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136 
P ROAD NETWORK
Page 12
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Highways Agency takes on straps, snow and smashes
By David Harris REMOVING dangerous debris dropped by trucks on the UK's motorways was one of the many jobs performed by Highways Agency traffic officers in the past year, the HA's latest report reveals.
Often the debris was no more than ratchet straps, but at one point last year, the situation became so bad in the East Midlands that officers mounted a campaign to ask drivers to secure their straps properly ('HA tells hauliers to tighten up on ratchet straps', CM 14 August 2008).
The agency says that during one two-month period its officers picked up a "mountain of lorry ratchet straps from motorways in the region". Hauliers face a fine of up £5,000 under the Road Traffic Act 1998 if the manner in which their load is secured means there's a danger of injury to any person.
The HA says that on average its staff attend an incident on England's motorways every two minutes, amounting to 281.000 between 1 December 2007 and 30 November 2008.
Routine incidents include managing traffic, clearing up after collisions and checking on the welfare of anybody who has broken down.
on Christmas Day, there were 550 HA traffic officers patrolling the motorways. to Even Bad weather causes the biggest increase in the traffic officers' workload, including events such as the heavy snowfall in Cumbria and Durham in February.
Along with many trucks helped during their period of bad weather, the agency's staff rescued 40 pensioners whose coach was stuck in snow.
Derek Turner, the HA's director of traffic operations, says 2008 was a successful year and adds that 2009 "promises to be an exciting year when the service will take on the responsibility of new powers to remove and dispose of broken-down and abandoned vehicles".