@@rikcole6702 he did load you on a live slip road without waiting for a rolling block to be put on. But I guess his time is money so forget the safety block if it’s going to slow down that profit
@@paulmeynell8866 with highways completing a fend off, what he did is safer than highways towing it to a refuge bay where he would have to join a live lane with no help from highways because they don’t stick around once they get a vehicle to a bay. Nothing to do with profit!
@@paulmeynell8866he loaded it with highways protecting the lane as they should have, he was making the scan safe sooner plus he wasn’t breathing another risk of towing a vehicle that has a transmission issue with a tow strap back onto a live lane where it could potentially dump its oil. People need to use some common sense and it’s sad to see Greg was the only one trying to
As you are the customer, let me ask you this if I may. Would you feel safer with what Greg did by getting you and your family quickly off that verge and on your way to the safety of the services, or waiting there longer to be towed to a refuge on the motorway by HWA? I am sure I know the answer, but it would good to hear it from you. I know which I prefer and it was what Greg did.
@@paulmeynell8866 Did you miss the part that mentions lane 1 had an X on it? Do explain how it is safer for the Highways clown to tow that vehicle 1 mile up the road to a refuge area at a slower speed for the Highways guy to drop the car in a refuge bay and move on to his next job while a recovery truck has to turn up to that refuge bay to then go through the whole process to load the car onto the truck and then somehow rejoin a motorway with just divert arrows in place (given the new policy of no lane closure), Highways would no doubt switch that lane closure to a divert as soon as that car is in the recovery bay and the Highways clown is on his way. But by all means please do qualify how it is safer to go that route than it is to stick car on back of truck with a lane closure already in place and that lane can be used for the recovery truck to get up to speed and rejoin the rest of the traffic at the same speed.
Fellow recovery operator here - totally got your back on this!! Highways are a total disgrace and as for that traffic cop, you say he was being civil etc , I don’t think so - he could have nipped that in the bud with words of advice to both sides , he did not need to report that for prosecution. These guys clearly have no mechanical knowledge whatsoever. One full lift on the truck from its current position with them in a fend off position is far safer than flat towing it and re-lifting it. That road is extremely dangerous so get it done with as quickly as possible. These HATOs really are becoming a joke Make a formal complaint to National Highways about how this incident was dealt with. They have in car cameras, radio transmission logs and body cams - it will all come out in the wash. Do a subject access request for all of their video footage showing you and your vehicle now
Commenting to help push Lee-bn7wv 's message in the algorithm a bit. Yes do whatever Freedom Of Information request you're entitled to, and demand copies of ALL the video footage from ALL the vehicles and officers involved. And remember folks...if you are guilty of an offence, you need a lawyer. And if you are INNOCENT of an offence, you REALLY NEED a Lawyer !
I know who I'd trust! Recovery guy with years of experience over highways agency guy who's been on a couple classroom/online courses!! Recovery guy was safe speedy & 100% correct!
He is probably quite limited in the decision and action he is allowed to take. If it deviates from his flowchart and instructions, that's it - obstruction! The common sense and safety part on this bit must not be a decision he is allowed to make or experienced to make. Maybe this is a grade or position thing and he's not responsible enough. So who did make the decision based on what he was saying, was what he said correct, also what process was used by the staff in the control room. You're going to have quite a day with this one, they will discontinue the case and retrain staff. They also need to compensate you and pay your legal expenses.
real point is that he has no power , they are not the police.... if they post follow me in their window just ignore it. they do not have blue lights and no police powers.... no matter who tells you they do , they do not......
Highways England are a law until themselves. I’m a hgv driver and last year, they shut the M6 north at 17 because of a fatal accident, we eventually got into sandbach services where it was rammed with Lorrie’s and cars, I had to park up for the night on the outer through road and experienced a traffic officer running around telling us we couldn’t park there and was going to call the police……. But everybody there couldn’t go anywhere because of the road closure. Fast forward to one of the biggest female truck driver I’ve ever seen grab him by the collar and nearly smashing his face in because he was thinking he was well above his station. Highways England, you are not the police! You are official lollipop men and are there to keep other road users safe when they need you! You don’t rule the roads!!!
@@kevinduffy4233 When ever there is a road closure on a motorway it is reported to the Transport Minister, and a FULL detailed explanation for the closure must be given to the government and transport department as it impacts the economy. So full motorway closures I believe yes must come from the Police.
I think a dedicated video or collaboration from your channel would be welcome, for the sake of spreading awareness of the problem. Also using your popularity and connection with local news media could be an option too. I think solving this issue first starts with exposure.
Would love to see you do a ride along with gdb to show your viewers the danger of the smart motorways and bring some awareness on this issue. Love your videos and what you do for road safety.
Glad I sent you the video @ashley_neal, anything that helps get the message out there to road users can only be a good thing. It's a shocking state of affairs and road safety has been ditched by the pencil pushers.
Just shared this on Twitter to National Highways questioning the competency of their risk assessors. What they were suggesting created completely unnecessary risk. Insane
‘Smart’ motorways and National Highways ‘Traffic Officers’ are responsible for more highway injuries/fatalities than prior to their existence. Both need to be immediately abolished ‘for our safety’. It’s disgusting… EDIT: If you are charged with any version of obstruction please fight it and insist on a trial by jury and get the ruling on Public Record. That is how you will force the necessary changes. Good luck 👍🏻
He's breached a red X, entered a closed line... That's the first offence Traffic officer has told him to do one, he's failed to leave. That's obstructing a traffic officer.... GDB thinks he's someone he's not... It's not even his company like he claims lol
Flat towing a vehicle with a broken trans into a live lane, whilst dumping fluids, for at least a mile to an emergency area is just plain stupid. Where has common sense gone?
I think the most important point has been overlooked. Yes it was a gearbox fault and it looks like it was dumping gearbox oil. Were they really suggesting they spread that oil in to a live carriageway, across a slip road where hard braking may need to occur. This is madness, HATO’s are failed police. End of story.
Agree, definitely don't want oil spread over the carriageway. Also apart from the oil leaking if the transmission has had a major failure, in some cases it can lead to the gear set locking up. It can stop you like you've hit a wall. Don't need to say the danger of that happening while towing it to the exit.
Because then they can claim the oil has ruined the road surface and it needs re tarmacking at the customers insurance expense boom nice new bit of motorway for free.
I'm a criminal lawyer, The police operate under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). PACE says that an investigating officer cannot make a decision on charge, it has to be a Sergeant or above with no involvement in the case, or (more usually) the CPS. This is to ensure that there is no bias in the decision of whether to charge or not. "You are being reported for the offence of" is the words they use to say "I've gathered information from both sides now, and I'm passing it to my Sergeant (or CPS) so that they can make a decision as to whether to charge." To make the decision to charge, the evidence has to pass 2 tests, 1) would a jury reasonably instructed conclude that you had committed the offence? and 2 is it in the interests of the public purse to spend the money on a trial? The offence of obstructing a highways officer would require that you "without lawful authority or excuse wilfully obstructed the reasonable instructions of an authorised Highways Officer" There's a lot of defences in that! Was it without lawful authority or excuse? (You're licenced right?) Or excuse (the safety of *your* clients and/or the public) Did you "wilfully disobey"? (He didn't seem to be giving much instruction Were his instructions "reasonable"? - big one that! and was he "duly authorised" to give those instructions? Don't take that as read - I'd want to check his credentials. I'd say you have nothing to worry about.
They need to create something called a 'Hard Shoulder'. Thats a good concept and it works! That police car pulled in far too close in front of your HGV.
unfortunately, he didn't pull in "too close". GDB had already shown he was not willing to follow instruction when he chose not to follow the cop into the lorry area. I know WHY GDB didn't but the cop would not know that. I am not saying if he was right to not follow him or not... But to the cop he was an uncompliant stop. Parking so close prevents him jumping in the truck and driving off causing risk to others. It was, in fact, the rare instance in that video of someone in "official" uniform showing concern for others 🤣
@@kieranbeecroft8414 The cop pulled in FAR TOO CLOSE when he overtook the recovery truck, well before he indicated that he wanted the breakdown truck to pull over.
It's not the "smart" part of the Smart Motorway that makes them dangerous and if rules were followed when it comes to them there would be no issue at all. The real issues with them are the users (and the operators these days) There are far to many clowns on the road that ignore signs and do as they damn well please. Hard shoulder's are not even immune to the stupid on the roads as we have probably all seen clowns use them to overtake or skip traffic build ups etc. The levels of stupid that is coming from Highways themselves is beyond ridiculous with ridiculous policy changes and patrol folk having bad takes on what is safer as seen in this video. Smart Motorways never stood a chance when taking all this into consideration really.
It's going to take more than 1 incident where several people are killed before smart motorways are scrapped. They are so dangerous. It will take a family or highways or Police officer being wiped out before they even consider scrapping them. Then there will be a discussion / consultation period during which time another family gets wiped out, then it will take a couple of years for them to get funding, during another period where someone gets wiped off the face of the earth, then it will take another few years for them to do the work, during which time someone else gets wiped out. The economy and keeping the lorries moving is considered to be more important than preventing tragedies where people are wiped out in an instant due to smart motorways. It makes me so incredibly angry😢
@declanbrady5172 police officers have died many times on UK motorways & nothing changes... They're just a number & outside of their own friends/family, no-one cares about them 🤷🏽♂️
i refuse to use them. esp around Birmingham region, lower limits so trucks and cars allowed at same speed a 50 limit often that only 6mph less than top speed of a restricted truck but all traffic bunched up and countless times ive had trucks less ft of my rear bumper . its lethal. a 70 limit trucks at 56 but legally 60mph that 10mph difference you not hanging around a side of a truck for long but passing a truck at around 1mph difference the risk is much greater, the 10mph rule should apply to temp limits too it make things far more safe . going from 12 miles south Birmingham to llangollen north east wales less than 10 miles from the border i refuse to take motorway any more, old days i spent every weekend for around 20 years doing m6 m54 a5 it felt far safer but used smart motorway a number of times i though no its not safe and big crash is only matter of time. now i head south and then west for up to 2 hours up to crossgates a46,a44 think a470 i head west up to crossgates and head north a different way each time and only when im level with barmouth/bala/corwen then i head east to it a huge C on the map but a 3 hour boring motorway drive and deadly and loads stress or 6-8 hour drive through center of wales and few mountain passes a fun stress free drive even in mid winter. since i did my first trip through wales i enjoyed the drive so much ive not used m6 since id rather have a fun enjoyable full day drive than use that and amazing views along the way
They lose points every time they apply a red X. Its all a ruse to manipulate the figures to prove smart motorways are working, & not a multi billion ££ scam
Possibly worse than that. If there are enough deaths on motorways it'll be easier to force regulations onto us, plus they're already planning on autonomous vehicles using our motorways (it will start on smart motorways) . It's smoke and mirrors, like all politics are now!
Oh FFS... Really? It's down to that? As an ordinary road user, I'd rather have a lane closed for 2-3 minutes than have the whole damn road closed because their refusal to close the road caused a big pile up.
As a motorist of 38 years (thats gone by quick!) I remember so called "Smart" motorways being politically pushed through to much criticism. They were not considered "Smart" back then and are plainly bloody dangerous now. Its bad enough driving through them, I pray to God I never breakdown in one. Fight the good fight Greg, morally you are absolutely right and if I were on the Jury i'd be finding in your favour. Trouble is, the lunatics now run the asylum.
I never use lane 1 on a smart motorway because I don't trust the idiots running them to activate the matrix to warn me of obstacles. Like you I have been driving safely for many years(over 40)
Wrong people. Traffic Officers are National Highways, they don't have much, if any, legal powers. They're not the police, they're a different, more useless government department.
@@barrie5852 100% agree it's wasting there time when there could be terrorist running about and this is what happens. That's shocking from Strafford Police
Thanks for making and showing us this video. I am a terrified user of these ‘no hard shoulder’ UK roads. Glad you have proved how they are NOT making the safety correct.
In reality it's the Highways officer that should be in court - for negligence. Towing a car with a gearbox problem from a 'relatively' safe area on a motorway services exit slip ONTO a motorway on a towrope, into a fully live lane and then for a mile into a refuge - not forgetting that the driver of the towed vehicle (no disrespect to him) may not have a lot of experience of being towed on a strap - is a much riskier proposition than getting it onto a towtruck where it is and making a safe and efficient recovery using the correct equipment. This is clearly a case of that Highways officer being butthurt because someone refused his ridiculous orders. The police officer should have also quashed this at the roadside and told the highways officer to pick up his toys and behave.
@@Lexie74746 Irrespective of whatever instructions he was given, there is no way that towing a car on a strap onto a live motorway is safer than recovering it from the location it was in. Notwithstanding it had a gearbox issue. How did they know that said problem wasnt going to cause the gearbox to lock up, possibly causing the driver to lose control.
@@Lexie74746 I thought under the current UK motorway regulations that any tow on a motorway has to be with a bar as a strap tow is nt longer lawful, if that is the case then the womble should be reminded that his job is to womble about and deal with breakdowns without putting people at un necessary risk by issuing an unlawful command?
This is what happens when you get NH traffic officers that are employed that are not suitable for the job, tick boxes ticked perhaps. YOU were in the right, protecting customers and yourself. Great video mate.
That highways guy is a wannabe cop who clearly has chip on a shoulder. He clearly is drunk with his own power. He has no mechanical knowledge. As a qualified motor vehicle engineer and MOT tester and ex VW technician I will explain that on the VW T5 they have a fault in which the gearbox can lock up. Towing it with a strap down the motorway is not sensible or safe. If there is no other option then fair enough but you have a vehicle capable of getting the vehicle and the family off the road safely. The highway guy needs retraining or needs to find a new career.
Absolutely spot in with the potential locking up. Something your 100% do not want to happen, that is why you don't tow these with gearbox issues. But of course, try explaining that to NHA.
Towing it with a locked gearbox would probably end up blending the contents, causing more damage, am I right? Or risk having the driven wheels lock up even though it's in neutral?
I commented on blackbelts latest video asking him to contact you and a brief of highways think it's something he would love to make a video on also help you in how to get it heard
Yep that could spread to other hard working OP operatives and soon H/way agencies + Traffic rozzers totally knackered in RTA's if they can't get willing OPs to do the recovery; going to grind the motorway network down to horse and cart speeds
@emsservices6090 just because he don't show traffic law don't mean he don't know traffic law or some top boy who do that would love to take highways on
Totally agree with you National Highways need to be investigated, not just for their extremely dangerous decisions with implementing smart motorways but also their ridiculous policies about unnecessary road closures (every day miles of motorways and A roads are closed yet nobody can be found doing anything)
From what I see, it’s the drivers that are the biggest danger and those are the ones who crash, on the phone, texting, crossing solid white lines, tailgating, speeding, hogging the middle lane, not speeding up when joining the motorway, unroadworthy cars, fog lights on in the rain, rear fog lights on and tailgating at 90, but hey, if you think an agency that was closed 9 years ago is the problem then you’re clearly smarter than me.
I hope you get a good outcome whatever happens mate. Highways England are ridiculous. ‘Smart’ motorways cause nothing but issues. If that was still 3 lanes with a hard shoulder. You could have just turned up and recovered the van no issue whatsoever. Absolute jobsworths mate. You did the right thing, by using common sense.
We have lost enough people on smart motorways due to incompetence & no red X & the want to tow a vehicle with a gearbox issue spilling oil all over the motorway, then have to close the motorway to get another team out to clean oil they would have spilled, are these people stupid, never worked out on the roads recovering vehicles, it's scary & the quicker the vehicle is moved safely the better. You were 100% correct.
Also real possibility of the VW gearbox seizing up completely - if it was towed as well putting the HA wombles at danger and the family + other road users at extreme dangers
I don't trust them to the point, when they ask me for my name, I tell them "I don't have to provide you with my name unless I'm under suspicion". In relation to Article 8. I know they try to trick you to giving your name to them where then they will alter there story and then use your name in it.
The big problem is that drivers either don't know what the smart motorway signs mean( most have no idea that a red X is an instruction) or don't think it applies to them.
@@barrie5852 that’s true, there are always idiots not following the rules. I always thought if you drove through an X, the camera above the lane would get your licence plate and fine you.
Those new rescue lay bays are too short, too far apart to be safe and lot of drivers are fearful of driving on these Smart M/ways especially if there's a chance of breaking down
I am a traffic management designer. This policy is nuts!! It's widely known the HATO's are really inexperienced and poorly trained in the opinions of everyone that has to work with them or use their services. The calibre of staff and the training they receive needs to drastically improve.
I would be speaking to my local MP mine helped massively with an issue I had with the Ministry of defence. . Certainly can’t do any harm he can raise your concerns in parliament Love the channel
What? The people that don't see the harm in councils fitting big roadside TV screens to play videos of adverts to drivers just near roundabouts, traffic lights and junctions to distract them, but objected tp farmers having adverts on HGVs that were visible from motorways? Good luck with them. The TV screens have caused so many crashes. Profit comes first. In a local city centre we have a big advert screen playing videos around 30ft from a yellow box junction and traffic lights. There is now a yellow box camera fitted as people get distracted and notice the advert before a faded yellow box painted on the road.
@@OH2023-cj9ifthat would be an issue with the council who grants planning for roadside billboards, no? Can't see how Rospa are responsible for their actions
Greg. I share your frustration with National Highways agency jobsworths. I was stationary at a roundabout waiting for the traffic to clear when an highways agency traffic officer drove into the back of me at 30mph in his marked Mitsibushi 4x4 causing £12k of damage then me being put in an ambulance after my splitting my eye open. Had it all on dash cam. The next day I was back at work. The traffic officer had a month off with stress and had to undergo retraining and be a passenger for a further month. They're a complete waste of public funding and don't get me started on lane closures after minor accident or breakdowns and putting up signs for the sake of it. Complete jobsworths and nothing they do makes sense. Just subscribed. Good luck with the case.
I can’t see where there was a problem why risk everyone’s lives towing a vehicle when you can just lift it and be on your way those motorways are so dangerous and the highways agency aren’t worth a hoot
It's shocking the way you are being treated but we All know that motorways are anything but smart and your approach to safety is exemplary. It's a shame that NH don't work to the same high standards
So they were going to take the vehicle from a safe-ish place to a dangerous place then allow you to recover it from there and then ✌️ upto you when you ask for a lane closure to exit the emergency bay, those emergency bays aren't very long anyway so they would have to tow the vehicle in then detach then he would have to leave the bay so you could get Infront of that Transporter so you could get it on the back and no doubt once you were there they would have both gone and told you to use the phone when your going to leave, I watched him on TV last night what a jobs worth he was, I would have loved to have watched them tow the vehicle and either the gearbox lock up so it locks both front wheels or the internals decide to escape from the casing and flood the carriageway with gear oil, then they would have to put a live lane closure on for hours and hours until they cleaned it all up.
Common sense clearly isn’t common in highways. Seeing the time Police spent on this infuriates me. He could’ve tackled 100 x lane hoggers in that time. Keep up the work!
National Highways and traffic police are the worst of the worst! The police are bad enough but these really do take the piss! Don’t even follow the laws they are meant to be enforcing! The law enforcement in this country is disgraceful! Officer cut you up for no reason at all, then only at the last minute when you went into lane 2 did he put his lights on causing potential hazard on a fast moving motorway! Could have done that in lane 1!
Great vid & just a crazy story that you documented and told well - NH really need to take a good look at themselves with their policies that make no sense and actually place people in danger. Well done for doing what you do.
What the hell do they know about recovery...too many people with clipboards and no clue about what there talking about. I worked in recovery for over 25 years and I'd have done exactly the same thing.
If it ends up in court, show that video of the recovery. In the time waiting for their 2nd 4x4, without going outside the width of their existing 4x4 parked behind you, and removed the vehicle. Surely removing the casualty vehicle before they even managed to get their 2nd vehicle there increased safety.
The sensible approach from you Greg Vs the wrong approach from them. Just one thing if they had towed it and damaged the gearbox further and the customer could prove this then there is a legal claim going their way. Keep doing a great a sensible job mate!❤
HA likely to wiggle free from that, plus they can hire top notch legal; don't expect the right right outcome (Law is an Ar$en ) from a civil or legal case.
there little mini-ME's, like police controlled traffic warden's (if there still such a thing?) , get all perks, complete ignoring most the high code like what's going happy arrest=them-self's ?
100% right u cant use a rope and your not allowed two flat toe on motorway as well why they think it safe two take it off a slip road tow it line one two refugee it silly highway are cow boy failed police officer and the like
@@rockabillypreformancerc1639doesn't need to be braked, you can use a straight bar but are limited to 20mph and must stay on the hard shoulder until the next clear exit! If it's a smart motorway it's to the next exit OR refuge area.
@@thomaswilliams2232you can flat tow, I use an A frame to tow the other halfs car when we go away for a break. For breakdowns you have to use a straight bar & are limited to 20mph and either stick to the hard shoulder until the next exit or for smart motorways you need an escort to the next exit slip road or refuge area. Your right about the rope though that's completely illegal!
Get it in the papers. You should look at taking legal action against the highway guy and national highways The guy has gone out his way to make false reports to the police. Sure, your customers will back you up
Good to see the highways officer standing in as a human cone… in the sandwich area behind your flatbed. Unbelievable! He needs re-training for his own safety!
@@Lexie74746 Exactly - stood in the zone where he would be sandwich between the recovery truck and his vehicle if there were to be a collision. No one is trained to do such unsafe things. Search on TH-cam for Fatal Truck vs Car crashes if you think what he did was fine because he had his vehicle parked behind him.
National Highways traffic officers do not have any powers of arrest, or to search, issue fixed penalties or report for summons for any motoring offence.
You were operating in a dangerous situation and the highways people wanted to make it even more dangerous - their actions throw common sense out of the window..
Correct but they were risking other motorists safety by wanting to tow that vehicle with a transmission issue back onto a live lane, could you image the outcome if it dumped its transmission oil onto the live lane? Just incredible
@@knight2425 Also a real dangerous possibility total Lock up of gear box; examples of how dangerous this is; granted this was F1 and car was driving over 100 mph but any total seizure of Gearbox in motion (towed in this example by HA - if they got their way) is extremely dangerous th-cam.com/video/HwA3mlL_Q_Q/w-d-xo.html
@@dafyddthomas7299This is the point most are missing, the real risk is the gearbox seizing whilst being towed - a drive shaft shearing off/falling out and windmilling around could easily tear off a brake pipe or damage steering components - could easily cause a loss of control condition.
@@deezelfairy Spot on here; the Wombles un/fortunately in charge and they overide anyone else; hence cop shop was called with from their point of view Official instructions not followed and Possible Truck Op taking the broken car without official permission; even though Truck OP had owner of the VW permission. Many say we live in a crazy world sometimes and seems like the Bureaucratic Wombles including the Traffic Wombles are in charge of us day to day.
Great video. thanks. If they got another firm to come out, after you were already on the job, I wonder if there's a dodgy arrangement. where the N/H favour the other firm?
Why is he standing in the road? Looks dangerous. Also thinking about it someone must have put pressure on the policeman to come back and sat you are getting a ticket for it
I'm just a member of the public. But this is absolutely nuts. It makes no sense. Wishing you the best of luck and I'll subscribe to see if there are any updates.
That refusal to close lane one for you was utterly ridiculous. The ability to improve safety in situations like yours was supposed to be one of the benefits.
Greg, you need to fight them and win for all of our safety! Been watching for a good amount of time to know you do it by the book, and as safely as possible the fact that the National Highways are willing to risk lives is incredible to me.
Just discovered the channel. God knows how you do this job mate must be so many frustrating situations and all whilst you place yourself in harms way on a daily basis. Stay safe 👍🏻
Speechless. You put your life at risk to help those in need, and you get a total jobsworth. The look on that Traffic Officer's face when you filmed him. Says it all really. Good on you and good luck with it bud.
Because highways get to control traffic the power has gone to there head ..... If they cause an accident over this i bet they would try blame you for it .. get rid of them and employ for police for the motorway, they would do a better job.
@@jaygo8442 Most of them are literally just police rejects. People who for one reason or another couldn't make it in to the police. There are, like with most government departments, a few good ones who do it for the right reasons of course. But as this video proves, there's a good amount who don't do it for the right reasons.
I have literally seen them nearly cause an accident by putting the red X’s on in totally the wrong place for a stranded vehicle. Red X’s for a few miles, then lane 1 was reopened, HGV’s moved back over, and then the HGV’s were nearly crashing into the stranded vehicle a mile later.
@@Perseus7567 perhaps you should give it a try. I know plenty of highways people an police as well, for the most part, highly experienced and know their shit - if you dont like what they do, simples, stay off the motorways
She's Labour and will protect any public service worker regardless. The coming years will see more jobsworth following procedures blindly just to justify their jobs- that's the only thing this "officer" had in mind. Common sense and safety aren't important to this type of people.
Well done mate, great job, this is what happens when the highway agency employ ex store market workers who don’t know the front to rear of vehicles and dangers of live traffic on the motorway.
If they take you to cort, I'd sue them for waste your time... some absolutely muppets, them traffic officers think there actually police officers!!! 😂 cracking video mate.
I was a recovery driver for the best part of 10 years. The hato and the smart motorways were the main things that pushed me to driving "proper" lorries instead. I went to a single vehicle rollover on the m4 near Swindon, at the time it was just a regular motorway (it might still be, i havent been that way for quite a while now) the casualty vehicle had been dragged on its roof onto the shoulder. They got arsey with me as they had requested their own recovery of the vehicle, not allowing any time for the customers' own recovery to sort it first. I was on scene within 20 minutes of the accident, at the time i think they were meant to allow you an hour to sort it yourself. I asked for a lane 1 closure to safely right the car before loading. They refused, telling me that the motorway was too busy so i would need to flip the car end over end on the hard shoulder. Spoke to my control room, who rang the police. They then came out and put in a temporary lane 1 for me, while the womble was flapping that it was too busy. I also remember driving past a broken down car between the m32 and m5 junctions of the m4, as i was on my way to south wales already loaded. Because I'm nice, and it wasnt my phone bill, i rang the highways to let them know that there was a broken down car on the hard shoulder which was currently signed as a running lane. I dropped in sout wales, and then as i was coming back over the bridge i got passed a job by one of the big clubs (aa i think, but could be wrong - it was a few years ago now) to pick up the car and take to a place of safety. When i pulled up on scene, the shoulder was still being signed as a running lane. While winching it on, a hato patrol drove past without stopping. Possibly on their way to another job, but at this point the car had been there for at least 90 minutes. Lifting the bed back up, it was struck by someones mirror who hadnt realised the lane was blocked and swerved out at the last second. And the most recent was in 2021, driving back from london in an 18 ton curtainsider, one of those crash cushion trucks that sits behind to offer protection while a car is waiting to be recovered, ran into a car stopped in the roadworks east of Reading. I had seen the car and moved out into lane 2. When the crash truck didnt appear to be slowing up, i dropped back to make sure he had plenty of space to pull out into. He only braked when he was almost on top of the car, and hit it doing nearly 50. The car driver was seriously injured - broken neck, fractured skull, bleed on the brain, plus minor injuries. The roadworks happening were for installing smart motorway infrastructure and all lane running. Had he been able to come to a stop on a shoulder, that would not have happened. I see roadworks as being no different to all lane running - there's nowhere safe to stop on either of them. About 2 months after that accident, i put in my notice. Can't see me going back to driving now. That crash still keeps me awake. I've written to several transport ministers over the years. I've provided them with the facts around well documented accidents and fatalities where the smart motorway was found to be at least partly the cause. The refuge areas should be long enough that assistance vehicles can get up a decent speed before merging back into traffic, but to do that would basically be putting a hard shoulder back Hopefully common sense will prevail and you won't have any action tsken against you for moving that van safely rather than letting the wombles play with their toys. Don't get me wrong though, there are some good hato out there. I think mainly they're retired traffic cops. Sadly they are in the minority though
I’m with you a 100% mate, if they do take it further, please do setup a go fund me as I will happily contribute to any costs! National highways are a disgrace
Thanks for the video. You’ve got nothing to apologise for. Smart motorways and national highways are a disgrace. They wanted to take the glory for towing it. Would they have paid for any damage to the gearbox after towing it? I think not. 🤔 I hope you fight this all the way. All the best, and keep the video's coming.
Get the mechanic report which says what was wrong with the car, and another person to explain why it can’t be towed, this is the strongest legal argument I can see after watching this. Good Luck. Use it as a way to explain the errors of national highways after asking media to attend the court.
After watching your videos, I am genuinely scared about breaking down now. Once before government agencies did have some sort of intelligence, now that has gone, lol
The words Safety and Process come to mind. You followed the right process and made safe choices for the motorway (due to the vehicles location), yourself and the passengers of the broken down vehicle, and National Highways. The NH officer was clearly by his choices inexperienced, and was resultantly risking everyone’s safety by choosing and enforcing the wrong processes. Unless NH pile in behind to incorrectly support their officer, anyone with a clear head on will dismiss this complaint instantly - certainly a judge in a court will!
Totally agree with your argument that we need to be safe on our roads and glad you’re standing up to show everyone how safe you are in the recovery industry. At least you were wearing a full Class 3 jacket with reflective bands covering your arms and it was zipped to the top like is the mandatory requirement
Did that guy have any education anywhere or was he just given a hiVis and a clipboard and pushed out onto the motorway to play? He didn’t have a SCOOBYdoo how to do anything. Disgraceful.
Can't believe the stupidity of some people. Safer to leave the the VW where it is while awaiting another vehicle then tow it a mile down the motorway?! That, apparently, is safer than you just loading it up and taking it away at that moment? Not to mention possibly dumping oil all over the carriageway from a seized/leaking gearbox. And these people are in charge of our safety! God help us.
4:30 ish onwards - why is billy bell end standing on the outside of the truck in a live lane on slip road if they’re concerned about safety? Not only that he then goes on to stand in the same position whilst taking his notebook out of his book, looking at it, whilst stood n the unsafest place possible. Can’t make it up.
"Massive shoutout to that incredible GBD van recovery driver! Not only did you prioritise the safety of your customers, but your attention to the mechanical well-being of the van was top-notch. Your professionalism and dedication truly made a difference, this video demonstrates you going above and beyond to ensure everything was handled with care and expertise! Honestly, With a little effort the police and National Highways could have been more accommodating and flexible in this situation. It's a shame they didn't offer more support, Like many, I have broken down on motorways and can emphasise with your customers. I have experienced the feeling of despair, desperation and lack of control. They were lucky to (and thankful) to have had you on their side!" Next time I break down I hope the recovery driver is as professional and diligent as you.
Give them a t v show plus ego this is what you get .as a H G V driver I see this every single day families at the road side absolutely terrified holding children and babies . There job is to help everyone and safely this is just disgusting behaviour.
looks like you helped a customer and they felt useless and didn't do their job , and they didn't comply with rules by not giving you the X for the lane , keep up the great work , have given you a like cos you deserve it .
Im torn on this one... it 100% is a live lane on the motorway regardless of it being a slip road its the very start of it and people will still be doing 60mph at that point if not 70. I do agree that you are right in terms of just recovering into on your truck quick and safer than towing it to a stupid bloody refuge area that are not fit for purpose
It is an exit slip road for Stafford services. The 1st lane of the motorway that the exit slip road enters immediately onto had been closed via gantry red X before the services. So if cars from services exit at 70mph and somehow fail to see the two Highway Officer cars at the end of the slip road then they can exit into an empty lane 1. The longer they wait there, the more cars go past them and the greater the risk of an accident. The risk would also increase, the closer they are to the live traffic. They currently have 1 lane and half an exit slip road separating them from the live lane 2. I do not see how waiting for a further highways vehicle to flat tow a vehicle that would apparently be difficult to flat tow at speed (presumably in or directly next to a live lane until the next recovery bay) would in anyway be safer than what GDB did. He got them onto the safest recovery vehicle in quickest time possible. If they were really worried, highways could have temporarily closed the Stafford services exit slip road.
Then you must work for highways if your torn on this one the truck is there ready to go why tow a van with a gearbox fault that could leak gearbox oil all over a LIVE lane for 1 mile? Makes no sense at all
It’s on a slip road which is not as busy as a live lane but deciding to tow a vehicle with a strap back onto a live lane when it’s got a transmission fault and could potentially dump its oil onto that live lane is a no brainer, it’s just sheer stupidity to even contemplate doing it and putting other motorists safety at risk
Don't the National Highways people know you shouldn't flat tow a vehicle with a transmission fault? I know that and I'm not a mechanic. The drive wheels have to be off the road and not turning as the bare minimum effort to prevent further damage. Also I noticed the van was leaking gearbox oil quite badly which would cause a further hazard to other road users if the van was allowed to be towed along a live lane. It would only take one driver to have to break slightly sharply for an accident to occur if they skidded on that transmission oil. I bet the Highways Authorities wouldn't accept the blame for that accident though even though the underlying cause would have been their fault if they allowed oil to leak along the motorway. You should be ok. Any judge worth his his salt would throw this case out of the courtroom and charge the highways people for obstructing you and putting you at risk. Accidents can be avoided with a little common sense. You were right to handle the situation the way you did for everones safety.
Think you were definitely in the right here, if it was my car with a tramission issue i would not have wnated it flat towed any distance let alone a mile to the ERA Just a thpougth if it had been towed by highways and caused further damamge would they have been liable, Also agree with getting this out to all sacil]al media and the local MPS, even the local TV stations You were doing the safest thing by picking it up from the exsit slip The vidie should show this if needed in courst as well
Hi Greg, I was the customer. I cannot fault the way you safely got me and my kids off the motorway! Thanks
@@rikcole6702 he did load you on a live slip road without waiting for a rolling block to be put on.
But I guess his time is money so forget the safety block if it’s going to slow down that profit
@@paulmeynell8866 with highways completing a fend off, what he did is safer than highways towing it to a refuge bay where he would have to join a live lane with no help from highways because they don’t stick around once they get a vehicle to a bay. Nothing to do with profit!
@@paulmeynell8866he loaded it with highways protecting the lane as they should have, he was making the scan safe sooner plus he wasn’t breathing another risk of towing a vehicle that has a transmission issue with a tow strap back onto a live lane where it could potentially dump its oil. People need to use some common sense and it’s sad to see Greg was the only one trying to
As you are the customer, let me ask you this if I may. Would you feel safer with what Greg did by getting you and your family quickly off that verge and on your way to the safety of the services, or waiting there longer to be towed to a refuge on the motorway by HWA? I am sure I know the answer, but it would good to hear it from you. I know which I prefer and it was what Greg did.
@@paulmeynell8866 Did you miss the part that mentions lane 1 had an X on it?
Do explain how it is safer for the Highways clown to tow that vehicle 1 mile up the road to a refuge area at a slower speed for the Highways guy to drop the car in a refuge bay and move on to his next job while a recovery truck has to turn up to that refuge bay to then go through the whole process to load the car onto the truck and then somehow rejoin a motorway with just divert arrows in place (given the new policy of no lane closure), Highways would no doubt switch that lane closure to a divert as soon as that car is in the recovery bay and the Highways clown is on his way.
But by all means please do qualify how it is safer to go that route than it is to stick car on back of truck with a lane closure already in place and that lane can be used for the recovery truck to get up to speed and rejoin the rest of the traffic at the same speed.
Fellow recovery operator here - totally got your back on this!! Highways are a total disgrace and as for that traffic cop, you say he was being civil etc , I don’t think so - he could have nipped that in the bud with words of advice to both sides , he did not need to report that for prosecution.
These guys clearly have no mechanical knowledge whatsoever. One full lift on the truck from its current position with them in a fend off position is far safer than flat towing it and re-lifting it. That road is extremely dangerous so get it done with as quickly as possible.
These HATOs really are becoming a joke
Make a formal complaint to National Highways about how this incident was dealt with. They have in car cameras, radio transmission logs and body cams - it will all come out in the wash. Do a subject access request for all of their video footage showing you and your vehicle now
Commenting to help push Lee-bn7wv 's message in the algorithm a bit. Yes do whatever Freedom Of Information request you're entitled to, and demand copies of ALL the video footage from ALL the vehicles and officers involved. And remember folks...if you are guilty of an offence, you need a lawyer. And if you are INNOCENT of an offence, you REALLY NEED a Lawyer !
Yes excellent advice !!! ;-)
Bump this comment so the op sees this
@@michaelyounes29 yes, good plan mate 👍👍
I know who I'd trust! Recovery guy with years of experience over highways agency guy who's been on a couple classroom/online courses!! Recovery guy was safe speedy & 100% correct!
That’s the problem when you give a clueless person a bit of power
Right on the money.!
He is probably quite limited in the decision and action he is allowed to take. If it deviates from his flowchart and instructions, that's it - obstruction!
The common sense and safety part on this bit must not be a decision he is allowed to make or experienced to make. Maybe this is a grade or position thing and he's not responsible enough.
So who did make the decision based on what he was saying, was what he said correct, also what process was used by the staff in the control room.
You're going to have quite a day with this one, they will discontinue the case and retrain staff. They also need to compensate you and pay your legal expenses.
real point is that he has no power , they are not the police.... if they post follow me in their window just ignore it. they do not have blue lights and no police powers.... no matter who tells you they do , they do not......
I don't know if they wear them but that's known as peaked cap syndrome.
That's literally everyone running this country presently
Highways England are a law until themselves. I’m a hgv driver and last year, they shut the M6 north at 17 because of a fatal accident, we eventually got into sandbach services where it was rammed with Lorrie’s and cars, I had to park up for the night on the outer through road and experienced a traffic officer running around telling us we couldn’t park there and was going to call the police……. But everybody there couldn’t go anywhere because of the road closure. Fast forward to one of the biggest female truck driver I’ve ever seen grab him by the collar and nearly smashing his face in because he was thinking he was well above his station. Highways England, you are not the police! You are official lollipop men and are there to keep other road users safe when they need you! You don’t rule the roads!!!
It’s the Police who request a full closure of a motorway in the event of a fatality to gather any potential evidence!
@@kevinduffy4233 When ever there is a road closure on a motorway it is reported to the Transport Minister, and a FULL detailed explanation for the closure must be given to the government and transport department as it impacts the economy. So full motorway closures I believe yes must come from the Police.
Wombles
Anything I can do to help please let me know. This is a lethal change by not using a red X.
I think a dedicated video or collaboration from your channel would be welcome, for the sake of spreading awareness of the problem. Also using your popularity and connection with local news media could be an option too.
I think solving this issue first starts with exposure.
Would love to see you do a ride along with gdb to show your viewers the danger of the smart motorways and bring some awareness on this issue. Love your videos and what you do for road safety.
Good to see your comment, Ashley.
Glad I sent you the video @ashley_neal, anything that helps get the message out there to road users can only be a good thing. It's a shocking state of affairs and road safety has been ditched by the pencil pushers.
Why on earth did the NH employee stand in such a vulnerable position - madness!
Just shared this on Twitter to National Highways questioning the competency of their risk assessors. What they were suggesting created completely unnecessary risk. Insane
‘Smart’ motorways and National Highways ‘Traffic Officers’ are responsible for more highway injuries/fatalities than prior to their existence. Both need to be immediately abolished ‘for our safety’. It’s disgusting…
EDIT: If you are charged with any version of obstruction please fight it and insist on a trial by jury and get the ruling on Public Record. That is how you will force the necessary changes. Good luck 👍🏻
Your brave giving you opinion with recent events! Joking a side. Well said
@@compspudI don't get the joke ?
He's breached a red X, entered a closed line... That's the first offence
Traffic officer has told him to do one, he's failed to leave. That's obstructing a traffic officer....
GDB thinks he's someone he's not... It's not even his company like he claims lol
@@user-fq8tt2tm6qObstructing a plastic policeman you mean...
@@user-fq8tt2tm6qI'm curious as to your source that it's not his company?
Flat towing a vehicle with a broken trans into a live lane, whilst dumping fluids, for at least a mile to an emergency area is just plain stupid. Where has common sense gone?
A freind of mine once said: "common sense is a f-ing superpower"
I'm sorry, "common sense" is on backorder due to supply chain shortages...
Nothing but obedient yes men/women these days not a brain cell between them.
Common sense vanished when instruction manuals took over
I think the most important point has been overlooked. Yes it was a gearbox fault and it looks like it was dumping gearbox oil. Were they really suggesting they spread that oil in to a live carriageway, across a slip road where hard braking may need to occur. This is madness, HATO’s are failed police. End of story.
As a motorcyclist, I endorse this comment.
I agree!
Agree, definitely don't want oil spread over the carriageway. Also apart from the oil leaking if the transmission has had a major failure, in some cases it can lead to the gear set locking up. It can stop you like you've hit a wall. Don't need to say the danger of that happening while towing it to the exit.
Said the same about HATOs being bullies who weren’t able to get into the police.
Because then they can claim the oil has ruined the road surface and it needs re tarmacking at the customers insurance expense boom nice new bit of motorway for free.
I'm a criminal lawyer, The police operate under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). PACE says that an investigating officer cannot make a decision on charge, it has to be a Sergeant or above with no involvement in the case, or (more usually) the CPS. This is to ensure that there is no bias in the decision of whether to charge or not. "You are being reported for the offence of" is the words they use to say "I've gathered information from both sides now, and I'm passing it to my Sergeant (or CPS) so that they can make a decision as to whether to charge."
To make the decision to charge, the evidence has to pass 2 tests, 1) would a jury reasonably instructed conclude that you had committed the offence? and 2 is it in the interests of the public purse to spend the money on a trial?
The offence of obstructing a highways officer would require that you "without lawful authority or excuse wilfully obstructed the reasonable instructions of an authorised Highways Officer"
There's a lot of defences in that! Was it without lawful authority or excuse? (You're licenced right?) Or excuse (the safety of *your* clients and/or the public)
Did you "wilfully disobey"? (He didn't seem to be giving much instruction
Were his instructions "reasonable"? - big one that! and was he "duly authorised" to give those instructions? Don't take that as read - I'd want to check his credentials. I'd say you have nothing to worry about.
Thank you for your comment, i do have some letters in the post in which i will publish an update very soon… thanks again.
Keep going bud
Question, beyond LGV licence inc Driver CPC annually, is there an additional licence or registration of recovery operators and vehicles ?
Limited intelligence and Authority do not mix.
Common sense isn't common
Aint that the truth...Looks like a deer in headlights at two tier starmer!
These clowns have NO AUTHORITY 😂😂😂
@@ckarodipolicethepolice2301
Their bosses do though. Thats the big problem.
@@tin2001 over them not us
They need to create something called a 'Hard Shoulder'. Thats a good concept and it works! That police car pulled in far too close in front of your HGV.
unfortunately, he didn't pull in "too close".
GDB had already shown he was not willing to follow instruction when he chose not to follow the cop into the lorry area. I know WHY GDB didn't but the cop would not know that. I am not saying if he was right to not follow him or not...
But to the cop he was an uncompliant stop. Parking so close prevents him jumping in the truck and driving off causing risk to others.
It was, in fact, the rare instance in that video of someone in "official" uniform showing concern for others 🤣
@@kieranbeecroft8414 The cop pulled in FAR TOO CLOSE when he overtook the recovery truck, well before he indicated that he wanted the breakdown truck to pull over.
I get so scared any time I drive on a "smart " motorway because they are so dangerous 😮 they're a failed experiment and should be stopped immediately!
It's not the "smart" part of the Smart Motorway that makes them dangerous and if rules were followed when it comes to them there would be no issue at all.
The real issues with them are the users (and the operators these days)
There are far to many clowns on the road that ignore signs and do as they damn well please.
Hard shoulder's are not even immune to the stupid on the roads as we have probably all seen clowns use them to overtake or skip traffic build ups etc.
The levels of stupid that is coming from Highways themselves is beyond ridiculous with ridiculous policy changes and patrol folk having bad takes on what is safer as seen in this video.
Smart Motorways never stood a chance when taking all this into consideration really.
@@Nodsterthank you for trying to defend them failures. You're just making the point of the OP.
It's going to take more than 1 incident where several people are killed before smart motorways are scrapped. They are so dangerous. It will take a family or highways or Police officer being wiped out before they even consider scrapping them. Then there will be a discussion / consultation period during which time another family gets wiped out, then it will take a couple of years for them to get funding, during another period where someone gets wiped off the face of the earth, then it will take another few years for them to do the work, during which time someone else gets wiped out. The economy and keeping the lorries moving is considered to be more important than preventing tragedies where people are wiped out in an instant due to smart motorways. It makes me so incredibly angry😢
@declanbrady5172 police officers have died many times on UK motorways & nothing changes... They're just a number & outside of their own friends/family, no-one cares about them 🤷🏽♂️
i refuse to use them. esp around Birmingham region, lower limits so trucks and cars allowed at same speed a 50 limit often that only 6mph less than top speed of a restricted truck but all traffic bunched up and countless times ive had trucks less ft of my rear bumper . its lethal. a 70 limit trucks at 56 but legally 60mph that 10mph difference you not hanging around a side of a truck for long but passing a truck at around 1mph difference the risk is much greater, the 10mph rule should apply to temp limits too it make things far more safe . going from 12 miles south Birmingham to llangollen north east wales less than 10 miles from the border i refuse to take motorway any more, old days i spent every weekend for around 20 years doing m6 m54 a5 it felt far safer but used smart motorway a number of times i though no its not safe and big crash is only matter of time. now i head south and then west for up to 2 hours up to crossgates a46,a44 think a470 i head west up to crossgates and head north a different way each time and only when im level with barmouth/bala/corwen then i head east to it a huge C on the map but a 3 hour boring motorway drive and deadly and loads stress or 6-8 hour drive through center of wales and few mountain passes a fun stress free drive even in mid winter. since i did my first trip through wales i enjoyed the drive so much ive not used m6 since id rather have a fun enjoyable full day drive than use that and amazing views along the way
Disgusting behaviour from those that are supposed to help. You keep doing such a great job
They lose points every time they apply a red X. Its all a ruse to manipulate the figures to prove smart motorways are working, & not a multi billion ££ scam
This was my instinct. As soon as you are two levels above the grunts on the ground, the bullshit dominates over actual operational needs.
Yeh but it should be about safety safety safety NOT box ticking targets and looking good in board meetings
Possibly worse than that.
If there are enough deaths on motorways it'll be easier to force regulations onto us, plus they're already planning on autonomous vehicles using our motorways (it will start on smart motorways) . It's smoke and mirrors, like all politics are now!
Oh FFS... Really? It's down to that?
As an ordinary road user, I'd rather have a lane closed for 2-3 minutes than have the whole damn road closed because their refusal to close the road caused a big pile up.
I was wondering if a red X counted against their performance figures.
As a motorist of 38 years (thats gone by quick!) I remember so called "Smart" motorways being politically pushed through to much criticism. They were not considered "Smart" back then and are plainly bloody dangerous now. Its bad enough driving through them, I pray to God I never breakdown in one.
Fight the good fight Greg, morally you are absolutely right and if I were on the Jury i'd be finding in your favour. Trouble is, the lunatics now run the asylum.
I never use lane 1 on a smart motorway because I don't trust the idiots running them to activate the matrix to warn me of obstacles. Like you I have been driving safely for many years(over 40)
Feels like the police want to make more TV series than actually take their job serious.
Wrong people. Traffic Officers are National Highways, they don't have much, if any, legal powers. They're not the police, they're a different, more useless government department.
The police officer dealt with it with the info he was given he shouldn't have been called in the 1st place
@@barrie5852 100% agree it's wasting there time when there could be terrorist running about and this is what happens. That's shocking from Strafford Police
Can't blame the police for this, they were responding to a call given to them
Thanks for making and showing us this video. I am a terrified user of these ‘no hard shoulder’ UK roads. Glad you have proved how they are NOT making the safety correct.
Contact your local MP. Get them involved because it's stupid what highway's are doing.
Great idea
Depends on the MP, mine is as usless as these officers.
Ashley Neal has done a video, better than a useless MP
In reality it's the Highways officer that should be in court - for negligence. Towing a car with a gearbox problem from a 'relatively' safe area on a motorway services exit slip ONTO a motorway on a towrope, into a fully live lane and then for a mile into a refuge - not forgetting that the driver of the towed vehicle (no disrespect to him) may not have a lot of experience of being towed on a strap - is a much riskier proposition than getting it onto a towtruck where it is and making a safe and efficient recovery using the correct equipment. This is clearly a case of that Highways officer being butthurt because someone refused his ridiculous orders. The police officer should have also quashed this at the roadside and told the highways officer to pick up his toys and behave.
How you came up with this conclusion is beyond me ! You don't know what instructions had been given to the Highways Officer.
@@Lexie74746 Irrespective of whatever instructions he was given, there is no way that towing a car on a strap onto a live motorway is safer than recovering it from the location it was in. Notwithstanding it had a gearbox issue. How did they know that said problem wasnt going to cause the gearbox to lock up, possibly causing the driver to lose control.
@@Lexie74746 I thought under the current UK motorway regulations that any tow on a motorway has to be with a bar as a strap tow is nt longer lawful, if that is the case then the womble should be reminded that his job is to womble about and deal with breakdowns without putting people at un necessary risk by issuing an unlawful command?
Maybe the officer was 'on the take' from the other team?
Every time you see it… it looks more stupid! The highways officer needs his head checking and highways need to look at this video and get a grip!
They should watch videos of recovery operations in the USA, with various agencies working together superbly.
He's obviously a DEI hire!
Tthey need to get rid of idiots.
This is what happens when you get NH traffic officers that are employed that are not suitable for the job, tick boxes ticked perhaps. YOU were in the right, protecting customers and yourself. Great video mate.
That highways guy is a wannabe cop who clearly has chip on a shoulder. He clearly is drunk with his own power. He has no mechanical knowledge. As a qualified motor vehicle engineer and MOT tester and ex VW technician I will explain that on the VW T5 they have a fault in which the gearbox can lock up. Towing it with a strap down the motorway is not sensible or safe. If there is no other option then fair enough but you have a vehicle capable of getting the vehicle and the family off the road safely. The highway guy needs retraining or needs to find a new career.
Expert witness in court? 😆
@@bretty453 I wish we could post memes in comments it would be cartman say respect my authority 😂😂.
Absolutely spot in with the potential locking up. Something your 100% do not want to happen, that is why you don't tow these with gearbox issues. But of course, try explaining that to NHA.
Honestly should have just let the guy go ahead and fail. Then it would be the highways guy in hot water right now.
Towing it with a locked gearbox would probably end up blending the contents, causing more damage, am I right? Or risk having the driven wheels lock up even though it's in neutral?
This will be laughed out of court. Well done for just getting on with your job and not causing a scene like the highways officer.
Get a good lawyer GDB there going to try there best and stop you doing motorway jobs 100% get in touch with theblackbelt barrister
I commented on blackbelts latest video asking him to contact you and a brief of highways think it's something he would love to make a video on also help you in how to get it heard
Or Nick Freeman
Yep that could spread to other hard working OP operatives and soon H/way agencies + Traffic rozzers totally knackered in RTA's if they can't get willing OPs to do the recovery; going to grind the motorway network down to horse and cart speeds
@@ucliping He doesn't do traffic law. Better Nick Freeman or similar.
@emsservices6090 just because he don't show traffic law don't mean he don't know traffic law or some top boy who do that would love to take highways on
Totally agree with you National Highways need to be investigated, not just for their extremely dangerous decisions with implementing smart motorways but also their ridiculous policies about unnecessary road closures (every day miles of motorways and A roads are closed yet nobody can be found doing anything)
The biggest danger on our motorways are the highways agency and smart motorways. No common sense, an absolute mess.
From what I see, it’s the drivers that are the biggest danger and those are the ones who crash, on the phone, texting, crossing solid white lines, tailgating, speeding, hogging the middle lane, not speeding up when joining the motorway, unroadworthy cars, fog lights on in the rain, rear fog lights on and tailgating at 90, but hey, if you think an agency that was closed 9 years ago is the problem then you’re clearly smarter than me.
As a former HATO I see no point in making a job harder when you are on scene with the equipment 🤦🏻
I hope you get a good outcome whatever happens mate. Highways England are ridiculous. ‘Smart’ motorways cause nothing but issues. If that was still 3 lanes with a hard shoulder. You could have just turned up and recovered the van no issue whatsoever. Absolute jobsworths mate. You did the right thing, by using common sense.
14 years as a traffic officer and been out 2 years. Message me if you like and I am MORE than happy to point out where they fell woefully short.
We have lost enough people on smart motorways due to incompetence & no red X & the want to tow a vehicle with a gearbox issue spilling oil all over the motorway, then have to close the motorway to get another team out to clean oil they would have spilled, are these people stupid, never worked out on the roads recovering vehicles, it's scary & the quicker the vehicle is moved safely the better. You were 100% correct.
Also real possibility of the VW gearbox seizing up completely - if it was towed as well putting the HA wombles at danger and the family + other road users at extreme dangers
Top man Greg you are a people's person it's a pity they cannot do their job like you
top job mate. Great service and care for the customer. Know who to ring if i ever find myself stuck
Never trust a Police Officer, never,.
Agreed I have learnt that the hard way.
100% film the police for your proof. just the same as your video of the incident can be used to prove your point
I don't trust them to the point, when they ask me for my name, I tell them "I don't have to provide you with my name unless I'm under suspicion". In relation to Article 8. I know they try to trick you to giving your name to them where then they will alter there story and then use your name in it.
Well said never will sadly.
Jobsworth ............in a " job creation role " with a shiny ikkle outfit
What’s the point of having smart motorways if they won’t use the smart features. No wonder people have been killed on these death traps!
The big problem is that drivers either don't know what the smart motorway signs mean( most have no idea that a red X is an instruction) or don't think it applies to them.
@@barrie5852 that’s true, there are always idiots not following the rules. I always thought if you drove through an X, the camera above the lane would get your licence plate and fine you.
Those new rescue lay bays are too short, too far apart to be safe and lot of drivers are fearful of driving on these Smart M/ways especially if there's a chance of breaking down
I am a traffic management designer. This policy is nuts!! It's widely known the HATO's are really inexperienced and poorly trained in the opinions of everyone that has to work with them or use their services. The calibre of staff and the training they receive needs to drastically improve.
MONEY GREED POCKETS WITH MP NAME ON IT
good take them to court highways are so bad dont care about people lifes
Lives*
I would be speaking to my local MP mine helped massively with an issue I had with the Ministry of defence. .
Certainly can’t do any harm he can raise your concerns in parliament
Love the channel
I believe the Royal society for the prevention of accidents might be a good port of call to start with
What? The people that don't see the harm in councils fitting big roadside TV screens to play videos of adverts to drivers just near roundabouts, traffic lights and junctions to distract them, but objected tp farmers having adverts on HGVs that were visible from motorways?
Good luck with them. The TV screens have caused so many crashes. Profit comes first.
In a local city centre we have a big advert screen playing videos around 30ft from a yellow box junction and traffic lights. There is now a yellow box camera fitted as people get distracted and notice the advert before a faded yellow box painted on the road.
@@OH2023-cj9ifthat would be an issue with the council who grants planning for roadside billboards, no? Can't see how Rospa are responsible for their actions
RoSPA are the biggest arsoles in the country
Greg. I share your frustration with National Highways agency jobsworths.
I was stationary at a roundabout waiting for the traffic to clear when an highways agency traffic officer drove into the back of me at 30mph in his marked Mitsibushi 4x4 causing £12k of damage then me being put in an ambulance after my splitting my eye open. Had it all on dash cam. The next day I was back at work. The traffic officer had a month off with stress and had to undergo retraining and be a passenger for a further month. They're a complete waste of public funding and don't get me started on lane closures after minor accident or breakdowns and putting up signs for the sake of it. Complete jobsworths and nothing they do makes sense. Just subscribed. Good luck with the case.
I can’t see where there was a problem why risk everyone’s lives towing a vehicle when you can just lift it and be on your way those motorways are so dangerous and the highways agency aren’t worth a hoot
Props to you standing up for the madness.
It's shocking the way you are being treated but we All know that motorways are anything but smart and your approach to safety is exemplary. It's a shame that NH don't work to the same high standards
You are a life saver. Keep up the good work
So they were going to take the vehicle from a safe-ish place to a dangerous place then allow you to recover it from there and then ✌️ upto you when you ask for a lane closure to exit the emergency bay, those emergency bays aren't very long anyway so they would have to tow the vehicle in then detach then he would have to leave the bay so you could get Infront of that Transporter so you could get it on the back and no doubt once you were there they would have both gone and told you to use the phone when your going to leave, I watched him on TV last night what a jobs worth he was, I would have loved to have watched them tow the vehicle and either the gearbox lock up so it locks both front wheels or the internals decide to escape from the casing and flood the carriageway with gear oil, then they would have to put a live lane closure on for hours and hours until they cleaned it all up.
Would they have paid for any further damage done to the gearbox?
Hi Greg get a decent solicitor I ended up with a criminal record for obstructing an officer for just walking away from a situation 40 years ago.
Common sense clearly isn’t common in highways. Seeing the time Police spent on this infuriates me. He could’ve tackled 100 x lane hoggers in that time. Keep up the work!
Spot on !!!
National Highways and traffic police are the worst of the worst!
The police are bad enough but these really do take the piss! Don’t even follow the laws they are meant to be enforcing!
The law enforcement in this country is disgraceful!
Officer cut you up for no reason at all, then only at the last minute when you went into lane 2 did he put his lights on causing potential hazard on a fast moving motorway! Could have done that in lane 1!
Great vid & just a crazy story that you documented and told well - NH really need to take a good look at themselves with their policies that make no sense and actually place people in danger. Well done for doing what you do.
What the hell do they know about recovery...too many people with clipboards and no clue about what there talking about. I worked in recovery for over 25 years and I'd have done exactly the same thing.
If it ends up in court, show that video of the recovery. In the time waiting for their 2nd 4x4, without going outside the width of their existing 4x4 parked behind you, and removed the vehicle. Surely removing the casualty vehicle before they even managed to get their 2nd vehicle there increased safety.
The sensible approach from you Greg Vs the wrong approach from them. Just one thing if they had towed it and damaged the gearbox further and the customer could prove this then there is a legal claim going their way. Keep doing a great a sensible job mate!❤
HA likely to wiggle free from that, plus they can hire top notch legal; don't expect the right right outcome (Law is an Ar$en ) from a civil or legal case.
Is it even legal to tow without a rigid bar? You done the right thing by the customer. 👍
there little mini-ME's, like police controlled traffic warden's (if there still such a thing?) , get all perks, complete ignoring most the high code like what's going happy arrest=them-self's ?
Yes.On the motorway cant tow with unbraked bar
100% right u cant use a rope and your not allowed two flat toe on motorway as well why they think it safe two take it off a slip road tow it line one two refugee it silly highway are cow boy failed police officer and the like
@@rockabillypreformancerc1639doesn't need to be braked, you can use a straight bar but are limited to 20mph and must stay on the hard shoulder until the next clear exit! If it's a smart motorway it's to the next exit OR refuge area.
@@thomaswilliams2232you can flat tow, I use an A frame to tow the other halfs car when we go away for a break. For breakdowns you have to use a straight bar & are limited to 20mph and either stick to the hard shoulder until the next exit or for smart motorways you need an escort to the next exit slip road or refuge area. Your right about the rope though that's completely illegal!
I was always told it’s illegal to tow on a motorway so why would they expect to do it😵💫
Hi Mate, could you join forces with Ashley Neal. And between you both get the message out that National Highways are literally risking people's lives.
That's a good suggestion - Ashley Neal may well be interested in this specific case & all the Highways failings.
@@415voltsye Ashley has commented on his vid it would spread the word even wider
How on earth is towi g a vehicle safer that putting it on a flat bed? Especially when the vehicle has a transmission issue.
Worlds gone bloody mad
Get it in the papers.
You should look at taking legal action against the highway guy and national highways
The guy has gone out his way to make false reports to the police. Sure, your customers will back you up
Saying national highways you do know they are council employees so take the council to court obvs the council in charge of the bit he was on
@davidedwards1786 no, they are National Highways - nothing to do with councils 🤦🏾♂️🤣
Good to see the highways officer standing in as a human cone… in the sandwich area behind your flatbed. Unbelievable!
He needs re-training for his own safety!
You know his training better than him? I am sure his vehicle was parked a few yards behind the recovery truck
@@Lexie74746 Exactly - stood in the zone where he would be sandwich between the recovery truck and his vehicle if there were to be a collision. No one is trained to do such unsafe things. Search on TH-cam for Fatal Truck vs Car crashes if you think what he did was fine because he had his vehicle parked behind him.
Absolutely correct you cannot tow a vehicle with another vehicle with a damaged gearbox
National Highways traffic officers do not have any powers of arrest, or to search, issue fixed penalties or report for summons for any motoring offence.
You were operating in a dangerous situation and the highways people wanted to make it even more dangerous - their actions throw common sense out of the window..
Correct but they were risking other motorists safety by wanting to tow that vehicle with a transmission issue back onto a live lane, could you image the outcome if it dumped its transmission oil onto the live lane? Just incredible
@@knight2425 Also a real dangerous possibility total Lock up of gear box; examples of how dangerous this is; granted this was F1 and car was driving over 100 mph but any total seizure of Gearbox in motion (towed in this example by HA - if they got their way) is extremely dangerous th-cam.com/video/HwA3mlL_Q_Q/w-d-xo.html
@@dafyddthomas7299This is the point most are missing, the real risk is the gearbox seizing whilst being towed - a drive shaft shearing off/falling out and windmilling around could easily tear off a brake pipe or damage steering components - could easily cause a loss of control condition.
@@dafyddthomas7299And that video link you provided is a computer game, not real life 😂
But your point remains valid.
@@deezelfairy Spot on here; the Wombles un/fortunately in charge and they overide anyone else; hence cop shop was called with from their point of view Official instructions not followed and Possible Truck Op taking the broken car without official permission; even though Truck OP had owner of the VW permission.
Many say we live in a crazy world sometimes and seems like the Bureaucratic Wombles including the Traffic Wombles are in charge of us day to day.
Great video. thanks. If they got another firm to come out, after you were already on the job, I wonder if there's a dodgy arrangement. where the N/H favour the other firm?
Why is he standing in the road? Looks dangerous. Also thinking about it someone must have put pressure on the policeman to come back and sat you are getting a ticket for it
They're highways and are invincible
Because he's the one that legally can 😂 unlike GDB
Did OP get a ticket ? or is it possibly going to go to court for a heavy punishment and charge ?
I'm just a member of the public. But this is absolutely nuts. It makes no sense. Wishing you the best of luck and I'll subscribe to see if there are any updates.
That refusal to close lane one for you was utterly ridiculous. The ability to improve safety in situations like yours was supposed to be one of the benefits.
Well done greg, I don't think I would have been so calm as you pal
Greg, you need to fight them and win for all of our safety! Been watching for a good amount of time to know you do it by the book, and as safely as possible the fact that the National Highways are willing to risk lives is incredible to me.
Just discovered the channel. God knows how you do this job mate must be so many frustrating situations and all whilst you place yourself in harms way on a daily basis. Stay safe 👍🏻
Speechless. You put your life at risk to help those in need, and you get a total jobsworth. The look on that Traffic Officer's face when you filmed him. Says it all really. Good on you and good luck with it bud.
DEI hire
Because highways get to control traffic the power has gone to there head ..... If they cause an accident over this i bet they would try blame you for it .. get rid of them and employ for police for the motorway, they would do a better job.
Fake traffic police..
@@jaygo8442 Most of them are literally just police rejects. People who for one reason or another couldn't make it in to the police.
There are, like with most government departments, a few good ones who do it for the right reasons of course. But as this video proves, there's a good amount who don't do it for the right reasons.
I have literally seen them nearly cause an accident by putting the red X’s on in totally the wrong place for a stranded vehicle. Red X’s for a few miles, then lane 1 was reopened, HGV’s moved back over, and then the HGV’s were nearly crashing into the stranded vehicle a mile later.
@Perseus7567 actually, most HATOs are ex/retired police officers...
@@Perseus7567 perhaps you should give it a try. I know plenty of highways people an police as well, for the most part, highly experienced and know their shit - if you dont like what they do, simples, stay off the motorways
Hi I’ve just subscribed love your work that man standing in lane one crazy 🤪 glad you walked away on other video
The Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP should be contacted for starters
= Secretary of State for Transport
She's Labour and will protect any public service worker regardless.
The coming years will see more jobsworth following procedures blindly just to justify their jobs- that's the only thing this "officer" had in mind.
Common sense and safety aren't important to this type of people.
Well done mate, great job, this is what happens when the highway agency employ ex store market workers who don’t know the front to rear of vehicles and dangers of live traffic on the motorway.
If they take you to cort, I'd sue them for waste your time... some absolutely muppets, them traffic officers think there actually police officers!!! 😂 cracking video mate.
I was a recovery driver for the best part of 10 years. The hato and the smart motorways were the main things that pushed me to driving "proper" lorries instead.
I went to a single vehicle rollover on the m4 near Swindon, at the time it was just a regular motorway (it might still be, i havent been that way for quite a while now) the casualty vehicle had been dragged on its roof onto the shoulder. They got arsey with me as they had requested their own recovery of the vehicle, not allowing any time for the customers' own recovery to sort it first. I was on scene within 20 minutes of the accident, at the time i think they were meant to allow you an hour to sort it yourself. I asked for a lane 1 closure to safely right the car before loading. They refused, telling me that the motorway was too busy so i would need to flip the car end over end on the hard shoulder. Spoke to my control room, who rang the police. They then came out and put in a temporary lane 1 for me, while the womble was flapping that it was too busy.
I also remember driving past a broken down car between the m32 and m5 junctions of the m4, as i was on my way to south wales already loaded. Because I'm nice, and it wasnt my phone bill, i rang the highways to let them know that there was a broken down car on the hard shoulder which was currently signed as a running lane. I dropped in sout wales, and then as i was coming back over the bridge i got passed a job by one of the big clubs (aa i think, but could be wrong - it was a few years ago now) to pick up the car and take to a place of safety. When i pulled up on scene, the shoulder was still being signed as a running lane. While winching it on, a hato patrol drove past without stopping. Possibly on their way to another job, but at this point the car had been there for at least 90 minutes. Lifting the bed back up, it was struck by someones mirror who hadnt realised the lane was blocked and swerved out at the last second.
And the most recent was in 2021, driving back from london in an 18 ton curtainsider, one of those crash cushion trucks that sits behind to offer protection while a car is waiting to be recovered, ran into a car stopped in the roadworks east of Reading. I had seen the car and moved out into lane 2. When the crash truck didnt appear to be slowing up, i dropped back to make sure he had plenty of space to pull out into. He only braked when he was almost on top of the car, and hit it doing nearly 50. The car driver was seriously injured - broken neck, fractured skull, bleed on the brain, plus minor injuries. The roadworks happening were for installing smart motorway infrastructure and all lane running. Had he been able to come to a stop on a shoulder, that would not have happened. I see roadworks as being no different to all lane running - there's nowhere safe to stop on either of them.
About 2 months after that accident, i put in my notice. Can't see me going back to driving now. That crash still keeps me awake.
I've written to several transport ministers over the years. I've provided them with the facts around well documented accidents and fatalities where the smart motorway was found to be at least partly the cause.
The refuge areas should be long enough that assistance vehicles can get up a decent speed before merging back into traffic, but to do that would basically be putting a hard shoulder back
Hopefully common sense will prevail and you won't have any action tsken against you for moving that van safely rather than letting the wombles play with their toys.
Don't get me wrong though, there are some good hato out there. I think mainly they're retired traffic cops. Sadly they are in the minority though
Huge thanks for the comment, really appreciate it. GDB
Mate National highways is disgusting. "Obstructing a traffic officer" We need to take action about this
I’m with you a 100% mate, if they do take it further, please do setup a go fund me as I will happily contribute to any costs! National highways are a disgrace
Thanks for the video. You’ve got nothing to apologise for. Smart motorways and national highways are a disgrace. They wanted to take the glory for towing it. Would they have paid for any damage to the gearbox after towing it? I think not. 🤔 I hope you fight this all the way. All the best, and keep the video's coming.
Get the mechanic report which says what was wrong with the car, and another person to explain why it can’t be towed, this is the strongest legal argument I can see after watching this. Good Luck. Use it as a way to explain the errors of national highways after asking media to attend the court.
with you all the way gregg the highway officer is out of line good on you gregg keep up the grteat work
After watching your videos, I am genuinely scared about breaking down now. Once before government agencies did have some sort of intelligence, now that has gone, lol
The words Safety and Process come to mind. You followed the right process and made safe choices for the motorway (due to the vehicles location), yourself and the passengers of the broken down vehicle, and National Highways. The NH officer was clearly by his choices inexperienced, and was resultantly risking everyone’s safety by choosing and enforcing the wrong processes. Unless NH pile in behind to incorrectly support their officer, anyone with a clear head on will dismiss this complaint instantly - certainly a judge in a court will!
Totally agree with your argument that we need to be safe on our roads and glad you’re standing up to show everyone how safe you are in the recovery industry. At least you were wearing a full Class 3 jacket with reflective bands covering your arms and it was zipped to the top like is the mandatory requirement
Another waste of public money in their lovely brand new vehicles
Did that guy have any education anywhere or was he just given a hiVis and a clipboard and pushed out onto the motorway to play? He didn’t have a SCOOBYdoo how to do anything. Disgraceful.
Funny enough they are making the recovery areas longer on m25 as its too hard & not safe to pull out of them
Can't believe the stupidity of some people. Safer to leave the the VW where it is while awaiting another vehicle then tow it a mile down the motorway?! That, apparently, is safer than you just loading it up and taking it away at that moment? Not to mention possibly dumping oil all over the carriageway from a seized/leaking gearbox. And these people are in charge of our safety! God help us.
4:30 ish onwards - why is billy bell end standing on the outside of the truck in a live lane on slip road if they’re concerned about safety?
Not only that he then goes on to stand in the same position whilst taking his notebook out of his book, looking at it, whilst stood n the unsafest place possible. Can’t make it up.
I thought the same when watching it.
at one point he's got his back to the traffic a complete mon no naughty boy
"Massive shoutout to that incredible GBD van recovery driver! Not only did you prioritise the safety of your customers, but your attention to the mechanical well-being of the van was top-notch. Your professionalism and dedication truly made a difference, this video demonstrates you going above and beyond to ensure everything was handled with care and expertise! Honestly, With a little effort the police and National Highways could have been more accommodating and flexible in this situation. It's a shame they didn't offer more support,
Like many, I have broken down on motorways and can emphasise with your customers. I have experienced the feeling of despair, desperation and lack of control. They were lucky to (and thankful) to have had you on their side!"
Next time I break down I hope the recovery driver is as professional and diligent as you.
We never had these issues when we had 3 lane motorways with hard shoulders ?
Give them a t v show plus ego this is what you get .as a H G V driver I see this every single day families at the road side absolutely terrified holding children and babies . There job is to help everyone and safely this is just disgusting behaviour.
Put back our hardshoulder
looks like you helped a customer and they felt useless and didn't do their job , and they didn't comply with rules by not giving you the X for the lane , keep up the great work , have given you a like cos you deserve it .
get a petition on the go they may change their mind and if it goes to court I think the judge will just throw it out
Was going to say the same thing he would get well over 100,000 signatures to get it considered for debate in parliament
This was an eye opener. Disgusting from National Highways.
Traffic officer was butt hurt! 😂😂😂😂
Greg will be butt hurt when he stops working on the motorway 😂😂😂 this guy is a joke
I'm totally on your side you done a professional job recovering that van highways agencies need to get their act together.
Im torn on this one... it 100% is a live lane on the motorway regardless of it being a slip road its the very start of it and people will still be doing 60mph at that point if not 70.
I do agree that you are right in terms of just recovering into on your truck quick and safer than towing it to a stupid bloody refuge area that are not fit for purpose
Verge of slip road
It is an exit slip road for Stafford services. The 1st lane of the motorway that the exit slip road enters immediately onto had been closed via gantry red X before the services. So if cars from services exit at 70mph and somehow fail to see the two Highway Officer cars at the end of the slip road then they can exit into an empty lane 1.
The longer they wait there, the more cars go past them and the greater the risk of an accident.
The risk would also increase, the closer they are to the live traffic. They currently have 1 lane and half an exit slip road separating them from the live lane 2.
I do not see how waiting for a further highways vehicle to flat tow a vehicle that would apparently be difficult to flat tow at speed (presumably in or directly next to a live lane until the next recovery bay) would in anyway be safer than what GDB did. He got them onto the safest recovery vehicle in quickest time possible.
If they were really worried, highways could have temporarily closed the Stafford services exit slip road.
Then you must work for highways if your torn on this one the truck is there ready to go why tow a van with a gearbox fault that could leak gearbox oil all over a LIVE lane for 1 mile? Makes no sense at all
It’s on a slip road which is not as busy as a live lane but deciding to tow a vehicle with a strap back onto a live lane when it’s got a transmission fault and could potentially dump its oil onto that live lane is a no brainer, it’s just sheer stupidity to even contemplate doing it and putting other motorists safety at risk
@knight2425 I agreed with the part about not towing it.
Don't the National Highways people know you shouldn't flat tow a vehicle with a transmission fault? I know that and I'm not a mechanic. The drive wheels have to be off the road and not turning as the bare minimum effort to prevent further damage. Also I noticed the van was leaking gearbox oil quite badly which would cause a further hazard to other road users if the van was allowed to be towed along a live lane. It would only take one driver to have to break slightly sharply for an accident to occur if they skidded on that transmission oil. I bet the Highways Authorities wouldn't accept the blame for that accident though even though the underlying cause would have been their fault if they allowed oil to leak along the motorway.
You should be ok. Any judge worth his his salt would throw this case out of the courtroom and charge the highways people for obstructing you and putting you at risk.
Accidents can be avoided with a little common sense.
You were right to handle the situation the way you did for everones safety.
Think you were definitely in the right here, if it was my car with a tramission issue i would not have wnated it flat towed any distance let alone a mile to the ERA Just a thpougth if it had been towed by highways and caused further damamge would they have been liable, Also agree with getting this out to all sacil]al media and the local MPS, even the local TV stations You were doing the safest thing by picking it up from the exsit slip The vidie should show this if needed in courst as well