Jolly Green Giant

Hi guys

My first ever thread so be patient with me guys.

Obviously everyone driving on the motorway has noticed the Traffic Officer Motorway Patrol vehicles driving round in yellow and black 4x4's and assisting with incidents on the motorway.

Everyone follows these vehicles with caution and if they are pulled over to the side of the road all traffic slows right down, just like a speed trap.

Does anyone know if these guys can stop you for speeding? or dangerous driving? or are they purely there to assist with incidents?

I personally have not been caught or think Im in trouble (before any of those posts start) I am just purely curious and hoping to help my fellow Scooby drivers.

Thanks

alloy

I don't see the word POLICE on them so they get the same courtesy and respect as other motorway users. I'm sure they have some special powers such as a walkie talkie or mobile phone that they can use once they have pulled over in a safe manner and report somebody.

ben44

In the mtorway services it says its an offence not to follow their directions. I think that means as they clear traffic from a crash site, not to pull you over. The police are there to do that.

Nevetas

Topic been covered before.

Here's some finer details.

http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/601.aspx

pbee

I have a relative who is a traffic officer in hertfordshire, they undergo special medical training and are seen as the first onsite in a accident.

on the downside supposedly they have very little emotional support for the physcological aspects of being first onsite.

they have no powers of arrest, but do have methods of communicating with the police.

BonzWRX

They have no powers and are glorified road sweepers!
They are there to assist with accidents, monitor traffic etc, but have no powers in law to stop vehicles etc. Their markings/livery are designed to look like the Police, so people will slow down etc.
Privatising certain Police duties, as it is finacially cheaper

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

No they're not, they are marked like that so that we're highly visible and to help prevent us being crashed in to while we're on the hard shoulder.

And how is it privatisation when the Highways Agency is a part of a governmebt department?

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

Just to introduce myself, I'm a Traffic Officer.

Basically the only powers we have are to stop and direct traffic, this does not include pulling people over for speeding or other offences.

We attend breakdowns to make sure that people have got recovery on the way and are safe etc, we also remove debris, attend crashes and other inicdents to assist the police.

Basically we deal with the stuff that traffic police don't really need to, so that they can deal with the more important stuff.

TopBanana

I was stuck in a queue of traffic creeping past one of these on the M4 the other day. It was in line 3 doing 70mph with lanes 1 and 2 clear.

Rabid

You mean you deal with the stuff the traffic police used to deal with because you are cheaper to employ.

They should be increasing the number of traffic police not employing lesser trained individuals to do the job. It's a disgrace.

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

No i mean "we deal with the stuff that traffic police don't really need to"
yes we are cheaper to employ, but what's the point in paying traffic police £30k+ a year if they're wasting their time attending breakdowns all day?

Rabid

.....because on the way to deal with these type of incidents they can be providing all the other benefits of highly trained traffic officers.

I believe employing lesser trained individuals is just a money saving exercise, similar to the muppets who work in "street crime" patrols.

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

But there still just as many traffic police on the roads, they just don't have their time tied up by the less productive jobs now

Rabid

uh-huh...and the money used on motorway patrols could be used to employ more traffic officers rather than on lesser trained individuals.

_Meridian_

iTrader: (1)

Doesn't work: at least one person has already been killed when a vehicle drove onto the hard shoulder at speed and rammed into the back of a stationary HATO van. The two men in the van were fine, but it was shunted into the vehicle it had stopped to assist, and the woman driver of that vehicle was caught between the two and killed.


M

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

Well when the lorry driver is pissed *alledgedly* it doesn't matter how many stickers or flashiong lights you've got on i suppose.
And for the record they weren't "fine", they both ended up in intensive care

SivMY05Sti

M42 is covered with them.........big braking down to 70, then of we go again when I see the black checks on the side

Ought to charge them for my new pads.........

360ste

iTrader: (1)

If it gets the motorways cleared sooner then F'in great. It's bad enough driving down from North Scotland without getting stuck behind slow moving traffic after an accident and the insuing clean-up.