Ask a Highways England Traffic Officer anything
Discussion
Flibbertygibbet said:
There is also a relatively new technology called stopped vehicle detection in place on parts of the m25 that uses radar to detect carriageway obstructions and flag up alarms in the RCCs but is still very much in its infancy.
It’s been in the Hindhead Tunnel since it was built, been giving false alarms and missing things ever since!! 
Used to drive the M6 from Carlisle to Liverpool twice a week, Lune Gorge was always my favourite part, usually had CD on by that point as would always lose radio1. Pretty much enjoyed the M6 after Lancaster towards Carlisle, always felt comfortable going a bit faster on the Sunday nights.
Question. One of my most memorable trips was the snow in around 07/08, I remember it well as my mate who lived in kendal managed to smash his car up twice and I picked him up from home. On the way home I was dropping him off, the snow was really bad and we turned off at Shap. The M6 was down to 30mph and there where a few lorries in ditches. When we turned off we helped an old guy in a BMW get out of the kerb so he could turn around, being 18 and awesome I carried on in my little fiesta and didn't have any problems.
We got 50% down the Shap road and there was an on coming van swerving / drifting. I thought he was having fun until he ditched it - We stopped and the guy said he wasn't allowed to get out the van until the police turned up, as he was a cash van.
In this instance would you be able to help / assist? always seemed odd to me that he couldn't get our for help, probably stuck there for a fair few hours
Question. One of my most memorable trips was the snow in around 07/08, I remember it well as my mate who lived in kendal managed to smash his car up twice and I picked him up from home. On the way home I was dropping him off, the snow was really bad and we turned off at Shap. The M6 was down to 30mph and there where a few lorries in ditches. When we turned off we helped an old guy in a BMW get out of the kerb so he could turn around, being 18 and awesome I carried on in my little fiesta and didn't have any problems.
We got 50% down the Shap road and there was an on coming van swerving / drifting. I thought he was having fun until he ditched it - We stopped and the guy said he wasn't allowed to get out the van until the police turned up, as he was a cash van.
In this instance would you be able to help / assist? always seemed odd to me that he couldn't get our for help, probably stuck there for a fair few hours
BossHogg said:
Exactly, we can stop safely to deal with breakdowns, debris etc at that speed, any faster and there's a risk of missing incidents.
Thanks very much. I've always wondered exactly what you folks did, now I know. Patiently explained with humour in the face of some unpleasant morons.
Thanks.
The Rookie said:
Do you have any actual experience of third world roads? I assure you that the vast majority in the UK are better than all bar the newest in India.
It’s oft forgotten by a lot of people that Highways England/Highways Agency/Highways depending on what people can be bothered to call it are only responsible for the motorways and major A roads so any s
tty resurfacing or lack of it on other roads eg local council Highways departments roads are not the responsibility of Highways England. There’s a commitment to resurface most of the strategic road network and I don’t think progress is being badly made at this point, bearing in mind on one night a tarmac team can only provide so much material and lay so much in the 6 hour window that is available to them.What will be interesting is what happens if Carillion collapse as has been predicted in today’s papers...
The Rookie said:
Do you have any actual experience of third world roads? I assure you that the vast majority in the UK are better than all bar the newest in India.
Do the Philippines and Vietnam count, I've been to both recently?In any case, what is more relevant is the comparison between our roads and those in countries with similar economies/development.
On the whole our roads are appalling when you consider we are the 5th biggest economy etc.
cmaguire said:
Our roads are bloody awful.
Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
Also been to France and Spain. Would say we are on par with them. Our villages have better roads than small french/spanish villages though. Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
cmaguire said:
Our roads are bloody awful.
Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
Mr Cameron & Mrs Mays austerity measures responsible for that, apart from new contracts (Ie smart m/way & new links) maintenance budgets have been decimated.Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
Gafferjim said:
cmaguire said:
Our roads are bloody awful.
Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
Mr Cameron & Mrs Mays austerity measures responsible for that, apart from new contracts (Ie smart m/way & new links) maintenance budgets have been decimated.Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
cmaguire said:
Our roads are bloody awful.
Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
There seems to be a range of road quality everywhere I've driven in Europe, probably less than 15,000 miles in total though.Compare them to France and Spain for example.
They are a patchwork quilt of bodged repairs and potholes here.
One thing I have never come across on a UK motorway that I have an an autoroute is a metre diameter pothole deep enough, looked like 10 to 20cm, to cause some serious damage if I hadn't managed to swerve around it. Doing a moose test in a mid-engined kit car at 130kph is quite exciting, if I hadn't corrected the spin before my conscious brain caught up I'd would probably have needed clean underwear.
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