Following the recent thread on here about Highways Agency Traffic Officers I received a PM asking if I would be interested in riding along on a shift with one of the supervisors based at Toddington to learn more about their work. I replied that I would be very interested and as a result, it was arranged that I would ride along on the evening shift last Sunday; this is normally a busy shift due to the volume of traffic at the end of the weekend.
I arrived at the out-station on the northbound side of Toddington services just before two o’clock and met up with Mark, who had sent me the invite a couple of weeks previously. I waited while Mark completed some paperwork and sorted out the three crews who work this shift then he gave me a tour of the out-station and explained the area they cover, which is mainly the M1 from the bottom end up to between junction 14 and 15. After I had signed an indemnity form, we ventured outside to our vehicle for the shift, a Mitsubishi Grandis, and as in our job the first task was the daily checks. As well as all the normal vehicle checks the equipment was checked to make sure it was all present and correct. Packed into the load space were 20 traffic cones, 9 amber flashing lights, 2 brooms, a high power torch, various signs, foil survival blankets and waterproofs that can be handed to stranded motorists. There was also a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher but these are only supposed to be used for the officers and their vehicle and are not used to treat members of the public or tackle other fires.
With the checks complete, we used the service road to cross over to the southbound side of the services and out onto the motorway so Mark could take me down to South Mimms to visit the Regional Control Centre (RCC). We cruised along at 50 mph and kept very near to the rumble slip, Mark explained that this made it easier to spot and react to vehicles on the hard shoulder. Yes, some motorists mistook us for a police vehicle and pretended they always drove at 51 mph as they crawled past us but it is not fair to blame the HATO’s for the stupidity of some motorists. The roadwork section past Luton was running freely and we continued south accompanied by the chatter of the radio. It seemed as if I was listening to an alphabet soup of messages with acronyms such as RTC, BDV, BBS, RRB and VMS issuing from the speaker. As we entered the slip road from the M1 to the M25, we spotted a Peugeot on the hard shoulder. Mark [zb] on the amber flashing lights on the roof of the Grandis and we pulled up a short distance behind the stricken vehicle. As we approached the car, four people climbed out and Mark went to speak to them. They explained the AA had been called and they had been told that a patrol would be with them in about 15-minutes. Mark explained that they should not wait in the vehicle but instead should stay on the verge, behind the crash barrier. We returned to the Mitsubishi and Mark called the details through to the control centre. As well as the vehicle details, he had taken the drivers name and mobile number, which he passed to the RCC. The mobile number would be used to check on the peoples welfare should their wait be a long one. He also asked if it would be possible to get a camera onto the car so a check could be kept on it.
We arrived at the RCC without encountering any more vehicles requiring assistance on our side of the carriageway although Mark did call in the location of a horsebox parked on the opposite shoulder, the driver of which had waved across at us as we went past. Control dispatched another vehicle to go and check if he needed assistance and it turned out the vehicle had ran out of diesel.
I was given a tour of the RCC and we ended up in the control room where I was introduced to the shift supervisor who explained some of the work that goes on in there. The centre is staffed 24/7 by the Highways Agency and there is a police liaison officer also present. Each operative has several screens on their desk. One is used for answering telephone calls and other communications while another shows all the current situations that are being dealt with. Others show CCTV pictures or maps and yet another shows the location of the various matrix signs and their current state. I was shown how these work and the various pre-set messages they can display. I did ask about that old favourite; why we need a sign saying fog when we can see that it is foggy. Apparently, if the FOG signs are not illuminated when it is foggy they get complaints from members of the public, unbelievable but true. At the front of the control room, is a wall the size of a house and this has video screens on it showing various parts of the network. On one screen I could see the Peugeot we had stopped at on the way down and despite it now being almost an hour since we talked to the driver the AA had still not arrived, so much for 15-minutes. On another screen, we witnessed a very near miss as a truck swerved at the last minute to avoid hitting a Fiat Punto that was stranded on the hard shoulder.
We left the RCC and started back northbound on the M1. We heard over the radio that one of the crews from Toddington had spotted a car being driven round and round a field beside the motorway just before junction 11. The crew had called this information into the police and it turned out to be a stolen car they were looking for. The crew were asked to stay there and try to assist the police helicopter in locating it. We were just approaching junction 10 when the previously free flowing southbound carriageway started to slow up, then stop. A few moments later a message came over the radio saying there was a five car RTC (Road Traffic Collision) in the contraflow lane. By this time, we were approaching junction 11 so Mark took the exit and we turned back southbound. One of the other Toddington teams had arrived at the scene and they reported causalities, thankfully not serious, and ahead we could see an ambulance fighting its way through the stationary traffic. The ambulance left at junction 10 and stopped at the top of the slip road, Mark did the same and pulled alongside and asked if they were heading for the RTC. “Yes,” came the reply “but we can’t find it, we were told it was between 11 and 10.” Mark explained that it was in fact between 10 and 9. This drew a colourful response from the female driver and was one I cannot repeat here, as the word censor would be working overtime.
We cut back down onto the motorway by going through the road works and started to fight our way through the traffic to the scene of the RTC. The HATO vehicles do not have sirens or blue lights but Mark had the amber lights going and they helped to clear a path. I have to say that the truck and coach drivers responded much quicker, and with a lot more awareness than the majority of the car drivers. We were going between the two lanes of traffic because due to the road works there was no hard shoulder on this section. While some cars in lane one pulled left, and some of those in lane 2 pulled right, most seemed oblivious to our presence at first. One or two were talking on mobile phones, which meant it took even more effort to attract their attention and get them to move over. It was funny to see them pretend they were not on the phone when they spotted us, obviously thinking we were a police vehicle. The trucks and coaches did not have the option to move over due to the barriers protecting the road works but they tended to stop and leave gaps into which we could zigzag
We finally arrived at the scene to find the RTC was the other side of the crash barrier blocking lane three and lane two was now blocked by us and the other HATO vehicle. The other crew were laying cones out to filter the traffic into lane one, and protect the ambulance crew who had now also arrived in lane two. The first priority for the HATO’s was to protect those working the scene and as soon as that was done, discussions took place on getting the traffic moving and releasing the vehicles trapped behind the RTC in the single contra flow lane. It was decided we should turn back north, using the coned off road work area, and head to the first gap in the barrier which would then be opened to release the traffic stuck in lane three. After locating the escape gap, we turned and stopped in the road works just beyond it. Mark had radioed the RCC to ask for permission to release the trapped traffic, he cannot just go ahead and do it without receiving permission first. There was a delay while we waited for the RCC to get back to us and during this time, we suddenly became aware of someone standing a little further down the road works. Mark drove down toward him and as we got closer, we could see he was urinating. He explained that he had been in dire need and had been unable to hang on. Mark asked him were his vehicle was and he told us it was in lane three, which meant he had crossed two lanes of live traffic to use the road works as a toilet. Thankfully, the traffic was only moving slowly but it was still a risk, a motorbike could have come along between the two lines of slow moving vehicles at speed for instance. Other people were now getting out of their cars in lane three and either wandering about, or sitting on the crash barrier as the northbound traffic went past inches from them at 40 - 50 mph. This prompted Mark to get back onto control and suggest that in the light of this it would be a good idea if they could give permission for the gap to be opened, which they did. Another HATO crew had already closed off the entry to the contra flow lane where it started just north of junction 10.
We moved through the traffic once more and came to a halt just before the gap. We got out and as I was not allowed to help, due to safety reasons, I could only stand and watch as Mark laid out cones to filter the traffic into lane one. With the Grandis acting as protection for the traffic that would filter out of lane three, Mark removed the cones in the gap and the trapped cars started to make their escape. We heard on the radio the front two of the five cars involved in the RTC were drivable and they had now left the scene, however the other three would need recovering. The only way this could be achieved was for a recovery truck to reverse up the contra flow lane and remove a car, before driving back down and clearing it for the next truck to repeat the process. We were then asked to close the gap temporarily as this would speed up the progress of the recovery trucks to the scene and after they had past us we could reopen it.
Mark stopped the traffic and moved a few of the cones back, before moving down lane three to point out to a couple of drivers the dangers of sitting on the crash barrier between lane three and the northbound traffic. As he moved away the woman driving the first car that Mark had stopped came out of her vehicle and headed for me. I was standing there in a Don’t Knock Me Down Coat next to the HATO vehicle so she must have assumed I was a traffic officer. To say she was not a happy woman would be putting it mildly. I was subjected to a rant during which she said she had kids waiting at home for her, and she was stuck, and she had been here an hour and it was stupid to stop her, and, and, and…. I think she paused for breath during this tirade but I really cannot be sure. Resisting the urge to point out that the incident hadn’t been going for an hour and that she wasn’t the only one stuck, I told her the gap would be reopening shortly, at which point she stomped off back to her car and I could hear her muttering about my parentage, or in her opinion lack thereof.
By this time, Mark was talking to driver of a police traffic car that had just arrived and I heard a woman’s voice calling me from the car behind me. I turned and she was most apologetic, saying she did not want to know what had happened but only how long they were likely to be stuck for. She explained that her son was diabetic and if the delay would be no more than an hour it would not be a problem, any longer and it might be. I explained that I wasn’t a traffic officer but I would pass her concerns onto Mark, I also told her that as the recovery vehicles had now passed the gap would be opened again and with the scene of the RTC only a quarter of a mile ahead she should be through quite quickly. This seemed to put her mind a rest and her attitude was the exact opposite of the woman from the car in front, who was still glaring at me through her window.
Mark reopened the gap and the traffic started to move again. The vehicles in lane two were filtering into lane one quite steadily until one woman decided she had to get in front of an artic at all costs, she missed him by inches and that was only because he leapt on his brakes. He gave her a blast on the horn and Mark moved to the front of our vehicle to see what was going on. It was funny to watch the woman as she went past; she stared fixedly ahead and would not catch his eye, and she could not have looked more guilty if she tried. The truck driver came past shaking his head and laughing and exchanged a bit of good-natured banter with Mark.
One thing that did strike me was the number of car drivers who wanted to stop and chat. A lot slowed and asked what the problem was and where was it, this despite the fact you could see the blue lights from the police car and ambulance a few hundred metres ahead. One guy slowed right down and after asking what the problem was and where was it, then explained to us it was probably rubber-neckers slowing down that was causing the hold up. While he was explaining this to us, a large gap opened up between him and the car in front, while the traffic behind him was forced to slow down and brake. The irony of this seemed to pass him by.
A truck driver slowed long enough to tell Mark that some car drivers had moved the cones from the gap before the one we were at and were now pushing through into lane two. Without the benefit of cones and protection from a HATO vehicle, this was a dangerous situation but thankfully there were no collisions. He radioed the crew who had closed lane three and asked them to drive through a replace the cones once the incident was clear and the traffic started flowing again. One woman slowed down to tell us it would be a good idea to move the cones so people could escape from lane three, now why didn’t we think of that? Oh, hang we did and it was happening.
Finally, the message came that the vehicles had been recovered and lane three was open again. Mark re-closed the gap and retrieved his cones from behind the Mitsubishi and we left the scene. A simple five-vehicle shunt had resulted in delays of well over an hour. I have to say, contrary to popular belief, the HATO’s main concern after ensuring the safety of those involved in, and working, the RTC was to keep the closures to a minimum and to get the traffic flowing again as quickly as possible.
With two of his crews working the RTC, one at the scene and one closing the entry to the contra flow, and the other still assisting the police with the stolen car in the field, the northern section of the Toddington out-station’s area hadn’t been patrolled for a while. Because of this Mark decided we should take a run up to their turn round point between junction 14 and 15 to see if anyone needed assistance. A mile from junction 13 Mark was about to move out to overtake a truck when I spotted a vehicle on the shoulder, the person sitting in the passenger seat will often spot a vehicle before the driver as their view is obstructed less by large vehicles. I told him what I had seen and he moved onto the shoulder and turned on the amber roof lights.
We got out and the driver of the car got out of his vehicle. He had a loose exhaust pipe and he had called the RAC. As we were only a mile from the exit, Mark decided to escort him from the motorway and take him into Guise Motors who are situated beside the truck stop, just off the junction. The RAC were advised so they could reroute their patrol and we stayed behind the car as it made its way along the hard shoulder to the exit.
After Mark called in the details of this incident to the RCC, we continued north before reaching the turn round point, a tunnel under the motorway, and heading south again before exiting at junction 14 and calling into the 24-hour café in the coach stop for a meal break and a coffee. While taking our break we heard over the radio of another RTC in the exact same place as the one we had attended earlier. This time it was only two vehicles involved, and both were drivable so the HATO crew on the scene escorted them to the hard shoulder at the end of the road works where they could exchange details without holding up the traffic. I couldn’t believe another accident had happened so soon at the same spot but Mark explained it was a common occurrence there. It seems that as vehicles crest the small rise between junctions 10 and 9 and start to drop toward junction 9 they encounter traffic moving more slowly because of the climb beyond the junction. Someone brakes a bit too hard as they come up behind the slower traffic and a little further down the line vehicles run into each other.
Suitably refreshed we continued to patrol south and we came across two Polish registered cars on the shoulder. One had lost all power and his mate was going to tow him. Mark told them he was happy for them to do this but only as far as junction 13 a couple of miles ahead. He also told them he would stay behind them with the amber beacons going to protect them. We escorted them up the slip road at exit 13 and when they turned left we continued back down the other slip road to rejoin the motorway. Between Junction 12 and the services we come across another vehicle on the shoulder, Mark says that he had heard about this one over the radio earlier and another crew had already spoken to the driver but he pulls over to check they are still OK as they have been there a while. Two men get out of the vehicle and approach us as we pull up. They are still waiting for the AA to get to them so Mark gets control to chase them up. He also asks the two men if the other crew had explained about staying out of the vehicle and behind the crash barrier. The men say they had been told this but were cold. Mark gives them a little lecture on safety and explains that while cold may be uncomfortable it is probably a better option than dead. They get behind the barrier and we return to our vehicle.
The two men watch us drive away and we just know that as soon as we are out of sight they will be back in their car. Mark passes the details of our stop to control and informs them that although he has passed on the personal safety information he thinks they will ignore it. He tells me that is the most the HATO’s can do, they cannot force people to stay out of their vehicles, they can only advise them how dangerous it is and point out a lot of people get killed every year when something runs into a broken down vehicle.
The rest of the shift passes without incident and I take the opportunity to ask questions. One question that is often raised on TruckNet is what their powers are when it comes to stopping vehicles. While out of their vehicles and dealing with an incident they of course can direct traffic and stop it if necessary, it is an offence not to obey the signals of a HATO. While they can put a rolling road block in place in order to make it safe for another crew to retrieve debris from the carriageway, they do not have the power to pull over and stop a vehicle in the same way that the police or VOSA do. They can however, stop a vehicle on safety grounds, something is loose on the vehicle and may become a hazard for instance or a load is insecure. They do have to contact the RCC for permission before carrying out the stop though. Mark also tells me about some of the incidents he and his crews have attended, some of which are very unpleasant and the majority of us would not wish to encounter.
We return to the out-station shortly before 22:00 and the vehicles are refuelled and washed ready for the handover to the next shift. I have enjoyed the experience and it opened my eyes to the work of the HATO’s. I know they come in for criticism but to my mind, the majority of this is unjustified and they are an asset that we all, especially those of us who rely on the motorway network to do our jobs, should appreciate. We can argue long and loud about whether they are policing on the cheap and are they just an excuse to cut the number of police officers on the motorways. Anyone who feels that is the case, it is surely a matter to take up with the Government and I think it is unfair to blame the men and women doing the job of a HATO for the Government’s policies.
They are not a breakdown service and they are not there to change wheels so when you see them standing beside a broken down vehicle they are not just standing there for the fun of it. They are limited in what they can do, a lot of the time due to our old friend Health and Safety but also due to the litigious nature of the society we now live in. Their job is to keep the network safe and moving, to help and protect stranded motorists, which include truck drivers, and to support the emergency services at incidents such as the RTC we attended during this shift. From my brief time spent in their company, they do this in a professional manner, while endeavouring to keep all delays and closures to a minimum. One night, two weeks prior to the invitation to ride along on a shift I had a small incident on the M1 and one of the HATO crews out of Toddington came to my aid while I was on the hard shoulder. I met the two officers tonight during my visit and was able to take the opportunity to thank them properly for their assistance on that occasion.
As a final thought, it was interesting to see which vehicles moved over into lane two while passing us when we were on the hard shoulder. The vehicles that did move over were in the minority but it was almost exclusively trucks or coaches. It is something I have always done, whenever possible, and after experiencing standing on the hard shoulder on several occasions during the shift, with traffic thundering past; it is something I will continue to do. It doesn’t take much effort on our part but it makes a lot of difference to those working on the hard shoulder.
Keeping the Network MovingModerators: jessicas dad, mrs mix, Lucy Forum sponsored by
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Keeping the Network Moving
Last edited by Coffeeholic on Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
What a brilliant read! Very interesting and informative.
When is Mark going along with you on one of your shifts? It really is the only way to understand another persons position - to be there with them - walking in their shoes as 'they' say. Excellent write-up! Thanks
He doesn't need to. He is more than familiar with both our work and that of coach drivers.  
Thanks very much for the fantastic well written post
and for showing that the HATO are human and are only doing their job, it was a great read and the description of the way the time went was excellent, again thanks to all concerned,
Very good read mate well done.
Must be said though when i had that smash last week on the M25 they just left me to it without protecting the vehicles. It had just started to rain Nice of them to let us see there side of the story/hard shoulder Phil Chris Moyles Radio 1 Legend
Good one Neil, Maybe we can all learn a little bit from this.
I have always thought that in essence they have got the right idea, it's just maybe they are not acheiving the right result as it often seems like they are causing more of a hazard. However in fairness they seem to be at every little incident, and I guess if you have got a problem on the hard shoulder then you'll be glad that someone's watching your back.
same as the rest,
good read neil bout time the cynics realised that the hato's are only doing their jobs, as for moving over when passing a stranded vehicle i try to do it whenever i can and more often than not, i get a wave of thanks from the person as i pass .its only a minor thing, but it makes some people look at trucks in a good light i suppose.
I think they do a good job and I bet they have saved people's lives on the hard shoulder since the operation started.
I'm more than happy to do another couple of posts along these lines. I'll just have to wangle a ride along with VOSA and The Traffic Police first.* 
*I can easily be contacted by PM
might take you up on that neil. also wonder if ets of a certain other forum would be interested ??
Is it just me, or would you kill people for the kind of download speed that girl from the piracy ad's getting?
interesting read the author should write a book
coffee to go or break down oh no
How about A "Hard Shoulder" to cry on.... Taxi......................................
Really good read - it's good to hear both sides. Was very unsure about HATO at first after a conversation with one at Tibshelf services Police reject with a chip.
They are all fairly new to the job but they now seem to be getting their act together. Good luck to them.
Neil, do you work for a National Newspaper in your spare time?? Blimey, what a great read, you even reassured me of how good we can be!!!
Just like to say thanks for a fantastic post and I am delighted you enjoyed your ride out! I hope this thread and the few posts I made last year have helped many of your colleagues understand our role a little better
Just a pity you were not around my area, I would have bought you a coffee!! Well done
Mark did buy me a coffee when we took our break at junction 14. I must stress that did not influence my account in any way, even I need more than one cup for that.
Following a recent encounter with a HATO crew perhaps I should withdraw one of my earlier comments.
In an effort to avoid causing embarrassment, I will not reveal the location except to say it was on a three lane Motorway. Gantry signals were warning of a vehicle stranded in Lane 1 but as it was shortly before a busy exit, drivers were still travelling down that lane. As I approached the scene in the dark I saw a car stranded in Lane 1, which had rear-ended a van, which was now safely on the hard shoulder. Two persons standing safely in the vicinity, and it became one of those, “Will I, won’t I?” type of situations. Having time to spare, (and being hourly paid) I decided to stop. I pulled onto the shoulder and then angled the headlights of the unit to illuminate the stranded car. And, as I was driving a Scania, just for good measure, and also in the hope that ‘Jammy’ might be passing in the opposite direction, I also switched on the front fogs. 
I spoke to the two people and although the driver of the van had smacked his head up the windscreen, he was lucid and coherent. I then had a go at moving the car. With modern construction methods incorporating ‘crumple zones’ it is often amazing how frequently an apparently extensively damaged vehicle can simply be driven to the side of the road, assuming of course, an absence of any leakage of volatile fuels. Had I been in possession of a spare load strap, then I might have hitched it up to the unit and ‘hoicked’ it backwards onto the shoulder. But that course of action was not available. In the meantime I suggested to the van driver that he moved his vehicle another 30 or 40 yards down the shoulder so that when a crew arrived, they had somewhere to tow the car to. This suggestion seemingly passed him by. 
Eventually a HATO crew turn up. Not that they took a particularly long time. As always, it just seems like it. Whilst one member sets out ‘protecting the scene’, I’m met by Mr Super Efficiency. After introducing myself, does he await an Incident Debrief? Does he hell. He’s off with his torch checking the vehicles for ‘residual casualties’. A laudable and necessary action, but does he not realise that this eventuality may have already been addressed and dismissed. Admittedly, I hadn’t checked the boot of the car for the presence of any Murder victims, but neither did he. 
That done, he then addresses his attention to the motorists involved. Noticing that one has a ‘head injury’, he gets him to sit down in the muddy verge alongside the shoulder with his back resting against the barrier. Legs extended towards the roadway. This poor driver is now in a position that, should the stranded vehicle get ‘punted’ by an errant road user, he is in a situation where he is also likely to lose both his legs. 
By this point I’m shaking my head in utter disbelief. Although not currently ‘qualified’, I was initially trained in First Aid some two score (and a bit more) years ago, and, having already been at the scene for some ten or fifteen minutes, had this person been on the verge of ‘keeling over’, then perhaps I might have already recognised the fact.
Mr SE, on returning to his colleague, then asks me to ‘stand behind the barrier’. I’m there, 20 feet in front of an artic running at 30 tonne, and he wants me to stand behind the crash barrier. What planet is he on? 1. I don’t fancy slipping and injuring myself on the sharp edge of a barrier or one of the stanchions. 2. I don’t want to be trailing mud back into the truck, and 3. If something drove into the back of my vehicle, then it “ain’t gonna move”. Or if it does, then it isn’t going to move far. You could fly a bloody aeroplane into the back of it and I’d be more likely to meek my maker from burning fuel than from ‘impact trauma’. And HE wants me to stand behind a barrier in wet mud and slippery grass. He gets told to depart in a copulating fashion. 
His partner then appraises the scene and, after kicking a few bits of debris toward the shoulder, returns to their vehicle for the ‘tow kit’. THIS I’m intrigued with. There is a short strap and ‘D’ shackles, obviously designed to ‘spread the load’, which is affixed across a couple of fixed points on the vehicle, and then a ‘tow strap’. I’d already mentioned that I had a ‘tow pin’ on the front of my vehicle and that, perhaps, it might be easier to drag it backwards. After all, with 400+ bhp, shifting a car isn’t even going to require depressing the throttle. But no. Another crew are attending. 
Seemingly, the ‘other crew’ then get sent elsewhere, and, for the present time, everything gets put ‘on hold’. Then the Blue Lights arrive, and, miracle upon miracle, I find myself talking to ‘sensible’ people.
With the scene further protected, the HATO vehicle moves up to a towing position. Whereupon I enquire, “You must have a broom in there?” Now remember. This is the person who had previously been kicking debris to the side. He had gone back to his vehicle for the ‘tow kit’, but had not thought it appropriate to, at the same time, liberate the broom.
The “Economy of effort” course is obviously yet to be undertaken. Everything hooked up and, remember where I suggested earlier to the van driver that he should move his vehicle. Mr SE, and the van owner, finding that it will not now start, are pushing it along the shoulder to make room for where the car is to be dragged. Everything now organised, the stranded vehicle about to be ‘under tow’, Mr SE, in the driving seat of the stranded vehicle, shouts from the door, “I can’t get it out of PARK.” Strange that. Because when I tried to start the engine, I was able move the selector to ALL positions. By now I’ve given up shaking my head. I’ve now come to the conclusion that, if there is a worse method of handling anything, then they’ll find it.
Some things were done correctly. Or rather, one thing was done correctly. 1. Protecting the Scene, which is the first priority. 2. Incident and casualty assessments were carried out, but in a somewhat strange manner. But there were definite failings in 3. Assess and utilise additional resources at the scene. Both in terms of personnel and equipment. (Providing that it can be done safely). Perhaps that is not so much a fault of the individuals involved but more so an issue of ‘Training’. Certainly the subject of Inter-personal Skills needed more work. And what’s the idea of a ‘tow strap’ that looks like it has a ‘breaking strain’ of about 10 tonnes? What use is that in shifting anything decent in size? What’s happened to the days of the large ‘D’ shackle and the one and a half inch nylon rope that could easily pull 30 or 40 tonnes, or more, and was a damn sight easier (and quicker) to use?
And in the context of the title of the thread, “Keeping the Network Moving”. It reminds me of the entries my teachers inevitably made on my Skool reports, “Could do Better”. And the powder that they use to lubricate those air bags ‘doesn’t half stink’.
Can't exactly see me being invited out for a day with them. The Insider The On-line Transport Industry Magazine
Nice read Neil, perhaps the new owners might like to have a little chat about becomming a regular contributor/columnist fot their mag, you certainly have the writing skills and experience
Krankee, I was told years ago by a traffic cop that 'quietly' they relied upon truck drivers to do the kind of thing that you did, experienced truckers have just about seen it all while travelling the roads and therefore have a certain common sense when it comes to stuations like this one, the hato guys (some anyway) only have their training to rely on, so lucky you were there matey Perhaps also you should send your idea regards the tow road to their head office If you don't like Trucking, go work in a factory
Krankee,if this was one of my crews,i would certaianly want to know about it.
At least they protected the scene.Whilst we are dis-couraged from using members of public in assisting within live lanes,i would always seek help from someone willing to help,especialy with 30+ tonne to help and protect him.I have had a hgv tow a hgv out of lane 1 in a accident tailback before. As it seems thet didnt say it,thanks for your help,and i hope this experience doesn't deter you from helping in the future. Please pm me with location details so i can look into it further,if it is in my area.
A very good read and very informtive.
Well done
I worked in recovery for a time and I agree, vehicles thundering past you at 50+ is not the most comforting feeling in the world. A little more thought by drivers passing vehicles on the hard shoulder ( whatever the vehicle may be Police, HATO, VOSA, Recovery etc ) May mean a few less tragic road side incidents a year. And enable these people that do a sometimes difficult job to be able to go home to thier families after a shift.
Was this him Krankee?
Sorry Ex-Trucker The Hato Guy's who came to my breakdown were very helpful and both enjoyed drinking my tea on the M2!! Always a pleasyre never a chore!!!
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