So there I was trundling out of Leeds on the M621 southbound at 2.30am today and then HOLY [ZB] WTF was that■■? What it was was a kid in black clothes, riding a bicycle with no lights just inside the hard shoulder line, against the flow of traffic. So remembering the advice that the resident wombles here provided some time ago, I did not trouble the police with such a trivial matter and instead belled up the HA number 0300 123 5000 with the intention of speaking to someone in a control room who could get some wombles out and issue a warning on one of the many matrix boards leaving Leeds. I was also armed with the motorway marker sign to pinpoint the exact location. What could possibly go wrong? So first of all you have to endure a very long recorded message about how you shouldn’t trouble the HA and instead you should use their website. Then I was told it again. By this point I’m 3 miles further down the road at Lofthouse interchange. Eventually I got a menu to choose from and pressed the relevant number to speak to a human. “All our agents are busy, we are experiencing exceptionally high call volumes…” yeah right, at 2.30am on a Saturday morning . Give me a break please. What you actually mean is that all your agents are asleep. I’m now at Wakefield and “in the queue”. This continued for another full 5 minutes by which point I was nearing Barnsley and got bored and hung up. I’d concluded that the kid would already either have been flattened by a following truck or as it was now 10 mins later, probably now at home and asleep in bed sleeping off his hangover.
That probably qualified as a 999 jobbie Rob, but thanks for letting us know not to waste our time with the HA number.
Years ago there was bloke running round like a headless chicken on the M69 in the wee small hours, nearly hit the blighter, i stopped as we did in those days and he was in a heck of state nice bloke though, he’d boiled his brothers car dry (it was buggered, head gasket was melting) on the way to collect him from the airport but he’d hit the panic button and was almost incoherant with worry, seemed oblivious to where he was and the danger he was in wandering about willy nilly.
Lorry phones were new then but i phoned the old bill on 999, not to get this bloke into trouble but explained to the controller that he was likely to get himself cleaned up, they were fine about it.
Yesterday morning I was heading to Camberley from Peterborough and whilst heading south on the A1M the gantry was saying A1 closed after the A14 jct. Guess what, the ■■■■■■■ thing was open
Sorry, but why not pull over and get a SOS box and call in to the local RCC control room? persons life is in danger therefore warranted you stopping on H/S.
it is also a I grade call for the the police so 999 should of been called, Hato’s can only go 70mph, and I do believe unless the rules have changed are not supposed to carry passengers in case they are attacked etc.
999, would of passed it over to the local RCC and both would of prob sent units out … remember the HA are parking up to save on costs at mo
Not good at all. What really bugs me as well is that often I will see a car broken down on a motorway then 2 miles up the road they will be parked up on a motorway bridge eating their sandwiches… Is it too much for them to spend a shift actually patrolling constantly? There is two of them as well so can share driving.
FarnboroughBoy11:
Not good at all. What really bugs me as well is that often I will see a car broken down on a motorway then 2 miles up the road they will be parked up on a motorway bridge eating their sandwiches… Is it too much for them to spend a shift actually patrolling constantly? There is two of them as well so can share driving.
Even if they are ‘patrolling’ I’ve watched them drive straight past a car on the h/s
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
Nice look Don’t forget all that head down time you will have too mate
I use the 999 system for debris in the road and they do not mind as they forward the information to HATO.i have seen loads of ratchet straps that could cause a motor biker some grief hitting the hooks on them at 120 mph.
Tyre blow out debris that is in all three lanes with the cars swerving to dodge it, some do not see it and drive over it,no reactions.
I give them the information and have to repeat what i am saying about four times, then a few minutes later the police will ring back and i have to repeat what i have just said, then a few minutes later the HATO ring back, then i have to repeat what i said in the first call.
For some reason county borders seem to confuse all involved, as they are not sure who`s patch you are on, and which area should attend.
I saw a fire on the Wilts/Somerset border and the fire control operator asked me if she should send Frome or Trowbridge fire engines to the scene and which station was the closest to the border.
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
Don’t forget all that head down time you will have
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
Don’t forget all that head down time you will have
“We are experiencing exceptionally high call volumes”
There’s only 3 people staffing the call centre. One is busy with the only other customer, their babysitter who’s having problems putting the kids to bed, the second is in the toilet, and the other is off sick.
You are actually first in the queue, but it’ll be about 90 minutes waiting for the babysitter to get off the damned phone!
I’m sure if Rob stopped and dialled 999 for every cretin he came across he’d never get any work done.
It probably was a 999 shout but you do think twice about wasting police time, well I do anyway (even when you’re broken down in a live lane & about to be rammed) I tried that Highways Agency number & got nowhere with it either, so I called the non police emergency number 101 instead, hindsight is a wonderful tool!
I’m a bit paranoid anyway so I think if I call 999, they’ll proabbly end up arresting me for something or other so tend not to bother.
With a walker on a motorway, I normally dial 999. When you are in touch with the police, I normally start the conversation with " For your information, There is …". That gives them the options
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
robroy:
Does anybody know if it’s well paid, I wouldn’t mind a go myself, it would beat driving a truck, and I would look soooooo butch in me uniform and shades
poor pay im afraid
I think my mother gets £19,500. She works in the control centre at South Mimms. She has been there for a few years so I suggest it might have gone up.
WTF was that■■? 
. Give me a break please. What you actually mean is that all your agents are asleep. I’m now at Wakefield and “in the queue”. This continued for another full 5 minutes by which point I was nearing Barnsley and got bored and hung up. I’d concluded that the kid would already either have been flattened by a following truck or as it was now 10 mins later, probably now at home and asleep in bed sleeping off his hangover.
Don’t forget all that head down time you will have too mate 
