The road runners

THEY patrol motorways and major roads 24/7, 365 days a year in a bid to reduce

congestion and help drivers get to where they want to be with minimum disruption.

But exactly what kinds of things do the Highways Agency traffic

officers have to deal with and how do they operate?

Reporter DAWN ECKERSLEY joined a crew from the local depot in Milnrow as they made sure everything was in order on Oldham roads.



SINCE the Highways Agency was set up in 1994, traffic officers have taken over around 75 per cent of duties previously carried out by police on the motorways.

The on road officers support the emergency services and aim to get traffic moving again as soon as possible following an incident.

They are also responsible for clearing debris from the carriageway, checking on the welfare of anyone who has broken down and arranging for abandoned vehicles to be removed.

Around 65 per cent of congestion is down to volume of traffic, 25 per cent is due to incidents and the remaining 10 per cent occurs because of roadworks.

On a usual shift, the on road officers will patrol their patch — which for the Milnrow depot includes several junctions of the M62, M61 and the A627M — on the lookout for incidents.

Information can also come from the regional control centre (RCC) in Merseyside.

En route they may come across motorists on the central reservation or hard shoulder who have broken down who they will speak to and check they are safe and know what to do next.

On my shift with traffic officers Darren Nuttall and Martin Doran we come across a motorist whose electrical system has failed as he drove in the fast lane on the M66 near Bury.

Darren and Martin stop their black and yellow 4x4 on the central reservation and radio the RCC to let them know what’s happening as every incident has to be logged.

A back-up vehicle performs a rolling road block — where traffic behind him is asked to slow down to 20mph — while Darren and Martin tow the car to safety on the hard shoulder while he waits for a recovery vehicle.

Martin said: “We don’t have any police powers so if we spot someone on their mobile phone, we can’t pull them over and we can’t flag someone down for speeding.

“Our job is to keep traffic flowing and to clear any obstructions as quickly as possible.”

The traffic officers are not allowed to break the 70mph speed limit on motorways but they do have a set of orange flashing lights which they can use to clear a lane if there is a high volume of traffic.

The Highways Agency has seven RCCs and 28 outstations as well as a national control centre in Birmingham which gives drivers across the country up-to- date traffic information.

Staff at the control centres liaise with the emergency services in a bid to deal with incidents as quickly as possible, monitor CCTV to look out for drivers in trouble, answer calls from the orange emergency phones on the hard shoulder of motorways and set the electronic overhead signs to inform drivers of any delays ahead.

Traffic officers across the country deal with around 1,000 incidents each day and although they do not have any police powers, motorists can be prosecuted for not following their instructions.

More than half the incidents they deal with are breakdowns — many of which can be avoided — and on my day on patrol, Darren and Martin spoke to two motorists who had run out of fuel.

The officers’ vehicle is well-equipped with 635kg of kit including traffic cones, lights, warning signs, blankets, equipment to catch animals, a chemical spill kit, waterproof ponchos and water.

The service cost £86 million to set up and £83 million each year to run and there are around 1,500 traffic officers across the country.

Darren said: “We deal with all kinds of incidents from the bizarre to the tragic.

“We dealt with one woman who was naked in her car because she had just fled from her lover’s house when his wife returned and had been in such a panic that she had crashed.

“The worst kind of incident is when someone has jumped from a motorway bridge. It often results in us having to close all three lanes of the motorway and the police often have to impound cars that may have physical evidence on them. There are a lot of statements to take and a lot of clearing up to do.

“It’s also horrible when an animal has been run over but not killed and you find it whimpering at the side of the road.”

Martin added: “For me, being a traffic officer is one of the best jobs going because every day is different and even if there is nothing happening there is always something to do and being on petrol is always exciting.”




Visit www.highways.gov.uk or call 08457 504030 for more information about the service.




IF you break down and have to stop on the motorway, traffic officers have the following safety tips:



::Pull onto the hard shoulder and park as far left as possible and turn on your hazard warning lights.

::Leave your vehicle immediately through the left hand door

::Contact the Highways Agency using the emergency roadside telephone

::Stand and wait well away from the carriageway and do not attempt repairs yourself.

::If you must get back into your car for something use the left hand door and get back out as soon as possible.

::Always make sure you have spare, warm clothing in the car and plenty of water.

::Check that your breakdown cover is up to date and keep a note of the number in your vehicle.