HATOs could get powers to seize your motorcycle

Highways Agency Traffic Officers introduced to assist police could get the powers to seize your motorcycle under new proposals.

Officers will be given the same powers as police officers to remove broken down or abandoned vehicles from the roadside to a secure compound, and the Secretary of State will have the power to store the vehicles removed by HATOs and recover costs from the vehicle’s owner, or destroy the vehicle.

Derek Turner, the Highways Agency’s Director of Traffic Operations, said: “Giving Traffic Officers the power to arrange the removal of vehicles which are abandoned or are causing an obstruction or danger to other drivers on the network was always planned. These powers, which would apply at all but the most serious police−led incidents, are an extension of the work they are already doing around the clock to improve safety on our motorways. However, we are keen to hear what everyone else thinks.”

The consultation can be viewed online at www.highways.gov.uk/VehicleRecoveryConsultation