Roadside recovery training for smart motorways launched by Highways England

Recovery operator training course to help roadside technicians work safely on smart motorways

Roadside recovery training for smart motorways launched by Highways England
Image: Bigstock.

The first training course of its kind for the recovery industry, the smart motorways awareness for the roadside rescue and recovery industry course has been designed to provide practical, relevant training to identify safe working practices when attending breakdowns or collisions on the smart motorway network.

The eight hour, single-day course will train recovery vehicle operators to formulate a recovery plan upon evaluating the safe working practices when attending breakdowns or collisions on the smart motorway network.

The course explains that recovery operators are not expected to recover a vehicle in a live lane on a smart motorway.

Highways England can close lanes and set speed limits to support recovery operators by setting signs and signals.

It can also allocate traffic officers or call on police resource to ensure recovery vehicle operators’ safety.

Related: Roads Minister announces ‘evidence review’ of red lights for recovery operators

A key aspect of the course is that it fits seamlessly with the driver certificate of professional competence (Driver CPC), which is the standard qualification all professional bus, coach and lorry drivers, as well as recovery operatives, must hold.

The course contributes to the 35 hours of training that accredited drivers must complete every five years.

Colin Stevenson, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Highways England said: “The course has been developed specifically for roadside rescue and recovery drivers who use the motorway network and has been designed to aid practical, relevant training.

“Those completing the course will have a better understanding of the different types of smart motorways and how to formulate a recovery plan incorporating safe working practices when dealing with incidents on smart motorways.”

Related: Breakdowns 216% more dangerous on smart motorways, Highways England data shows

Mick Puleston, vice president of the Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators (AVRO) said: “AVRO believes that training is key to providing staff with the work skills required to provide a professional image to the industry and applaud Highways England for embracing the recovery industry by introducing a training package specific to our work on the strategic road network which will be endorsed for the Driver CPC.”

Highways England will have a stand at the Recovery Tow Show 2019 in Telford on the 25 and 26 September to speak to the wider recover industry about the new recovery vehicle smart motorway course.

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