questions.
How long is your shift, how many days/ hours do you work and what happens if near the end of your shift an incident occurs which means you work over?
Evanivitch said:
20 highways issue traffic cones must be quite a big to begin with!
Do you get frustrated when people use their warning triangles on the hard shoulder?
Our cones are smaller than the standard ones you see at roadworks, it's not a case of getting frustrated, more like educating the motorist when it's explained that they're not used on the motorway as they could get sucked into live lanes by passing LGVs.Do you get frustrated when people use their warning triangles on the hard shoulder?
yonex said:
Does your poor image with the general public bother you?
To be perfectly honest, I've worked in a number of uniformed jobs interacting with the public. I've received far more abuse in those roles than my current one. I believe people think bad things of us due to misconceptions about our powers and responsibilities. Hopefully this topic will go some way to dispel those misconceptions. fizz47 said:
Do people ever get prosecuted for for driving in a lane that has been marked closed or ‘x’ after an incident.
Common occurrence on my m25 commute and always see people just blatantly ignore the x and carry on -
Found the answer for you. Common occurrence on my m25 commute and always see people just blatantly ignore the x and carry on -
At the moment it is only if caught on CCTV or by a police officer. Police will also prosecute sometimes on other evidence such as a statement.
However, new "smart" motorway sections have the technology to do so. They have sent out "letters of advice" but from sometime in 2018 there is a push I believe to change that to just fine and points.
Elroy Blue said:
Why do your managers send you out single crewed, then say you can't attend any incidents because you're single crewed.
Why do you always say you can't attend HE incidents 'because we're on changeover', then expect Police Officers to attend who are also on changeover.
I don't know what area you are, in the northwest we respond at any time, regardless of changeover.Why do you always say you can't attend HE incidents 'because we're on changeover', then expect Police Officers to attend who are also on changeover.
WilliamWoollard said:
Do you always stop for everything you see on the hard shoulder, or are there some things you just cruise on by?
Do you introduce yourself when dealing with motorists? Do you find that members of the public generally know who you are, or do they think you’re police/recovery or whatever?
Not everything, just ones we're unaware of. We get informed by our control when people phone in using an emergency phone. A lot of people know who we are, those that don't, we tell them we're highways officers who patrol the motorway.Do you introduce yourself when dealing with motorists? Do you find that members of the public generally know who you are, or do they think you’re police/recovery or whatever?
limpsfield said:
Is it really necessary to have the cars liveried up to look like police cars?
Could they not be given a different colour scheme that makes them stand out, without making every lane 2 and 3 hogger slam on the anchors when they see one 1/4 mile away?
I do think that many of these highway officers must quite revel in this pretend police thing - but for the non-paying attention road user, the reaction of others can be quite dangerous.
Err our cars are black and yellow, police are blue and yellow. Is that not different enough?Could they not be given a different colour scheme that makes them stand out, without making every lane 2 and 3 hogger slam on the anchors when they see one 1/4 mile away?
I do think that many of these highway officers must quite revel in this pretend police thing - but for the non-paying attention road user, the reaction of others can be quite dangerous.
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