Highway Emergency Response Operators
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The Highway Emergency Response Operators program is a freeway service patrol operated in metro Atlanta, USA by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). It is a part of GDOT's Office of Traffic Operations. Both the program and the individual vehicles are typically referred to by the acronym HERO. The program began in Atlanta prior to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and has since been expanded in association with GDOT's Georgia Navigator Intelligent Transportation System program.
HERO's primary purpose is to minimize traffic congestion by clearing damaged or disabled vehicles from the roadway lanes or hard shoulder and providing traffic control at any incident. HERO thus places somewhat less emphasis on assisting stranded motorists than other freeway service patrols, such as West Virginia's Courtesy Patrol. In addition to their normal duties in metro Atlanta, HEROs have been deployed in the past to assist with traffic control at the The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia and along Interstates 75 and 16 during hurricane evacuations.
HERO truck operators are GDOT employees, distinguishing the program from freeway service patrols in other states, such as California, which are operated under contract by private tow truck companies. The HERO day is split into four shifts - Alpha (morning), Beta (afternoon), Charlie (weekend) and Delta (overnight). The program operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Typically, HEROs work between 55,000 and 60,000 incidents per year.
The HERO UNIT travels on the interstates and assists with highway emergencies. They can change a flat tire, charge a battery, bring gas, etc. The service is free.
The telephone number for the HERO unit in Metro Atlanta is (404) 635-8000, or *368 on a mobile phone.
[edit] Future expansion plans
As part of Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue's Fast Forward Congestion Relief program, the HERO program is being expanded. At the end of 2005, there were 48 HERO drivers; plans call for 86 by the end of 2008. This expansion will add several new routes to the HERO coverage area. There are no current plans to expand the HERO program to any other metropolitan areas in Georgia.
