Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Highways Agency Traffic Officers

Who are we?

The Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service staff are trained to a high standard in everything from safety to dealing with customers, traffic management and the use of technology.

Where incidents occur, our police colleagues still retain their role in investigating crime, but we are there to help with coordinating the resources of the other emergency services, managing the traffic and re-opening routes as soon as it is safe to do so.

We also keep the public informed through our electronic message signs and by supplying information for local travel reports.

We are there to help you if you breakdown or are involved in a collision or incident.

We also remove damaged and abandoned vehicles and clear debris from the carriageways.

We patrol the motorways in vehicles marked as traffic officers with high visibility markings.

We provide mobile and temporary road closures and of course we also support the police in their duties.

This section contains full details about what we do. Please use the links on the right to navigate through the pages. Information on how to become a part of the Traffic Officer Service is available in the Careers section of this site, where you can register for location-specific Traffic Officer Service email alerts as new vacancies become available.

Traffic Officers in Your Area

Traffic Officers patrol the whole of England's motorway network. There are around 1,500 Traffic Officers and team managers based on road and in the control rooms working to reduce incident related congestion, improve journey time reliability, improve safety and free up police resoureces to focus on criminal activity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

By clearing incidents quickly, Traffic Officers reduce the impact of incident related congestion and also reduce the risk of secondary incidents.

View a map which shows the routes that the Traffic Officers patrol across England.

 

A Day in the Life of a Traffic Officer

Greg Wallen and Mick Hugill on patrol route Sierra Echo 27

The day starts at 06:00am with a briefing session from our team manager Steve Gill. Here we are told about any ongoing incidents, or any incidents that were cleared overnight but would be useful for us to know about. We are also briefed on today's weather, and any roadworks or events planned for today that will have an effect on our area.

Traffic Officer vehicles carry a wide range of equipment, so we are prepared to deal with any number of the different incidents that can happen on the roads. We check that our vehicle is fully stocked, and carry out a full vehicle check before setting off.

There are four patrol routes in our area during the day, all based at Easton Lane outstation, off junction 9 of the M3.  We cover all the motorways around Portsmouth and Southampton and the M3 all the way up to junction 4 at Farnborough in Surrey. Today, we're patrolling the M27 between Southampton and Portsmouth.

It's not long before we are called to our first incident, a three-car collision. No-one is hurt, but the vehicles are stuck in lane three. We need to clear the road as soon as possible, and that means getting the vehicles onto the hard shoulder. Our vehicles are able to tow loads of up to three and a half tonnes for short distances, which is what we do here. To complete the task safely we need to close the road briefly; this is not something we take lightly, but the alternative would be to leave two lanes of the motorway blocked until all vehicles have been recovered. In this the vehicles are safely on the hard shoulder in just a few minutes, and traffic is flowing again.

About a mile further along we notice some debris on the motorway. Debris can be dangerous when vehicles travel over it at motorway speeds. We pull over on the hard shoulder, and see a  metal hook and chain which needs to be cleared straight away. Mick keeps an eye on traffic, and spots an opportunity to safely direct it out of the lane. He continues to monitor the lane closure while I step into the lane and retrieve the debris. It sounds quite complicated, but really it's all over in around seven seconds.

Before we do anything we inform our colleagues at the regional control centre so that they are aware and can set signs and signals if needed. We work closely with other patrols, the police and the Highways Agency's maintenance teams amongst others.

Shortly after this, we are called to assist at an incident - the barrier in the central reservation has been damaged and needs an emergency repair. Generally, the Highways Agency carries out repairs like this overnight when traffic levels are lowest, but some accident damage, particularly to something like a safety barrier, needs to be repaired straight away to keep the road safe.

For work that is likely to take only a few minutes, it is possible for us to use a rolling road block. This keeps traffic moving, and creates a gap in traffic to allow colleagues further down the road to carry out work safely. They are a very useful tool helping us to limit incident related congestion.

We position ourselves in the road and slow down to around 20mph. We use our vehicle lights, hand signals and an electronic message board on the back of our vehicle to let drivers behind us know what is happening, and they should not pass us. We let the team ahead of us know the details of the last vehicles to pass us so they know when it's safe to start work. When the work has been completed, we thank the drivers behind us and let them know it is safe to move on. It all happens in less than 10 minutes, and traffic is back to normal very soon.

Rolling road blocks are an important part of what we do; they are effective at limiting delays during incidents and are crucial for the safety of the people working on the motorway. It is an offence not to follow directions given by a traffic officer.

With the morning rush over we are able check up on people who have stopped on the hard shoulder. Most of the time we are alerted to their presence by the regional control centre, who answer the emergency roadside telephones and monitor the network on CCTV. We also often spot people on the hard shoulder while carrying out our routine patrols.

Today, we have already encountered someone with an electrical failure in their car, a couple who have filled up with the wrong type of fuel, and also drivers who have pulled over to check their Sat Nav or make a phone call. These last two examples are not legitimate uses of the hard shoulder - which is for emergency use only - and we ask these drivers to move along as the hard shoulder is a hazardous environment and only for use in an emergency.
 
We're still a new service, but it's striking how the more people know about the Traffic Officer Service, the more they support our work.  It is good to know that the people we meet when carrying out our duties really appreciate our help. After all, reducing congestion is why we're here. It's what the service was set up for and its what we're working hard to deliver.

At the end of the shift we return to base and carry out another vehicle check. There is a debrief session where we update the team manager about the events on our shift, and pass on any information our colleagues starting work may need to know. Our shift over, we are soon back on the road again, this time joining the rest of the motorists heading home after a days work.

Our Roles and Responsibilities

Traditionally, the Highways Agency and our contractors have built and maintained the motorways and the police have provided an operating role, primarily dealing with unplanned incidents like collisions.

Then in 2003, a roles and responsibilities review made recommendations to transfer some of the police's operational roles over to us.

In April 2004 the Traffic Officer Service was launched in the West Midlands and we now cover all 2025 miles of motorway in England from seven regional control centres and 32 outstations. We also operate on a small number of major trunk roads where it is essential for us to do so to allow us to work on the motorways.

Where incidents occur, the police retain responsibility for investigating any crime. They will also be in charge at the scene of major incidents on the network where there are serious injuries or fatalities involved. In these circumstances the police may need to close the whole motorway to prevent movement, destruction or contamination of any evidence and carry out a thorough investigation on behalf of the Coroner.

There is only one chance to do this and the investigation must be carried out immediately after an incident otherwise passing traffic may destroy the evidence.

Our role is to help coordinate the resources of the other emergency services, manage traffic and reopen roads as soon as the police have finished their investigations.

When it is safe to do so, the hard shoulder or available lanes are used to allow traffic to pass the incident. Where damage has occurred we will look to carry out the minimum repair necessary and return to complete repairs at a time which will minimise delays.

We continue to work closely with the police and other emergency services to minimise disruption as much as possible and keep roads open wherever possible.

Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, we have the power to stop and direct traffic, close lanes and carriageways and manage traffic and it is an offence not to comply with our directions. This means if you fail to follow directions given by a traffic officer or as indicated by our signs you could face a fine of up to £1000 as well as possible driving licence endorsement or even disqualification.

The police still have responsibility for prosecuting criminals. We work together with the police in order to improve safety and reduce casualties.

The Role of a Traffic Officer

The last place you would want your children to be on a dark, cold Sunday evening in March is stranded at the side of a busy motorway junction.

But a group of 13 children travelling from Judo competition in East Yorkshire found themselves in exactly that situation when their minibus broke down on the way back to Bristol, at Junction 27 of the M1 motorway.

Luckily for the children, and the adults accompanying them, the minibus ground to a stop metres away from the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service outstation at Felley just as officers Jim Brewster and Paul Williams were returning to the motorway after a rest break.

A further two Traffic Officer patrol vehicles quickly reached the scene and issued the children with foil blankets to ensure they were warm, and gave safety instructions to every passenger.

They were then taken to the safety of a nearby service area before the crews resumed their patrols on the M1. "It's the reason we became traffic officers, being able to help people in these sort of situations," said Paul. "We finished work that day with a Ready Brek kind of glow."
 
At two incidents in the South East, Traffic Officers were called on to help before their patrols had even started.

And in an unprecedented incident, several explosions at an oil depot in Hertfordshire meant the emergency services had to call on Traffic Officers to help with closures on the M1 and M10.

Although the Traffic Officers had not started to patrol these motorways, they assisted the police by setting up cordons to allow only emergency vehicle access, implemented rolling road closures to keep traffic at a safe speed through smoke and answered a large number of public enquiries at the scene.

Traffic Officers have made a significant impact since they first started patrolling in April 2004 and are now attending an average of 850 incidents a day on the English motorway network.

Staff at seven regional control centres across England manage and monitor traffic conditions, provide information to drivers and dispatch Highways Agency Traffic Officers to motorway incidents.

The Traffic Officer Service is part of a Government drive to cut congestion and was developed jointly with the police to help free up their time to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

Approximately 25 per cent of all congestion on England's motorways is caused by incidents. The Traffic Officer Service aims to cut congestion by focusing on these incidents and getting the traffic moving around them as quickly as possible.

Traffic Officers go on patrol looking for, or being directed to problems such as debris in the carriageway that could hinder your journey.

They also attend to broken down vehicles, making sure the occupants are safe and that a recovery service is on the way.

The Traffic Officer Service also keeps you informed by setting signs and signals from their control rooms. During 2007/2008 over 90 per cent of 48 million signs and signals on our network were set within three minutes and were either changed or removed within two minutes of receiving a request from Traffic Officers or the police.

Officers have powers under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to stop and direct traffic or temporarily close roads. Traffic Officers support the police in their duties by, for example, applying road or lane closures around an incident to allow them to investigate.

The police are still responsible for managing major incidents and enforcing road traffic offences but Traffic Officers assist them by managing the safe clear up after the accident so the traffic can get moving again as quickly as possible. They can also arrange for the removal of damaged or abandoned vehicles that are causing an obstruction.

But it isn't all just dealing with motorists and accidents for the Traffic Officers. Furry and feathered creatures could also cause chaos on the motorway if not dealt with quickly by the crews on patrol.

Each autumn, one of the busiest parts of the motorway network, the M3 and M25 near Heathrow experiences congestion caused by the unlikeliest of reasons - swans.

At this time of year, traffic near junction 13 of the M25, where it crosses the Thames, is disrupted by swans on the carriageway at least two or three times a day.

Traffic Officers have undertaken training with a local swan sanctuary to enable them to catch swans quickly and safely with minimal distress to the bird, allowing them to get the traffic moving as quickly as possible.

And an injured dog rescued by Traffic Officers Ian Johnstone and Graham Freeth on the M6 near Stoke-on-Trent in March is making a good recovery and is waiting to be rehomed.

Graham, from Erdington (pictured with the rescued dog), said: "We noticed the dog stranded between lane three and the central reservation of the motorway. The dog had obviously been hit and was injured. It was in a dangerous place and we needed to move it because motorists could have swerved to avoid it."

A rolling roadblock was put in place allowing the dog to be rescued and be taken to a nearby animal hospital where he was named Sam.

The Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service is already making a big impact on England's motorways. There is now a dedicated staff of 1,500 officers working 24-7 to help cut congestion and keep traffic moving.

Recruitment

Recruitment for Traffic Officers and their colleagues in the control room has been on going since the end of 2003. Applications are considered against a set of stringent competencies, which have been developed with the police.

Traffic Officers patrol sections of motorways with the support and direction of Regional Control Centre Operators. In doing so they ensure that traffic flow is kept moving safely and efficiently by responding to accidents, broken down vehicles, debris and even stray animals. Traffic Officers also accompany vehicles with unusual or abnormal loads.

Ensuring a smooth traffic flow is as hard as it is rewarding. Working as a Traffic Officer or a Regional Control Centre Operator will require you to make excellent use of time and resources; sometimes in extraordinary and distressing situations. However, we will give you all the training and support you need to carry out these roles. What will make you a success is the kind of mental resilience that means you can manage a number of different situations at any one time and be able to deal with a crisis safely and effectively.

Applicants should be aware that the role they are applying for is specified as a safety critical post which requires us to provide continuity of cover over the English motorway network on a 24/7 full-time basis. The Highways Agency is an equal opportunities employer and will consider all applications positively, but please be aware that because of the nature of the role and the requirement to provide constant cover it may not be possible to accommodate specific work patterns that are requested.

Further Information and How to Apply

For further information on how to become a Traffic Officer or Regional Control Centre Operator please go to our Careers with Us section, where you can also sign up for weekly email alerts to notify you of forthcoming vacancies in your area.

 

Why the Highways Agency has Traffic Officers

Traffic Officer Powers - History

The Government's New Deal for Transport in 1998 set out the Highways Agency's change of focus to become network operator. The Highways Agency and the Police commissioned a review, and in the November 2002 final report, it revealed that there was a strong case for the transfer of general traffic and road management tasks away from the police, thus allowing them to concentrate on tackling crime, investigating collisions and enforcing the law.

Traffic Management Act

On July 22 2004 the Traffic Management Bill successfully completed the Parliamentary process and received Royal Assent, becoming the Traffic Management Act 2004. This new legislation provides newly created Traffic Officers with special powers so that they are able to perform certain traffic management tasks previously carried out by the police. The new powers allow Traffic Officers to:

• Stop traffic and close roads, lanes and carriageways
• Direct and divert traffic and pedestrians
• Place and operate traffic signs
• Manage traffic at traffic surveys. These involve stopping vehicles and asking drivers about their journeys. The information from these surveys is used to develop and plan future investment in the transport system.
• The same power as police have under section 67 (1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. 
• Your guide to the Traffic Management Act
• Explanatory notes which accompany the Act

Traffic Officers do not have police powers and our vehicles are not classed as emergency vehicles. The only vehicles which are permitted to be fitted with and display blue lights are those classified as emergency vehicles such as the police, fire and rescue and ambulance services.

The role of the Traffic Officer is to deal with routine incidents on the network and to assist the emergency services by dealing with traffic management at more serious incidents. In order to undertake these duties Traffic Officers have been permitted to use red and amber warning lights since 2004. This has been authorised under a special order of the Road Traffic Act 1988, section 44. Highways Agency Traffic Officers have the powers to arrange for the removal of damaged or abandoned vehicles. In addition they also:

• Check on anyone who has broken down and whether they have adequate arrangements for breakdown assistance in place (however they are not a breakdown service)
• Remove dangerous debris from the carriageway 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Since we first introduced Traffic Officers on our network in 2004 the Highways Agency has received a number of queries from customers asking about the roles and responsibilities of our Traffic Officers, about the vehicles used and the equipment that is carried in them, and about the costs associated with the implementation of the service.

A number of these questions have been answered under Freedom of Information requests and are available to view on our Disclosure Log. Responses to commonly asked questions are also available below.

Q) What are the roles and responsibilities of Highways Agency Traffic Officers?

A total of 25 per cent of all congestion is caused by incidents.  This is what the Traffic officer Service is tackling.  Traffic Officers have taken over 76 per cent of all police motorway duties and are responsible for:

• managing incidents, except where there is a loss of life, injury or potential criminal activity
• setting signs and signals and answering emergency roadside telephones
• arranging the removal of damaged or broken down/abandoned vehicles in partnership with the police
• removing debris and other obstructions from the carriageway

The role of a Traffic Officer involves:

• managing incidents that do not involve loss of life, injury or potential criminal activity
• supporting the police when they are managing incidents, particularly in managing traffic
• high visibility patrols to reassure the public
• dealing with accident damaged, broken down and abandoned vehicles
• providing rolling road closures to hold traffic back to allow removal of debris, installation of temporary traffic management and other purposes
• providing temporary road closures
• clearing debris, animals and found property from the network
• indentification of defects and potential improvements to the network
• monitoring roadworks
• planning arrangements for forthcoming special events
• educating road users

Q) What powers under the Traffic Management Act 2004 do Traffic Officers have?

The Highways Agency Traffic Officers have powers to:

• Stop traffic and close roads, lanes and carriageways;
• Direct and divert traffic;
• Place and operate traffic signs;
• Manage traffic and traffic surveys.

Failure to comply with a Highways Agency Traffic Officer's directions or sign is an offence and could lead to:

• A fine of up to £1,000
• Driving Licence endorsement; or
• Disqualification.

Assaulting, willfully obstructing or impersonating a Traffic Officer is an offence and could lead to a fine of up to £5,000 or Imprisonment.

Q) What difference does the Traffic Officer Service make to me when I am driving?

There is now clearer, more up-to-date information to enable you to pick your route, and less time is spent queuing as a result of incidents on the network. There are also more uniformed staff on the roads to assist you.

Q) What is the purpose of giving Traffic Officers these responsibilities?

The government has instigated these changes both to improve journeys for drivers, to make roads safer and to allow police to focus on tackling crime. The benefits include:

• Reduced incident-related congestion
• Increased journey-time reliability
• Reduced secondary incidents - the incidents that happen at the scene of an existing incident or at road works
• Freeing up police time to focus on core activities, such as tackling crime and enforcing the law.
• Making the road networks safer

Q) Are drivers paying for these services?

No. They are being funded through existing Highways Agency budgets, using money set aside for making better use of the existing roads network. There is no contribution from the Home Office.

Q) What is the role of the traffic police now that the Highways Agency Traffic Officers have taken over many of their duties?

With the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service taking on routine motorway tasks; police will be able to spend more of their time concentrating on their priority of enforcing the law and dealing with crime. The police through ACPO were partners with review of motorway tasks integral in the design and delivery and partners in the ongoing development.

More information on the duties taken over by Highways Agency Traffic Officers can be found by visiting the knowledge centre and accessing the Roles and Responsibities Page for traffic officers.

Q) Do police attend the scene of an accident or do they wait until the Traffic Officers tell them to attend?

The decision on who attends an incident depends on which resource is closer to the scene. Traffic Officer Vehicles have amber lights and are not allowed to exceed the speed limit. Each incident will be assessed and the most appropriate resources will be deployed to the scene. It is a matter for each police force how they deploy their resources

Q) Can Highways Agency Traffic Officers arrest people? If they can't what is the point on having them?

The powers do not allow for Traffic Officers to arrest people, but it is an offence not to comply with their requests. Traffic Officers also act as extra eyes on the network.
However, failure to comply with a Highways Agency Traffic Officer's directions or sign is an offence and could lead to:

• A fine of up to £1,000
• Driving Licence endorsement; or
• Disqualification.

Q) What colour lights do the Traffic Officer Vehicles have? What is the reasoning behind this?

The vehicles have amber, white and rear-red flashing lights on their vehicles that are easily recognisable, as they have yellow and black livery on them. It must be remembered that the Traffic Officer Service is not an emergency service.

Traffic Officers are not allowed to exceed the speed limit when responding to an incident. We would like to urge drivers however to allow them to pass if they see them on the motorway as it may be the case that they are going to the scene of an incident which may be holding up traffic.

Q)Why do Traffic Officer Vehicles look so similar to police vehicles and use the same high visibility markings as soon police forces?

Given the nature of their role and the environment that Traffic Officers work in, ensuring their safety and that of the travelling public is important. Before the launch of the service, considerable work was undertaken to determine the most appropriate livery for our vehicles.

From the work undertaken,  we have adopted the use of reflective Battenberg patterns on the side of the vehicles, an LED roof light bar, LED lighting on the front and rear of the vehicle and reflective rear chevron markings. The words Traffic Officer and Highways Agency are also clearly displayed on the vehicle. The yellow and black combination offered a distinction between the police who use yellow and blue, and the ambulance service who use green and yellow.

The yellow and black combination is alos used by VOSA, who like the Highways Agency, is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.

Traffic Officers deal with a range of incidents, some of which involve incidents where persons have been injured, and we may be first on the scene and need to make the incident safe before the arrival of the required emergency services and therefore need to be highly visible.

Q) Why do you see Traffic Officer Vehicles parked on overbridges or observation platforms?

Traffic Officer vehicles are able to use observation platforms, as are the police and VOSA. Using this part of the highways infrastructure or other strategic locations such as overbridges enables our crews to give a physical presence which enhances public reassurance. More importantly, it allows our patrols to be in the place where they can most likely have a positive effect on dealing with incidents.

Q) How many Traffic Officer Vehicles are in the fleet? (April 2010)

The current Traffic Officer Vehicle fleet consists of 207 vehicles. These comprise the following models:

• Mitsubishi Shogun
• Toyota Landcruiser
• Land Rover Discovery

For resilience we purposely selected more than two manufacturers to supply the vehicles as models may need to be recalled or enhanced at any time.

Q) What is the relationship between the Regional Control Centres (RCCs) and the National Traffic Operations Centre
(NTOC)?

The RCCs are a central focus point for deploying resources to manage incidents on the regional road network it covers. It monitors CCTV on the motorway, answers emergency roadside telephones, dispatches Traffic Officers to incidents and sets tactical signs and signals on the motorway. The NTOC is focused on providing information to road users, information services and setting strategic, long range signs.

Q) How many Regional Control Centres are there in England and when did they open?

There are seven RCCs in England, one in each region:

• Regional Control Centres opened in the West Midlands (Quinton, M5 J3) in April 2004;
• South East (Godstone, M25 J6) in August 2005;
• North West (Newton-le-Willows, M6 J22-23) and North East (Wakefield, M1 J39) in September 2005;
• East (South Mimms, M25 J 23) in October 2005;
• South West (Avonmouth, M5 J 18) in December 2005.
• East Midlands (Nottingham, M1 J26) in February 2006.

Q) How many incidents do Traffic Officers deal with on a national basis each day?

At the moment, Traffic Officers deal with an average of 850 incidents each day. Over 85,000 incidents attended in 2007/2008 were either a threat to safety or were likely to cause congestion on our network.

Q) What is the role of the National Traffic Operations Centre?

The NTOC near the M5 at Quinton, Birmingham, operates 24 hours every day of the year, collecting information on road and traffic conditions across 4,500 miles of England's motorways and trunk roads.

It provides a central information point for the motorway and trunk road network, collecting real time information from 3,750 road sensors and 700 CCTV cameras as well as reports from the Highways Agency Traffic Officers, police forces, local highway authorities, contractors, leisure and entertainment venues and weather centres.
This real time information is then made available to drivers who have a choice of how they access it.

Drivers can log onto the Highway Agency's real-time traffic website . Information is also available through traffic bulletins on radio and TV.

Information about travel conditions will also be provided through 350 electronic roadside message signs located at key junctions on motorways, giving drivers the opportunity to change route if there is a problem ahead.

A further 1,400 safety signs can be used to manage local traffic in the event of incidents and emergencies to provide warnings of stationary or slow-moving traffic, protecting those at the back of queues. For more information visit the Highways Agency's online Newsroom.

Q) Why not build more roads to reduce congestion instead of introducing Traffic Officers?

This is not about building roads; it's about managing unplanned incidents and their effect on congestion, regardless of the number of lanes. It will also help ensure the roads we do have are in the best possible condition, and provide support to road users on the road making the best use of existing road space.

Q) How do Highways Agency Traffic Officers work with the Emergency Services at an incident on the motorway?

Traffic Officers carry out a range of duties, from arranging removal of damaged and abandoned vehicles to stopping and directing traffic.

They also provide a safe working environment on the motorway for the fire and rescue service, police and ambulance service to carry out their duties effectively.

If Highways Agency Traffic Officers arrive first at the scene or the emergency services have received a call from a mobile phone we are able to provide fast, accurate information to them, including marker post details.

Q) What is a rolling road closure?

A rolling road closure is when we use the Traffic Officer vehicles to gradually slow down the following motorists and then stop them temporarily to allow enough time for maintenance work to be carried out, or for debris or an incident to be cleared in safety.

To read an example of where a rolling road closure was used please visit the Highways Agency's online Knowledge Centre.

Q) What advantage is there to using an emergency roadside telephone if I breakdown rather than my own mobile?

If you break down on the motorway, the easiest way to get help is by using the emergency roadside telephone. Each marker post on the motorway points motorists in the direction of the nearest emergency telephone which is safe to walk to along the hard shoulder.

The phone rings straight through into the closest Regional Control Centre's control room and will be answered by a person 24-7. Depending on your situation, the control room can either send a Highways Agency Traffic Officer or recovery vehicle or advise your recovery service.

The roadside phone automatically pin points your location for the control room which could then keep an eye on your situation using CCTV.

Q) What should I do if I break down on the motorway?

Pull over on the hard shoulder as far to the left as possible and stop as close to an emergency roadside telephone as you can. Exit the car using the passenger side doors. If you cannot stop near an emergency telephone - make sure you know where you are.

There are reference numbers on all marker posts at the side of the road with a telephone symbol pointing you in the right direction for the nearest phone it is safe to reach.
While waiting for your car to be recovered, climb over the safety barrier, where safe to do so and walk up the embankment if possible to do so.

We have also previously published some specific hard shoulder safety advice.

Q) How many miles of motorway does the Traffic Officer Service cover in England?

The total of all the patrol routes operating from each outstation in England adds up to 2025 miles of motorway.

Q) What checks do traffic officers conduct on their  Highways Agency vehicles before going out on patrol?

Before going out on road, at the start of every shift a POWDER Check is carried out. This includes the following:
Petrol - or diesel in our case - does the vehicle have enough fuel?
Oil - A quick check is always advisable.
Water - We check the coolant and washer fluid, and some drinking water for is a good idea too.
Damage - a quick visual check of the bodywork to make sure everything's okay.
Electricity - are all lights and electrical controls working as they should be? Particularly important for Traffic Officer vehicles, with our added lights and matrix signs.
Rubber - We check the tyres - they're the vehicle's only contact with the road and are crucial for driving, and stopping, safely.

Q) How do I join the Traffic Officer Service

For more information on how to become a Traffic Officer visit our Careers with Us section where you can also sign up for weekly email alerts to notify you of forthcoming vacancies in your area.

Q) Why do you see Traffic Officers parked behind broken down vehicles on the hard shoulder?

Newly trained Traffic Officers are limited to working on the hard shoulder until they have successfully completed a period of assessment. During this time, they will focus on providing support and assistance to motorists who have had to stop on the hard shoulder.

On completion of the initial stages of their assessment they will move on to undertake tasks in the live carriageway such as the application of rolling road closures, clearing incidents which cause congestion and the removal of dangerous debris which may cause accidents.

It is not necessary for us to attend and remain at the scene of every broken down vehicle. It depends on the resources available, priorities of competing jobs and whether the driver requires support because, for example, they are vulnerable, there are young children in the car or the vehicle is positioned on an unlit section of motorway.

Q) Why are Traffic Officer Vehicles parked at an angle towards the motorway carriageway and not parallel to it?

'The way in which Traffic Officer Vehicles are positioned on the hard shoulder when attending incidents is known as vehicle orientation or 'fending' and there are generally three options that can be adopted. These are:

• Fend in - this is when the front of the vehicle is positioned towards the verge
• Fend off - when the front of vehicle is positioned towards the carriageway
• In line - when the vehicle positioned parallel to the carriageway.

When attending an incident, Traffic Officers are instructed to conduct a risk assessment to determine the most appropriate fending option to adopt in order to deal with the incident.

When the Traffic Officer Service was being developed, advice was sought from Police colleagues across the country to determine the best use of their operational practice and guidance. It became apparent that there was no consistent approach between forces.

As a result of the lack of consistency, the Highways Agency commissioned research work in relation to fending. The research concluded that there was no single recommendation that would apply in all situations. However, it was recommended that whichever option was adopted, the front wheels of the Traffic Officer vehicle should be in the straight-ahead position (i.e. parallel to the vehicle).'

Q) Why do Traffic Officers put out lights and cones in the daylight behind their vehicle while parked on the hard shoulder?

Traffic Officers will put out cones and lights, if needed, to improve the visibility of our vehicles and to provide a safe working area and clear information to approaching drivers. It is also to avoid our vehicles being struck by errant vehicles encroaching on the hard shoulder and to ensure the safety of the public and our staff.

Q) At what speed to Traffic Officers patrol the motorway?

The current advice given to Traffic Officers is to patrol at the speed of traffic in lane one, and on quieter motorways at not more than 60mph. Traffic Officers are not allowed to break the 70mph speed limit.

This gives a balance between not holding up traffic whilst being able to spot a broken down vehicle on the hard shoulder and bring our vehicle safely to a stop at the correct distance behind that vehicle which is usually approximately 25 metres behind a broken down vehicle.

Further Information

• Roles and Responsibilities Review
• Traffic Officer Booklet - Keeping traffic moving in England (2MB PDF)

Contact

For further information about Traffic Officers please email ha_info@highways.gsi.gov.uk or telephone the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000.