Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and if you’re a motorist in distress on a metro Atlanta highway, your hero is just a phone call away. Dialing 511 puts you on the fast track toward getting the assistance you need from a Georgia Department of Transportation Highway Emergency Response Operator.
“HERO has been a tremendously successful program for the Department since its inception over 20 years ago,” said GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale.
What started with about a dozen operators has grown to a staff of nearly 100 dedicated professionals trained to deal with everything from changing a flat tire to putting an overturned vehicle back on its wheels. We see GDOT HERO unit operators like Chris Canady and John Sibley do their work from 700 feet above the highways in the News 95.5 & AM 750 WSB SkyCopter every morning. Down on ground level it can be dangerous duty.
“You never know what’s about to happen. They said you can plan for anything at HERO,” said Sibley. “You plan for the worst case scenario.”
Canady concurs, “You have to have your head on a swivel. Your situational awareness has got to be perfect at that given time just to be able to respond and react.”
In the past six years two HERO operators, Spencer Pass and Moses King, lost their lives while on duty. Canady and Sibley have had close calls.
“In April I had traffic stopped and one motorist who didn’t want to wait, tried to pass me and hit my truck,” said Sibley. Both men urge motorists to slow down and move over when you see a HERO unit with caution lights flashing on the side of the roadway.
“When I’m changing a tire give me enough respect to slow down,” said Canady who adds, “As much as they probably want to make it home to their loved at the end of the day, so do we.”
Given the dangers, one may wonder why would anyone take up this line of work. First, there’s the unpredictability that comes with every shift.
“I had a tractor trailer loaded with cows overturn and the cows got out. That was my first major incident by myself,” said Sibley.
There’s also the sense of satisfaction of simply being able to lend a helping hand when all hope seems lost.
“I’ve walked up to many, many motorists that have just been in tears because no one would let them over,” said Canady who arrives with lights and sirens like a knight in shining armor to steer a breakdown safely to the shoulder.
As metro Atlanta’s roadways expand, HEROs will as well.
“Continued growth of the program is expected,” said Dale who points to the unit’s additional responsibilities in managing and reversing the I-75 Express Lanes in Henry County as well as managing and operating the northwest corridor Express Lanes when they open next year.
For Canady (HERO Operator 445) and Sibley (HERO Operator 533) along with their colleagues there’s no slowing down their efforts to keep metro Atlanta motorists moving and if it just means a simple pat on the back, that’s O.K. too.
“The rewarding thing for me is getting someone on their way,” said Sibley. “It’s the satisfaction of waving as they drive off. That’s what I enjoy the most.”
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