Without wishing to beat a dead horse on the topic of HATO’s, i am now intrigued as to what maketh the man/woman with regard to the selection and training of these individuals. I hasten to add that this isn’t a cynical snipe at them but an attempt to better understand them, their job and their goals. If this has already been covered by a previous thread, then please forgive me. It maybe a good opportunity to build some bridges from both sides
BY Goaty
Lorry driver prosecuted for ingnoring HATO directions: highways.gov.uk/news/pressre … eid=167074
extrucker:
For those who think HATOs have no powers: news-and-star.co.uk/news/■■■ … road_block
Great paper news-and-star, please visit the forum 
Lighting mcqueen:
Without wishing to beat a dead horse on the topic of HATO’s, i am now intrigued as to what maketh the man/woman with regard to the selection and training of these individuals. I hasten to add that this isn’t a cynical snipe at them but an attempt to better understand them, their job and their goals. If this has already been covered by a previous thread, then please forgive me. It maybe a good opportunity to build some bridges from both sides
BY Goaty
To be honest LmcQ i was hoping to steer away from opinions and err towards the facts. 
pecjam23:
Dai:
them herberts in them flash motors are the best thing thats ever happened to us lads who fiddle, at night you dont see hardly any police cars so we are safe to do what we want. 2 questions why do they stare at u when they overtake, and why the [zb] do they need 35k plus motors why carnt they have vans plenty good enough for them,word of warning mate peolple from VOSA are members of this forum and saying things like that on here is not exactly bright. Should VOSA pick up on this and want to look into it further they could in theory. And they could techincally track you down by just posting on this forum.
They’ll patrol day or night rain or shine if they have reason to suspect any foul play which from the sounds of it your not playing ball.
Yes they are !!
Dont think they would go that far though. But we will soon be 24 hour country wide tackling “high risk international traffic” once all the additional officers are trained.
vosaguy:
Yes they are !!Dont think they would go that far though. But we will soon be 24 hour country wide tackling “high risk international traffic” once all the additional officers are trained.
Will they still park on hardshoulders, ( or even live lane 
) risking their life/bollox to dish out a GV9 or park somewhere a bit safer.
Would H&S be happy with your employer insisting/letting you park there
why does one of them stand at the rear of their vehicle facing omcoming traffic,when,say,they have a lane coned off for a tyre change??what are they gonna do if a passing truck has a blowout and loses control at that precise point,or if johnny sales rep comes careering over from lane three,on a collision course for said hato?
i personally think they are the thickos that just couldnt quite make traffic officer school.my kids regularly ask "why have the traffic wombles coned off 25.7 miles of motorway for a dead pigeon dad?.well trained. 
buck73:
why does one of them stand at the rear of their vehicle facing omcoming traffic,when,say,they have a lane coned off for a tyre change??what are they gonna do if a passing truck has a blowout and loses control at that precise point,or if johnny sales rep comes careering over from lane three,on a collision course for said hato?
i personally think they are the thickos that just couldnt quite make traffic officer school.my kids regularly ask "why have the traffic wombles coned off 25.7 miles of motorway for a dead pigeon dad?.well trained.
Just in case inattentive drivers with their inane kids stray onto the hard shoulder. That way we can warn our colleagues to jump out of the way so we avoid becoming another statistic
how■■?.i think health and safety could have a field day with this.do you honestly believe that you would have time to react or warn if there ever was a (god forbid)accident coming your way■■?.i think not.i really believe it is only a matter of time before someone is tragically killed in this way. 
buck73:
how■■?.i think health and safety could have a field day with this.do you honestly believe that you would have time to react or warn if there ever was a (god forbid)accident coming your way■■?.i think not.i really believe it is only a matter of time before someone is tragically killed in this way.
Believe me, as I’ve previously stated, if a LGV (or any other vehicle to that matter)strays onto the hard shoulder, contact the Guinness book of records because I will break the 100m record
buck73:
how■■?.i think health and safety could have a field day with this.do you honestly believe that you would have time to react or warn if there ever was a (god forbid)accident coming your way■■?.i think not.i really believe it is only a matter of time before someone is tragically killed in this way.
Whilst there are some things for which you can’t legislate i.e. out of control vehicles, the TO will also be looking for Herberts who carry on regardless until cones start bouncing off their bonnet.
These you can see a lot earlier.
Yes people get killed on the motorway. That is part of the job we do.
why does one of them stand at the rear of their vehicle facing omcoming traffic,when,say,they have a lane coned off for a tyre change??
Looking out for approaching dangers if something un-toward where to happen the officers would alert other personnel by blowing a whistle which is the only thing that is recognized as an emergency signal by all emergency services.
i personally think they are the thickos that just couldnt quite make traffic officer school.my kids regularly ask "why have the traffic wombles coned off 25.7 miles of motorway for a dead pigeon dad?.well trained.
I for one made the traffic grade until some hole who could not a control car at 127mph ploughed into my police motorway patrol car and near on killed me. i lost my police career through ill health due to that incident. However i have since came back to the motorway to work in a non enforcement role (ie highways)
i would not under estimate the ability of some HA TOs some are ex very high ranking police/fire,RAF search and rescue and army officers who have retired!
As for motorway Health and safety try this: dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tss/tsm … p8prt1.pdf
dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tss/tsm … p8prt2.pdf
good luck 
( language edit ) jd
my deepest sympathy for your accident,its a miracle you survived.i still stand by my original point,that in the event of high speed accidents that you would not have enough time to warn others about the impending danger.blow a whistle??.how can you do that lying on your back with a 38 tonner on top of you.this practice is very dangerous.where do the police advice people to be,if their vehicle breaks down on the hard shoulder?.up the grassy bank,away from danger.your flashy lights dont change a thing in preventing accidents.quite the opposite in fact,as motorists seem to get hypnotised by them,slowing down,causing further accidents.
my comment on hatos being wannabe cops comes from my one and only time,i broke down on the m1 with my rad hose blown clean off.the attitude of the two "dimwits"that turned up was in fact appaling.whilst i appreciate as in any proffesion,there are good and bad ones,these two came across as a right pair of knacker nuts.
You do get knackers where ever you go, but I think you’ll find the majority of us are hard working lads/lasses that want to see everyone go home to their loved ones safe and sound. That is why one of us is always watching the traffic, it’s better to be safe than dead
i take your point,and must admit that my respect is growing,as you seem to have a sensible head on your shoulders.suppose i shouldnt judge everyone based on a few.well time to eat humble pie,be careful out there,it aint safe. 
Buck73,can i ask,‘what part of M1?’
I hate to think it was someone from my outstation.
it was on the southboumd side just before jc 27 on the hill.they told me to get it moved within 2 hours,or they would have it removed,even after i told them recovery was on route,so i told them i was just the pilot and to ring the number on the side and liase with the boss,as it wasnt within my remit to ascertain when i would be fixed,to which they became argumentative,then jumped in their motor saying they would be back to check id gone.probably a one off expierence,just one i wasnt expecting to encounter with proffesionals that day.
buck73:
probably a one off expierence,just one i wasnt expecting to encounter with proffesionals that day.
Hopefully, as said we do have a few nuggets in our midst
I know what your saying about where you see us stood sometimes but by and large a heavy is going to go where it wants so wherever you stand you could be in the way 
I stand in different places depending on the circumstances but none of them are truly safe
PHEW,not my area. 
Giving you the two hour rule might just be a cya exercise (cover your arse).
That is now my first priority at a job,which is a sorry state of affairs.
Its like giving a truck driver safety advice to stand up the verge.They are probably safer in their truck but we have to give advice.
Its all about cya unfortunately.
they did a good job for me this morning with that lorry with the bricks on that turned over at newmarket i had a call just after 7 telling me a14 accident just happened i recall i was at thrapston heading towards ipswich. at brampton hut roundabout no matrix so kept guessing where the road will be shut either quy or a10 nothing on radio so i kept everything crossed i could safely get to quy then into newmarket. brill no road block, running parrelel with a14 i then saw a huge q gosh what releif done it straight thro newmarket no probs. THANK YOU HA for closing the road later than you normally do