Horrific Motorway Crash

[Tony Morcom]

7 confirmed dead and at least 40 injured, some with "life changing injuries". That is the result of last nights horrific crash in thick fog just down the road from us in Somerset. Traffic chaos is still going on now as the motorway remains closed until at least tomorrow. Crash barriers are down and the road needs resurfacing after the fireball that literally burnt some of the vehicles to road level. The following is one of the most graphic eye witness reports of this terrible incident that will have affected many people's lives permanently. My thoughts and prayers are for all those who were involved directly or who have family members who were.

BBC

[Keith at Tregenna]

Only have buttons for thank and like:

Pos, should add gutted:

Sad for all concerned and the many affected.

K.

[Chris Allman]

Just shows how quickly this type of thing can happen and how one has little chance of survival if caught in the middle of it all. My thoughts are with the families of those that have lost their lives and those whose lives have been changed forever.

Chris.

[happy daze john in oz]

Report on the radio here in Oz said the cause was from smoke generated by Guy Fawkes bonfires adding to the fog. The images shown here make it look horrific by any standards.

[Tony Morcom]

It seems that the police are determined to blame someone. The eye witness highlighted in my earlier post was on the news last night and he says that it was definitely fog. There is a river passing under the motorway in that vicinity and I've seen early morning fog banks at that point. I did wonder whether may be it was a stray rocket that had come down, hit a vehicle and startled the driver. Maybe we will never know. Frighteningwhat ever and just goes to prove you never know when your time is up!

[alf corbyn]

hi tony. i have passed that way many times and the river does cause mist at times. it s an unfortunate thing but most times in these pile ups only one or two are responsible(not on purpose) but the concertina effect is caused by following traffic not being able to stop in time.jack-knifing artics are another problem. i have always thought that commercial and private vehicles should have thier own lanes or even thier own motorways. alf

[Roger Dyer]

Like most of us I watched in horror the T.V. coverage of this latest example of road carnage. As Chris has said, it is an unwelcome reminder of how quickly disasters such as this can occur. We can barely begin to understand the intense pain and shock most of the deceased would have endured prior to death, although, hopefully, it was fleeting. Others who were severely injured but survived may have to carry the resulting injury, mental as well as physical, for the rest of their lives. Added to that, there is the grief and pain that must now be borne by the loved ones of those victims of this awful event.

As John (Happy Daze) informs us, there is much speculation that Guy Fawkes celebrations may well prove to be a major factor in the cause of the 'accident'. I can tell you now that regardless of what the investigating authorities determine as the cause(s) of this road accident, in truth, one of the major factors will be the world-wide common fault of motorists who drive far too close to the vehicle in front, regardless of the road and weather conditions prevailing at any given time. It is the most common cause of collisions in Australia, the second major factor being speed. This I'm sure would apply throughout the developed world.

To illustrate the point I make may I tell you this. If say, a vehicle is travelling at 20 m.p.h. it is, in fact, travelling at approximately 30 feet per.second. Now, assuming the driver of that vehicle has reasonably good reflexes and is required to stop in an emergency, it will take about .5 of a second before he starts to depress the brake pedal by which time he has travelled a minimum of 15 feet before any effective braking takes place. These distances apply to a vehicle travelling at 20 m.p.h. Obviously if that same vehicle is travelling at 40 m.p.h these distances are doubled. How many of us allow a minimum distance of 30 thirty feet when travelling behind another vehicle at 40 m.p.h.? Far too few I would suggest. Media speculation thus far has suggested that the vehicles involved in this accident may have been travelling at 60 m.p.h. If subsequent investigation of this event indicates such speculation to be accurate then, clearly, those poor souls never stood a chance.

If by my post I come across as my usual 'smarta--e', then I apologise, however, following my time at sea I was a policeman in the Sydney (Australia) Metropolitan Area for over 33 years, during which time I attended hundreds of motor vehicle collisions (I'm loathe to call them accidents) too many of which were multiple fatalities. Thankfully, I was never once called upon to attend anything quite as horrific as what I witnessed on my T.V. screen last night. If my telling you this, gives some of you cause to think next time you are driving behind another vehicle, then I've no reason to regret this posting.


........................sincere regards, Roger.

[Gulliver]

Like most of us I watched in horror the T.V. coverage of this latest example of road carnage....

As John (Happy Daze) informs us, there is much speculation that Guy Fawkes celebrations may well prove to be a major factor in the cause of the 'accident'. I can tell you now that regardless of what the investigating authorities determine as the cause(s) of this road accident, in truth, one of the major factors will be the world-wide common fault of motorists who drive far too close to the vehicle in front, regardless of the road and weather conditions prevailing at any given time. It is the most common cause of collisions in Australia, the second major factor being speed. This I'm sure would apply throughout the developed world.

Avery interesting post as usual ,Roger, from your ex-policeman’s viewpoint.
And I’ve quoted an important part of it.

I totally agree.

There has been much written in the press and on the web about this horrific incident ,and one particular recurring thing is evident to me…These days,people are too prone to looking for someone or something to blame.It is NEVER their own fault.
Granted in this case the smoke from the rugby club bonfire and fireworks display may have drifted and lingered over the motorway ,and the club could be at fault for staging the venue too close to the motorway..but that does NOT absolve the motorists from driving too fast and too close(happens all the time,we know) then slamming on the brakes because they’ve left it too late,or being distracted by loud music in their vehicle ,or on the phone illegally or distracted by other things.
Everyone has a DUTY OF CARE to other road users,as well as the ones in your own vehicle, and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for your actions.


HGV drivers,much as I respect them professionally,-they used to be called Knights of the Road-should also take a close look at themselves- too often on the motorway we see the’bully-boy’ tactics (deliberately or otherwise) )they employ against other motorists-why do they think there are so many rear-end shunts involving HGV’s and private cars on the motorways….invariably fatal for the car occupants. Many Hard-Shoulder fatalities are caused by HGV’s drifting out of lane…..a traffic policeman in his patrol vehicle with all signs flashing was ploughed into three weeks ago by an articulated lorry which did just that.The PC had stopped to assist a woman who had broken down on the hard shoulder..He was killed in front of her…how distressing is that for the woman,his colleagues and his family?


Cars thankfully are built safer today and have undoubtedly saved many lives,but they also instill a sense of well-being and invincibility in the driver…until something like this happens.
I would say again to Road Users… think of not WHAT or WHOM to blame, without first looking much closer to home.
TAKE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY.

Gulliver

[Jacyn Wade]

Very well put, Roger and Gulliver. I couldn't agree more. All too often news reporters say things like, "weather was a factor". Please!!! Having a license to drive is a privilege, not a right, and as such is to be taken very seriously. Speed, following too closely and distracted drivers are the causes of collisions (like you, Roger, I loathe the word 'accident'). If one knows how to drive properly, there is no excuse for a collision, no matter what the weather conditions.

Yes, I do feel sad for the families who lost loved ones; however, every accident is preventable. Some people will never learn this.

[Chris Allman]

I think also that there is another factor which, without appearing to be racist in any way whatsoever, needs pointing out.

There is a high proportion of foreign drivers on our motorways and roads today, not only as lorry drivers but also as car drivers. Many of the foreign car drivers do not hold any form of qualification nor hold any insurance and as published recently, cant understand many of our road signs. There is also the fact that many come from countries were speed limits hardly apply.

The foreign lorry drivers are not always as qualified as they should be and fluent in English either and are under pressure to complete their journeys as quickly as possible. This pressure encourages speeding and bad driving so that deliveries can be met and ferries etc caught.

Whilst there were apparently no indications that this particular accident was caused by any foreign drivers nor that any were involved in the accident, I still feel that there ought to be more control over foreign drivers driving on roads here, especially their understanding of our road signs and Highway Code.

I am not holding my breath though.

Chris.