M5 CRASH

[DILLIGAFF]

Condolences to the families of those who dies or were injured but, I see there is to be an inquiry into the causes.
No doubt this will keep plenty of pen pushers gainfully employed for at least a year at HUGE expense to the taxpayer.


Well I can save them all the time and expense.
The likely announcement of the causes will be...........


1.  Driving inappropriately for the prevailing road conditions.
2.  Driving too close to the vehicles in front
3.  Looking at the fireworks and not the road ahead
4.  Over reaction to sudden, but foreseeable, smoke from bonfires reducing visibility.
5.  Generally poor driving ability, possibly compounded by the lack of training before the driving test.


I also wonder if it will be discovered that any of the drivers were unlicensed or uninsured?


I also accept that it was a tragedy and that some of those involved may have been unavoidably caught up in the mayhem.

[Captain Haddock]

I'm sure it can't help the families involved to have a long drawn out inquiry just to find the bleeding obvious, life is dangerous and no amount of finger pointing will bring anyone back or heal anyone of injuries.
My sympathies go out to all involved.

[oldmotherfoccer]

are they going to prosecute the man who recorded it on his mobile phone while driving past on the other carriageway ??? he was the driver not a passenger, and with an accident like that its a wonder he did not start another one on the other carriageway

[richfzs]

I had wondered about that too OMF. The extent of rubbernecking in this country, and the amount of secondary accidents caused, I find staggering.

Was heading south on the M3 a couple of weekends back, there was a smash on the northbound carriageway, 3/4 cars involved, plenty of blue lights, so obviously the southbound traffic had to slow down to a crawl, just to make sure everybody got a good view. Bloody idiots.

[Fazerider]

I don't understand why the UK practical driving test doesn't include things like motorway and night time driving.
Unless such things are tested how can anyone be sure training is of a good enough standard?

[goldfazer]

There's a possibility that the local rugby club's firework display caused a lot of smoke on the mway, coupled with the poor conditions.

The Mrs drove down earlier that afternoon, said she couldn't see sometimes the rain was so heavy, but people still speeding past her.

[richfzs]

couldn't see sometimes the rain was so heavy, but people still speeding past her.

That's standard practice on m-ways in this country these days. To quote myself from earlier, bloody idiots.

[Grahamm]

Well I can save them all the time and expense.
The likely announcement of the causes will be...........

1.  Driving inappropriately for the prevailing road conditions.
2.  Driving too close to the vehicles in front
3.  Looking at the fireworks and not the road ahead
4.  Over reaction to sudden, but foreseeable, smoke from bonfires reducing visibility.
5.  Generally poor driving ability, possibly compounded by the lack of training before the driving test.

Yep, exactly my thoughts.

Having experienced idiots blasting past me at 70-80mph on the M27 which was socked in with fog at 2am whilst I was doing 40mph in Lane 1 and visibility was down to less than 100 feet, this sort of thing doesn't surprise me

[Tori]

No one was looking at fireworks. The fog was so thick they couldn't see anything. I think it's unfair to speculate.

[BIG MAC]

I am with Tori on this..it's being investigated and there's people hurting. That GF's wife passed by earlier in the day tells us how much of a 'There but for the grace of your deity of choice' situation....best left I fear

[DILLIGAFF]

As an example of rubbernecking, I was leaving the M25 at jct 10 recently which is an "up" sliproad.
Adjacent to the sliproad on the motorway hard shoulder was a police car.
The guy in front of me going up the slip actually STOPPED HALF WAY UP FOR A GOOD LOOK!!!!!

He soon moved when I blasted him and the police looked up and mouthed a few comments at him.

At times like that I wish I was driving a Hummer with one of those snow plough attachments on the front.

[jon]

... and there you have it. Thats whats wrong with drivers today. The police "mouthed a few comments at him". Well, that told him, bet he wont do that again. 


Why did they not pull him over and issue points and a fine?


Dont get me wrong, the last thing I want is a draconian police force that pulls you up over every little thing, but theres a huge difference between, say, having a tinted visor in the sunshine, and stopping on a motorway to look at an accident.


Accidents happen, its only natural, we arent machines and no amount of safety measures will ever erradicate human error, but some of the sights you see on the road these days are truly shocking. Just the other day I was in a queue of traffic waiting to go around a roundabout coming off the A14, 3 cars in front of me, the 1st 2 pulled away and got on to the roundabout, and the dozy bint in front of me (with 2 kids in her zafira - dark blue AY54 something-or-other) drove carefully around the RIGHT of the yellow 'keep left' bollard, and went round the big roundabout the wrong way!!!!


If I had been on the bike I would have given chase and had a word but traffic was heavy and I was in the cage.