Life patrolling M6 from abuse and stray cows to why lanes have to be shut
Whether it’s a broken down car, a collision, or stray animals there is always something happening on the M6. And keeping the motorway moving isn’t just a job for the emergency services – it is for the patrol officers with National Highways too.
It’s undoubtedly a tough gig with the M6 just last year being named among the worst roads in the UK. StokeonTrentLive reported[1] how delivery drivers rated various key routes with the motorway in North Staffordshire making the top five list of shame.
A common sight is the blue, yellow and orange chequered cars belonging to National Highways officers which will be up and down the stretch dealing with minor to extremely serious incidents. But just what’s it like patrolling the M6 on a daily basis.
READ: Birmingham Airport ‘absolute chaos’ sees Staffordshire family-of-five lose out on £2k holiday | The Staffordshire dad claims he was one of 51 passengers affected[2]
READ: No surprise Stoke-on-Trent makes UK congestion list of shame | The Potteries is in the top 10 for its traffic problems[3]
Well National Highways officer Sian Plant has lifted the lid on what it’s like – and told BirminghamLive[4] there have been some obscure incidents to handle along with abuse from drivers. This is what Sian had to say:
‘You can’t park there’
From people who decide last minute to come off at a junction and flip their car to people who so regularly run out of petrol they keep a Jerry can in their boot, and even cows falling out of lorries, Sian has seen it all.
Sian, 26, said: “Some people just don’t realise what job we actually do. We don’t put a lane closure out unless we really have to. To make it safe for other motorists.”
“A couple of days ago on the M5 closure [there were] quite a few diversions and quite a few angry motorists. They were calling us names out the window, clapping their horns, we only shut it because we had to.”
(Image: CMPG)
“At the end of the day we are just doing our jobs, I get that it is frustrating but we only close things if we have to.” And she revealed the most common form of abuse is a four-word hit from angry drivers.
“The main one that we get is ‘you can’t park there!'”
“We do get called bad names they just shout anything and everything.” And shockingly, Sian has been subject to sexist slurs on a number of occasions.
‘I do get cat-called’
“I do get cat-called I just ignore it, people will get out and shout abuse they are frustrated because they have been sat there for a while. It is usually the people further back who can’t see what’s going on.”
The latest figures from action group Think Respect says 60 per cent of all roadworkers and other people working on the public highway get daily abuse. In 2023 a total of 2307 reported being either verbally or physically abused whilst at work out on the public highway.
Incidents included being threatened with a gun, a knife and a machete attack. Sian explained that often the abuse will come from drivers further down from an incident who have seen the very end of the clean up operation once it is on the side of the road and not at its most critical moment.
She also explained why a whole motorway closure is necessary: “If [the crash] is in lane three, to get it moved across to the hard shoulder we have to move it across the whole carriageway.”
“Obviously it can be unsafe for motorists to get across it but a lot don’t understand.” A typical day for Sian, who has worked as an officer for two years, starts with checking the car and all the kit.
She then gets out on patrol and to “strategic locations” on the M6 where they can deploy easily. What was the first thing she noticed when she started her role?
‘We got the initial call of the cow in carriageway’
“I did not realise how bad the driving standard could be” replied Sian. She also explained the unbelievable moment a call came in to crews last August that cows had fallen out of an HGV on the M6, sparking chaos.
“A couple of cows that had fallen out of an HGV. A cow got dropped at junction 8 and further down at junction 10. We got the initial call of the cow in carriageway, we thought no it can’t be.”
Cattle on the M6 (Image: No credit)
“For any animals on the network, we have to close both sides of the carriageway. The cow job was not one we were expecting.”
Sian explained it was actually the police who managed to find someone on the motorway with an empty trailer who helped herd the cows up.
One of the more basic yet surprising issues she encounters is people who have run out of fuel in the middle of the motorway. “There are quite a few instances where we have gone and it’s not their first time that [running out of petrol] has happened to them,” she said.
Sian patrols the region’s network with a partner in shifts, and her advice to anyone using the motorway is simple: “You need to be prepared”
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References
- ^ StokeonTrentLive reported (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Birmingham Airport ‘absolute chaos’ sees Staffordshire family-of-five lose out on £2k holiday | The Staffordshire dad claims he was one of 51 passengers affected (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ No surprise Stoke-on-Trent makes UK congestion list of shame | The Potteries is in the top 10 for its traffic problems (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ told BirminghamLive (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Sign up to our main daily newsletter here and get all the latest news straight to your inbox for FREE (data.reachplc.com)