The 'Today's Job' thread

[Mogman]

Bit of lifting

Slotted this beam into a loft space

Then hoisted a mast into place

Never a dull moment we my jobs

 

[William127]

How about you pull your finger out and do the job your paid to do...keep traffic flowing come what may. P*ssed off tax payer

Driving home today dual carriageway coned off to a single lane. Got a bit further up, could see a police car and a pick up truck lit up like Christmas tree's inside the cones, no sign of the actual issue. Bit further up another police pick up, again lit up like Christmas, 5 or 6 plods all stood about chatting and laughing.
Eventually got round the 2nd pick up to see an older audi A3 broken down in the outside lane! Not crashed, not pulled over, no missing wheels, just broken down. 3 patrols, 2 of which were more than capable of dragging it out the road, even if all 4 wheels were locked, just standing around like human cones

A couple of weeks ago I towed a broken down Defender (no really, I'm not lying) towing a tracked chipper/plant trailer from the same bit of road half a mile to the petrol station. Didn't know the guy, I wasn't in a hurry and getting him out of harms way/clearing the road was a 5 minute task. When did breakdowns become a police matter??🫣

 

[DaveDCB]

Problem is alot of modern cars you can’t just tow them anymore, they simply dont freewheel if they are dead. Not saying they wont move but if they did the police would be liable for damages…

 

[William127]

Problem is alot of modern cars you can’t just tow them anymore, they simply dont freewheel if they are dead. Not saying they wont move but if they did the police would be liable for damages…

Definitely an issue but I've always believed that part of the 'agreement' of being a driver should be an accepting that certain actions may have to be taken after a breakdown/accident that you might not like....
Some of the massive amounts of various tax motorists pay could be used to insure against the costs.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

Definitely an issue but I've always believed that part of the 'agreement' of being a driver should be an accepting that certain actions may have to be taken after a breakdown/accident that you might not like....
Some of the massive amounts of various tax motorists pay could be used to insure against the costs.

I agree - the possible damage to one person’s car shouldn’t outweigh the inconvenience and consequential loss to potentially thousands of other road users.
Get the road reopened pronto, whatever is leading to its closure/restriction.

 

[Lancs Lad]

I agree - the possible damage to one person’s car shouldn’t outweigh the inconvenience and consequential loss to potentially thousands of other road users.
Get the road reopened pronto, whatever is leading to its closure/restriction.

100% how about forcing car manufacturers to make it simple to move their dead piles of crap. Surely can't be that hard. A lever or something under the bonnet or whatever that disengages drive etc. such an absolute faff in a lot now.

In the meantime recovery companies are creaming it...and who pays? Us in insurance rises

 

[Maxus]

A quick google:

• Per Minute Metric: For hyper-congested arteries like the M62 Pennine stretch, police and highway officials estimate the economic hit at £1 million per minute while fully closed.
• Per Lane / Small Scale: Government data indicates that even a minor multi-lane closure on a busy commuter stretch can cost £135,360 for a 2-hour delay, scaling past £1.48 million if three lanes are blocked for 4 hours.

And that's just the economic cost. The car should be removed irrespective of possible damage and the insurance company should cover it [ edit* damage to car during removal] if a genuine breakdown (as opposes to running out of fuel or something daft). The police should be getting it moved ASAP by any means at their disposal.

 

[Lancs Lad]

A quick google:

• Per Minute Metric: For hyper-congested arteries like the M62 Pennine stretch, police and highway officials estimate the economic hit at £1 million per minute while fully closed.
• Per Lane / Small Scale: Government data indicates that even a minor multi-lane closure on a busy commuter stretch can cost £135,360 for a 2-hour delay, scaling past £1.48 million if three lanes are blocked for 4 hours.

And that's just the economic cost. The car should be removed irrespective of possible damage and the insurance company should cover it if a genuine breakdown (as opposes to running out of fuel or something daft). The police should be getting it moved ASAP by any means at their disposal.

If it was a private company what would you do?

Target the traffic officers ...some kind of cash bonus for how quick they can clear it. They would soon come up with a plan. Rather than stood about chatting. And really bad stuff that drags a close out for hours have a few mobile pillow trucks ready to protect the scene and get them lanes open. Must be a better way.

As usual public sector they get paid whatever the outcome ...sorry but that's the reality no incentive to move faster from my observations on the road a lot.

 

[William127]

If it was a private company what would you do?

Target the traffic officers ...some kind of cash bonus for how quick they can clear it. They would soon come up with a plan. Rather than stood about chatting. And really bad stuff that drags a close out for hours have a few mobile pillow trucks ready to protect the scene and get them lanes open. Must be a better way.

As usual public sector they get paid whatever the outcome ...sorry but that's the reality no incentive to move faster from my observations on the road a lot.

My uncle has been a Traffic Officer since they became a thing about 25 years ago.
Back then they were very proactive and given the right kit- range rovers, discoverys and land cruisers. Policy was they could tow up to 7.5 ton to get it off the road, but they'd do more if they thought it made sense. He once towed a beer lorry up a slip road with a land cruiser
I used to get bundles of straps and shackles from him- they had to go for testing if they'd been used, which cost more than a new one, so they went in the skip.

 

[Maxus]

If it was a private company what would you do?

Target the traffic officers ...some kind of cash bonus for how quick they can clear it. They would soon come up with a plan. Rather than stood about chatting. And really bad stuff that drags a close out for hours have a few mobile pillow trucks ready to protect the scene and get them lanes open. Must be a better way.

As usual public sector they get paid whatever the outcome ...sorry but that's the reality no incentive to move faster from my observations on the road a lot.

If its million pounds a minute, you could justify using a helicopter to lift out the way!

There's no doubt there's some bureaucrat somewhere that prevents them from pushing the vehicle out the road, otherwise I dare say they would, surely they are not that lazy and incompetent? Perhaps just cutting red tape is the answer?

 

[6feetdown]

If its million pounds a minute, you could justify using a helicopter to lift out the way!

There's no doubt there's some bureaucrat somewhere that prevents them from pushing the vehicle out the road, otherwise I dare say they would, surely they are not that lazy and incompetent? Perhaps just cutting red tape is the answer?

On the m4 I think last year at St julians pitch they did actually tow 1 with their discovery up onto the hard shoulder which I was surprised at luckily I was about 4 cars back so only lost a few minutes