What does HATO stand for? 

hato

National Highways traffic officers, previously Highways Agency traffic officer (HATO), are employees of National Highways.In April 2004, Highways Agency traffic officers began working alongside police on motorways in the West Midlands. The national roll-out of traffic officers was completed on 18 July 2006, and they now cover all of the motorway network within England, i.e. that which is owned or managed by National Highways, and some of the all-purpose trunk road (APTR) network. On 1 April 2015 the Highways Agency became Highways England, a government-owned company. On 19 August 2021, Highways England was renamed to National Highways, however the company only manages roads in England. Traffic operations play a significant role in achieving National Highways's three imperatives of safety, customer service and delivery. Traffic officers help to keep the roads moving and road users safe. They provide customer service every day of the year and assist with the delivery of schemes and projects, providing key services such as rolling road block. This is achieved through the planning and delivery of operational services, the function undertaken by on-road traffic officers, the management of the network from National Highways's control centres, the services National Highways supplies to the public, and its national incident liaison role. This aim is underpinned by legislative and regulatory requirements, the Network Operations Partnership Agreement and the National Guidance Framework agreed with the National Police Chiefs' Council.

see more »