Having a bad day? 
fodentanker:
Having a bad day?
Mick is still bitter that he failed the real police entry exams. Same as the rest of them.
oscardog:
rantMick.
Donât be like that. You do a thankless, but valuable and important job just like PCSOâs and traffic wardens do.
Squiddy:
oscardog:
rantMick.
Donât be like that. You do a thankless, but valuable and important job just like PCSOâs and traffic wardens do.
oscardog:
motorway-madness:
Interestingly, i consider you and many of your driving colleagues to be a waste of space too.
Mick.
Whyâs that??
Him Up North:
SAFETY MESSAGES, WARNINGS ABOUT INCIDENTS A LONG WAY AWAY - These are set by the National Control Room (NTCC), who look at the national picture 24/7. They will set signs in other regions for big incidents far away from you, the theory being that those travelling long distance can alter travel plans early.
Not so long ago there were night closures on the southbound M5 exit (J8) on the M6.
The exit always reopened at 5am.
This being the case why were matrix signs always lit up saying âM5 Exit Closedâ as far back as Wigan at 4am? The sliproad would have reopened by the time anyone passing got down there.
Also big thanks for the Matrix Signs for reminding me to check my fuel level over the last few days.
God knows how many embarrasing break downs Iâd have had without that reminder.
Iâm sure i spotted the Matrix signs at the M1 28-27 this morning saying that the M40 Jnc 15-16 was slow! Thats bordering on the same problem as the traffic announcements on the radio, when you get to the problem there isnt a problem anymore as its out of date.
Re HATO i find the following truely bizarre:
-
Parking as close as possible to the services entrance doors and occasionally in disabled spots, i would want to stretch my legs after hours at 55mphâŚwhy not park in the corner and avoid the grief.
-
Driving past vehicles broken down on the hard shoulder whilst plodding along at 55. Is this due to point 1?
-
Parking on bridges or Police vehicle only bays (next to the hard shoulder) with the window open thus causing the traffic to slow down, power trip?
Yes its a job full of HSE issues and politics etc etc but these things dont help the cause in such a highly overt role.
Some of the signs ive seen while on the motoways this week was âcheck your fuel level.â
Personally i think they play games on the m6 non toll, to make you choose the toll due to it hardly being used. Even at like 7pm when there is no rush hour theres a 60mph speed limit.
oscardog:
motorway-madness:
Couldnât agree more! Weekend past I saw three breakdowns on the hard shoulder before Lymm interchange on m6 sb. Pulled into Lymm services and saw two womble patrols parked up having a laugh and joke with the bikers - WTF
Also when there has been an accident on mâway ive seen the ârealâ emergency service arrive BEFORE the wombles - thought they where âfirst responseâ? Only to see them trumble along 30 mins later and get in everyones way.
Just out of interest, what âpowersâ do they have?
After 7 years of the Traffic Officers being in existance i would have thought that so called professional drivers would know the answers to some of the questions raised here.
We are not first responders, never have been, never will be. You have seen us arrive and âget in everyones wayâ, makes me wonder where you were to witness this. We have a role to play at incidents and thats what we do. Our job is traffic management.
The patrols at Lymm can only be in one place at a time, did you go and tell them there were vehicles on the shelf up the road?? How do you know they hadnt already been to the breakdowns, do you have access to our recording systems??
Our powers are incredibly limited however we can stop and direct traffic, which we do to assist the ârealâ emergency services by closing a motorway to allow them to do their job.To be honest i have spent many hours on here trying to answer questions from people who troll just to get other peoples hackles up. On this occasion you have been successful, i wish i could pass your vehicle details around the country, when you need us we will make sure we dont bother as we are such a waste of time.
Next time you get an offside flat, call someone else to assist closing the lane because we are a waste of time.
Next time you smack in the back of another truck because you are so professional that you travel 2 feet off his bumper, dont call us to help, we are a waste of time.
Next time your wife/partner breaks down with the kids in the car we wil drive past and ignore her, she is fair game to a truck driver changing his cd who drifts onto the shelf and wipes out her and the kids because we are a waste of time.
Next time you hit a chunk of metal in the carriageway and damage your car ruining your day out, dont call us to remove it, we are a waste of time.
Next time you drive through a pot hole and it damages your car or damages an air line on the truck leaving you sticking out into lane 1 ready for one of your mates to smack into, dont call us, we are a waste of time.
next time theres an animal on the carriageway causing people to swerve or brake, dont call us, we are a waste of time.Instead, call the Police and when they tell you they wont be attending please let us know so i can laugh my bits off at you being left there with an offside flat because the fitter wont work 6 inches away from your colleagues driving down the motorway in their professional manner. I can laugh at your wife/partner being left on an unlit motorway with a flat battery and no lights. I can laugh at you being left seriously injured trapped in your truck that no ârealâ emergency services can get to because we havent done our job of managing the traffic. I can laugh at you telling us about another HGV accident because we wastes of space didnt get there and warn the traffic about you sticking out into the traffic.
Interestingly, i consider you and many of your driving colleagues to be a waste of space too. I just dont go around targeting them all the time for critisism, perhaps i should.
Mick.
I had such a [zb] day, but that has brightened it up.
and so, not to go off subject :
Variable Message Signs (Electronic Message Signs)
source :
highways.gov.uk/knowledge/334.aspx
So,
for those who are still unsure what it is that a Traffic Officers role is on the highways network,
here is a brief description of the job role :
source :
highways.gov.uk/jobs/documen ⌠iption.pdf
highways.gov.uk/jobs/14707.aspx
highways.gov.uk/default.aspx
Who We Are and What We Do
Related pages
highways.gov.uk/aboutus/125.aspx
Job Title
Highways Agency Traffic Officer
This role is classified as safety critical due to the
nature of responsibility.
The Traffic Officer Service operates a 24/7 service, 365 days per year.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
As a Traffic Officer you will be responsible for providing on-road support throughout the motorway network.
. To reduce incident related congestion
- Managing collisions
- Organising for the removal of damaged/broken down and abandoned vehicles
. - Clearing debris/animals on carriageway
- Working with the emergency services and other agencies.
To improve road safety for all road users
- Undertaking high visibility patrols
- Providing mobile/temporary road closures
- Escorting or accompanying high risk, abnormal and other vehicles
- Dealing with pedestrians.
.To improve journey time reliability
- Monitoring infrastructure and road works.
.To improve customer relations
- Supporting special events.
Other duties - Attending legal proceedings to give evidence as a witness.
JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION
Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers
Competencies
- Communicates well with others ----- â( Bi-polar ?
: equal opportunities employer )
Communicating and Marketing - Taking responsibility for, and pride in, the delivery of your own work
.Leadership - Providing the best quality service to our customers
.Customer service - Working with other teams, organisations and the public
.Partnership Working and Stakeholder Management - Ensuring safety of yourself, colleagues and the public
Safety - Working under pressure to manage incidents (and conflict)
. Incident Management
âŚ
âŚ
Not so long ago there were night closures on the southbound M5 exit (J8) on the M6.
The exit always reopened at 5am.
This being the case why were matrix signs always lit up saying âM5 Exit Closedâ as far back as Wigan at 4am? The sliproad would have reopened by the time anyone passing got down there.
True, but the HA, sadly, see this from a ârisk averseâ point of view. If they changed the signs early, then something went wrong and loads of traffic became stuck in a closure that remained past its usual time, they would get even more hassle. By not changing the signs until the closure is definitely off, they avoid this potential. I wouldnât agree with it, but this is how the big guns see it.
Mick is still bitter that he failed the real police entry exams. Same as the rest of them.
Never tried to be a copper. I took this job as I love being out and about, love driving and I get loads of holiday and time off. I could have stayed in my old job and worked 6 days a week for less money and only 4 weeks holiday, but why would I do that?
Ive no wish to be chasing speeding crooks down the road, I just want to get to jobs quickly, sort them quickly and get everyone moved onâŚquickly.
Also big thanks for the Matrix Signs for reminding me to check my fuel level over the last few days.
God knows how many embarrasing break downs Iâd have had without that reminder.
Again, âsafety signsâ set by the NTCC. Again, personally I donât agree with them but in the Governments/DfTs eyes these messages are important so they put them up. They donât workâŚI stopped with 2 OOFs yesterday, including an HGV, but I donât think it was rob22888 as heâs taking notice of the signs
1.Parking as close as possible to the services entrance doors and occasionally in disabled spots, i would want to stretch my legs after hours at 55mphâŚwhy not park in the corner and avoid the grief.
I would never park in a disabled spot, very naughty, but I park up in services so that people can ask us questions if they want. Iâll have the map out for someone most days.
- Driving past vehicles broken down on the hard shoulder whilst plodding along at 55. Is this due to point 1?
No, it relates to the points I made above about already knowing about the job. We may already have stopped with them once and recovery may be imminent. Or I may be travelling to another immediate job up ahead.
- Parking on bridges or Police vehicle only bays (next to the hard shoulder) with the window open thus causing the traffic to slow down, power trip?
These are now âauthorised vehicleâ bays, but the signs wont get changed until neccessary. We have to park on these and bridges to show a presence on the motorway whilst at the same time not endlessley driving from top to bottom for 8 hours, using 350 miles worth of fuel. We also have strategic points to park up at, which history shows are the busier sections of route.
And my windows down to enjoy the sunshine, just like yours is! AirCon is nice, but sometimes you need to feel the wind on a summers day.
Him Up North:
Not so long ago there were night closures on the southbound M5 exit (J8) on the M6.
The exit always reopened at 5am.
This being the case why were matrix signs always lit up saying âM5 Exit Closedâ as far back as Wigan at 4am? The sliproad would have reopened by the time anyone passing got down there.
True, but the HA, sadly, see this from a ârisk averseâ point of view. If they changed the signs early, then something went wrong and loads of traffic became stuck in a closure that remained past its usual time, they would get even more hassle. By not changing the signs until the closure is definitely off, they avoid this potential. I wouldnât agree with it, but this is how the big guns see it.
Mick is still bitter that he failed the real police entry exams. Same as the rest of them.
Never tried to be a copper. I took this job as I love being out and about, love driving and I get loads of holiday and time off. I could have stayed in my old job and worked 6 days a week for less money and only 4 weeks holiday, but why would I do that?
Ive no wish to be chasing speeding crooks down the road, I just want to get to jobs quickly, sort them quickly and get everyone moved onâŚquickly.
Also big thanks for the Matrix Signs for reminding me to check my fuel level over the last few days.
God knows how many embarrasing break downs Iâd have had without that reminder.Again, âsafety signsâ set by the NTCC. Again, personally I donât agree with them but in the Governments/DfTs eyes these messages are important so they put them up. They donât workâŚI stopped with 2 OOFs yesterday, including an HGV, but I donât think it was rob22888 as heâs taking notice of the signs
1.Parking as close as possible to the services entrance doors and occasionally in disabled spots, i would want to stretch my legs after hours at 55mphâŚwhy not park in the corner and avoid the grief.
I would never park in a disabled spot, very naughty, but I park up in services so that people can ask us questions if they want. Iâll have the map out for someone most days.
- Driving past vehicles broken down on the hard shoulder whilst plodding along at 55. Is this due to point 1?
No, it relates to the points I made above about already knowing about the job. We may already have stopped with them once and recovery may be imminent. Or I may be travelling to another immediate job up ahead.
- Parking on bridges or Police vehicle only bays (next to the hard shoulder) with the window open thus causing the traffic to slow down, power trip?
These are now âauthorised vehicleâ bays, but the signs wont get changed until neccessary. We have to park on these and bridges to show a presence on the motorway whilst at the same time not endlessley driving from top to bottom for 8 hours, using 350 miles worth of fuel. We also have strategic points to park up at, which history shows are the busier sections of route.
And my windows down to enjoy the sunshine, just like yours is! AirCon is nice, but sometimes you need to feel the wind on a summers day.
Well said.
Iâve applied to be a HATO 3 times, but not got anywhere, thought Iâd be the ideal candidate with good motorway knowlege, first aid training (out of date now though), recovery experience and mechanical knowlege, and close to 3 of the depots, but it seems not 
How did we manage before people of HATO, the police patrolled roads, pulled bad drivers, cleared roads etc etc. There authority made them useful.
Its nothing personal against HATOâs, its just policing on the cheap that doesnt help anybody. HATOâs cant tell people off for bad driving in the same way a speed camera wont stop a driver on the phone,drunk uninsured etc etc yet it will flash you at 3am doing 1mph over the limit when nobody else is near youâŚ