Let me guess, you tried to get a job as a hato and were turned down so you now hold a grudge. Why dont you crawl back under your filthy duvet. You clearly haven’t listened to a word anyone has said instead trying to come up with some BS that you cannot base on fact, just your own warped opinion. You know nothing.
maga:
probably because for every relevant X there are 100 red X’s for absolutely no reason so people take no notice.
I see 100s of red traffic lights at night time, all on red for “absolutely no reason” so would I be OK “taking no notice” and ploughing through them?
I react to what I can see. I adjust speed accordingly but don’t change lanes until I see something. Sometimes it is hard moving over and there is nothing g worse than moving over for a hazard that has gone - hence react to what I can see.
I could move over at every on slip but that would be ridiculous - you know, just in case
dri-diddly-iver:
I react to what I can see. I adjust speed accordingly but don’t change lanes until I see something.
Unfortunately that isn’t good enough. We give you ample warning of a hazard and as a professional you should heed that warning and show others that you ARE professional, not leave it until the last minute, hit the brakes, indicate, slow down, slow everyone else down, cause a queue for nothing then drive off with car drivers and other sensible lorry drivers shaking their heads in disbelief that you are letting the side down.
See? I told you they’d be along, Jase 
Sorry but it is good enough. Why slow people down for 2 to 3 miles when it’s not necessary. By your own admission it can take 20 minutes to clear a sign so I react to what I can see and adjust speed accordingly. As a professional driver I plan ahead and look ahead, making road progress etc to the least hindrance of other road users.
The Sarge:
See? I told you they’d be along, Jase
I bow to your prediction sarge.
dri-diddly-iver:
Sorry but it is good enough. Why slow people down for 2 to 3 miles when it’s not necessary. By your own admission it can take 20 minutes to clear a sign so I react to what I can see and adjust speed accordingly. As a professional driver I plan ahead and look ahead, making road progress etc to the least hindrance of other road users.
I said it can take 20 minutes to clear a sign when we are turning to deal with the issue in the road, not it takes 20 mins to turn it off, it happens at the click of a mouse. You may well be very good at planning ahead but let me tell you, when I’m stood in a lane closure watching lane 2 full of trucks who have obeyed the signs (I thank you kindly) and knowing full well that drivers in lane 1 “Know better than me who has asked for the signs to be set” have decided not to bother heeding the warning and are bearing down on me and will NOT get across in time (thus force their way into the good drivers lane) and not really knowing if they are actually alert or ■■■■■■■■ around with paperwork/Coffee cup/CD/Laptop/Satnav and then having to decide where my escape route is if the truck doesn’t stop in time and wipes out my measely 100 metre taper like its jelly then hits my car, can I outrun it.
As a professional driver, you should obey signs, not think you know better. Just because 99% of the time "There isn’t anything there, is it worth taking the risk, potentially injuring or killing someone rather than just move out? So many crashes I attend when I speak with the drivers, their comments are usually “I didn’t realise how quickly things can go wrong” and all the other sayings like “I’ve never had an accident before”. Trubsters comment is fantastic, you see 100’s of Red traffic lights at night, do you ignore them as you know better?
An excerpt from the Highway code, the book you should all know inside out and I’m certain many of you do “They are normally blank but when they indicate a restriction the reason may not always be obvious. There may have been an accident ahead, so take no chances and obey the signals” So I stick to my comment, staying in a closed lane until you SEE the obstruction isn’t good enough.
dozy:
m1cks:
Big Jase:
2 trucks stopped in lane 1 having been unable to move over and slowed the traffic to a crawl to pull away from stationary.Have you got any system in place where they can be reported?
Why would they be reported,it states they were unable too move over,so stopped and then moved off,what’s wrong with what they did,I often want to move out for tyre repairs ,breakdowns but often I can’t as nobody will allow me too,so I ease up and try and go as steady as possible passed the lads working ,should I be reported for that
Because as clearly stated the lane is closed with a red X. It’s not like there isn’t fair warning before a lane closed sign. Normally the 3-4 matrix boards before have a keep right/left arrow.
Saying - I don’t trust the signs - there’s never normally anything there - I’m more important because I’m a professional - just aren’t valid excuses.
I’m not fond of HATO’s, Biffo has put the nail in that coffin, but I’m not having an injury or death on my conscience because I want to be bloody minded. If I look a fool for moving out when nothing materialises i’ll get over that a lot quicker than I will a careless driving charge.
Well bloody said and I take back the voodoo doll I made with your name on it,KIDDING
Jase (I can’t call you BJ - it just looks rude 
), if somebody phones and says “broken down vehicle in lane 1 just before marker M5A126.5”, do you have a system to show exactly where that is? The reason i ask is I came across a van in lane 1 in the roadworks on the M5 S/B today, I waited til I saw the blue sign and then rang 999 to let them know. The operator asked me which junction It was near - and I had no bloody clue whether I’d past J5 or not 
. I was under the impression that the blue signs pinpointed the location to within 500 metres, but unless you (HATO) have a map in the car, how do you know which junction to come on at?
And, just for the avoidance of doubt - I don’t consider myself omnipotent (even after close on 30 years as an HGV driver), so if it says lane closed or move over: I BLOODY MOVE OVER!
Basically Sarge, your best bet is to call HAIL and they will call the nearest RCC to that motorway. Once that call goes through to the correct RCC, it is entered on C and C (command and control) and it says what junctions that is. The Rcc op then looks at the activity sheet and calls the car whose beat that is. Whilst the radio op is calling the crew, another operator is checking CCTV and yet another is setting signs.
Dependent on which lane it’s in as seem on CCTV and once the Rcc tell us, we either stop in that lane be it 1 or 3 or we do an RRB if it’s in the middle, stop the traffic and push it drag it over. We now have the capability to pull a fully loaded artic so that’s no issue providing it has air.
If you call 999, they generally don’t know our marker posts locations hence it’s better to call HAIL. It’s 0300 123 5000 and free to call from your phone.
Good man for calling it in and knowing what the blue market posts are.
Thanks Jase, I’ll get the number on my phone now. I assume that’s for all of England and Wales motorway network?
Mind you, if that means that signs are set - perhaps it’s better to let the family get wiped out than to inconvenience some of my “Hero” brethren
No that’s just England I’m afraid, Wales and bonny Scotland have their own. However we also look after bucket loads of A roads like the A1, A46, A303 and many more.
OK, ta.Any idea where I can find the number for Wales (does Scotland have HATO?). I didn’t realise that you covered A roads too - I assume that’s just the main trunks that have green boards like the blue ones?
I’ve no idea what their number is I’m afraid, if you look at the highways website it shows you all the roads that are ours. Many are response only and done are only covered by road crews and not HATOs.
Big Jase:
Let me guess, you tried to get a job as a hato and were turned down so you now hold a grudge. Why dont you crawl back under your filthy duvet. You clearly haven’t listened to a word anyone has said instead trying to come up with some BS that you cannot base on fact, just your own warped opinion. You know nothing.
lol post of the millennium. 
failed copper please troll elsewhere! 
ring doughnuts for each others penises! Too busy nibbling them off! 
Big Jase:
I did a lane 1 for a truck tyre change today. You know how many professional drivers chose to leave it till the last minute at 56 to pull out nearly hitting our kit and car? Disgraceful, and to call themselves “professionals”.
If i had a way to post a short video on here with an excellent example of the above it would be here, The truck hit all the kit and pretty much took the reflective layer off the battenburg it was that close, all on film, even better there was a BIB car just behind them in lane 3 when he/she did it and clattered debris all over the carriageway. I suppose it’s better than one of the others that got smacked in ■■■■■■■■
Big Jase:
I’ve no idea what their number is I’m afraid, if you look at the highways website it shows you all the roads that are ours. Many are response only and done are only covered by road crews and not HATOs.
traffic-wales.com/ Top right a contact us link.
trafficscotland.org/ Contact us bottom of page middle, Telephone No. bottom right.