Under the provisions of Part 1 of the Traffic Management Act (2004), Highways Agency Traffic Officers have the power to stop and direct traffic and pedestrians. This is the same power as a police constable has under sections 35, 37 and 163(1) and (2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Traffic Officers do not have an enforcement role and therefore do not stop vehicles for speeding. This responsibility remains with the police. Traffic Officers have a general instruction to report acts of a criminal nature to their control office for reporting to the police for possible prosecution. This is in line with their procedures for identifying when an incident should be police led.