Lawrence Vos, of the
Highways Agency,
looks at another pilot
project in the West
Midlands aiming to
make driving easier
and safer. 
If you have had the misfortune of
breaking down on one of England's
motorways, regardless of your ability,
you know the distress it can cause, but
for motorists in the West Midlands extra
help is on hand. The Highways Agency
Traffic Officer service is now more than
six months into operation in the West
Midlands, helping to reduce congestion,
and freeing up the police to deal with
criminal activities on the network.
Traffic Officers are on the road to
help you if you are stranded on the hardshoulder.
They will offer valuable safety
advice, secure the area you are located in
and even call your recovery organisation
to arrange your safe removal from the
roadside.
With preparations in place to deliver
the Traffic Officer service across
England, 2004 has witnessed not only
the birth of the service in April, but also
the passing of the Traffic Management
Bill in July, giving Traffic Officers new
powers on the motorway network.
The Highways Agency Traffic
Officer service began life in April this
year to keep traffic moving and ease
congestion, and at the same time to
help the police by taking on board the
management of minor incidents, such as
breakdowns and debris clearance.
Eight patrols currently operate in the
West Midlands, and this is set to increase
to 14 by the end of the year. With just
under 100 staff at present, working both
on the road and in the Regional Control
Centre control room, numbers will
soon be expanding to meet the growing
demand of you the road user.
Working alongside an amalgamation
of traffic police services in the West
Midlands region, the Highways Agency
Traffic Officers have been learning the
skills required to operate in a highly dangerous
environment.
Traffic Management Act
With the announcement in July that the
Traffic Management Act gained Royal
Assent, the role and responsibilities of
Traffic Officers immediately increased,
giving the service powers previously
only the police had. While Highways
Agency Traffic Officers will not have the
powers to arrest or fine, the Act will give
them the powers to stop traffic, close
roads, lanes and carriageways, direct and
divert traffic and both place and operate
traffic signs.
Traffic Officers now have the powers
to stop and direct motorists, cyclists
and pedestrians on the motorway when
managing traffic on that motorway and
if an official traffic survey is being carried
out. Furthermore, refusal to divulge name and address details if and when
requested by a traffic officer is also
offence. These offences could lead to a
fine, or in extreme cases a prison sentence.
Recognising a
Traffic Officer 
As a relatively new service not everyone
will have encountered a traffic officer
while travelling on the West Midlands
motorway network, but with highly visible
vehicles and highly visible uniforms
they are easy to recognise.
Driving either Range Rover or
Mitsubishi Shogun vehicles, the traffic
officer patrols are visible in the form of
a chequered design made from black and
luminous yellow vinyl material on the
doors and side panels, and alternative
orange and yellow diagonal stripes also
made from the same material on the rear. 
The vehicle bonnet design is made
from fluorescent yellow vinyl featuring
a blue swoosh across the top and
the words Highways Agency in blue in
reverse, and in order to be recognisable
from the air the vehicles contain the letters
HA and a recognisable three-digit
number on the roof.
Inside each vehicle are more than 65
pieces of equipment used to help clear
debris from the road and provide assistance
to Traffic Officers managing roadside
incidents, including 20 cones, traffic
signs to communicate changes in road
conditions to drivers and a dog catching
pole – stray animals can be a common
and dangerous occurrence.
Managing this equipment and ensuring
it is used in the correct way are the
Traffic Officers themselves, who like the
vehicles, will be highly visible when out
on patrol. Aside from their vehicle and
Highways Agency identification card,
Traffic Officers can be identified through
their distinctive yellow luminous jackets
with orange insert, featuring the HA
logo.
Traffic Officers are on patrol in the
West Midlands helping broken down
motorists, offering safety advice and
arranging recovery with your recovery
organisation if required.
They are additional sets of eyes and
ears on the motorway, here to help make
sure you have a safe and reliable journey.
The future
Across the motorway network the traffic
officer service will see up to 1,200 staff
on-road and 300 staff in seven regional
control centres. They will eventually
be working around the clock to manage
minor incidents, and support the police
and other emergency services in major
incidents.
The service will be rolled out across
the country in 2005, with the South East
and North West regions going live in by
the Summer and East, North East, South
West and East Midlands by the end of
next year.
See the HIghways Agency website
www.highways.gov.uk
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