Posted By Crim “ Any vehicle stopping on the highway for works purposes or inspections should be of a conspicuous colour yellow or white ….” Brian, I hate to say this but your answer is in the question. Why don't you just get the right colour vehicles?

Posted By chris edwards Hi Chapter 8 will tell you all you need to know, however having travelled the road system in England quite a lot it seems most contractors do what they want or what they can get away with

Posted By chris edwards Hi They properly don't know themselves, it seems that it is all open to interpretation

Posted By Ron Harris Brian, I'm having a problem understanding this too. I think that the key word is 'inspection'. I interpret this as short duration inspection stops on the hard shoulder when risks are particularly high, which nobody will deny. Working within closures with TM protection reduces the risks. I am researching this and other issues at the moment and will get back to you. I'll monitor this discussion point.

Posted By Brian John Abbs Brian Chapter 8 is the minimum requirement (see section 5 in respect of vehicles) Assuming you are referring to cars..... You will need a yellow or white vehicle that can get up to 60mph very quickly (I can't remember the exact spec). Twin bar beacon visible through 360 degrees. Red and yellow hi viz chevrons or alternatively the entire rear panel of orange hi vis. Yellow highway maintenance sticker. If the vehicle is involved in TM work it will need a red stripe down each side of the vehicle. Rear facing parts of door panels (the part with the door lock catchment) also have to have red hi vis/retroreflective stickers. Vehicles also have to display company livery. Chevrons, Highway maintenance sign, company logo can be purchased fairly cheaply on magnetic plastic and can be removed at the end of the shift. These wont work on plastic cars (Espace/Scenic anyone?) The new Ch8 came into force on 01/07/06. We had been briefing contractors about the changes long in advance and most were prepared. However, supervision of any new control is going to be tested by contractors, so one or two did try it on. How shocked they were when they were told to leave site. Some companies have up to two years to comply, due to the size of their fleets and size of the vehicles. I'm talking about the likes of blacktop pavers and aggregate wagons, not Ford Focus or Astravans. Brian

Posted By Ciaran McAleenan Brian The specification referred to above is for vehicles involved in the setting out and maintenance of temporary traffic management. I don't know where the red stripe or the 0-60 mph in X seconds is coming from. I am not aware of this being in the vehicle specification or any part of Chapter 8. In the circumstances you describe it seems that the beacon and the highway/ motorway maintenance sign would suffice, if you are just using the vehicles to get to and enter the work zone or for short duration stops on the hard shoulder. Make sure your drivers are aware of the dangers and the personal safety precautions they need to take. If you will cause a slowing down of stoppage in live traffic then additional requirements are needed. Have a read of Chapter 8 (Operations) Section O5 "General Vehicle Issues", which is available for download from the DfT website; http://www.dft.gov.uk/pg...nual/chapter8/?version=1 If the link doesn't work use the search facility on their homepage. Best wishes Ciaran