Worst thing youve seen on a Motorway?
Discussion
Ive reversed up many a Motorway in a dire Emergency. However, i would not do so at 50mph.
Any lapse of concentration and you wouldnt be able to react fast enough to stop yourself going into the live carriageway.
Before anyone says its tooooooo dangerous for BiB to reverse on the M1.........sometimes it is a case of Life/Death and its both necessary and justifiable.
Any lapse of concentration and you wouldnt be able to react fast enough to stop yourself going into the live carriageway.
Before anyone says its tooooooo dangerous for BiB to reverse on the M1.........sometimes it is a case of Life/Death and its both necessary and justifiable.
I was joining the start of the M1 once, following a Granada (pre-scorpio model). Obviously his bonnet (1) wasn't properly secured because once the airflow got under it, it flew up at a hell of a rate.
It bent itself around the shape of the windscreen and roof like a piece of wet paper.
(1) And before anybody says it, I'm talking about the cover of the engine and not this chaps unfortunate choice of headgear!!
It bent itself around the shape of the windscreen and roof like a piece of wet paper.
(1) And before anybody says it, I'm talking about the cover of the engine and not this chaps unfortunate choice of headgear!!
M6 southbound just north of Birmingham about 15 years ago. I was in the second lane and flew past a Capri 2.8i stationary in the first lane with the driver standing on the carriageway leaning through his window chatting to his passenger 
I watched in my mirror as a pre-speed-limited artic clearly applied everything he had in the brakes department, said driver tore off the carriageway and up the embankment as if his life depended upon it (it did), and the Capri explode in a huge fan of glass which must have flown 40 feet into the air. The Capri went up the bank and the artic skidded sharply right into the central reservation. I saw the trailer shake presumably as a car hit it on the other side
I concluded there was going to be plenty of help the other side of the truck and carried on but phoned my local police station to make a statement because I had clearly been a prime witness.
I watched in my mirror as a pre-speed-limited artic clearly applied everything he had in the brakes department, said driver tore off the carriageway and up the embankment as if his life depended upon it (it did), and the Capri explode in a huge fan of glass which must have flown 40 feet into the air. The Capri went up the bank and the artic skidded sharply right into the central reservation. I saw the trailer shake presumably as a car hit it on the other side
I concluded there was going to be plenty of help the other side of the truck and carried on but phoned my local police station to make a statement because I had clearly been a prime witness.
My worst Mway moment was passing a couple of trucks on the sweeping left hander which is the entry slip onto the M58 at Skelmersdale to be confronted by a dizzy bint in a Polo coming down the sli[p road from the motorway in my lane. I stopped and the look she gave me as she had to drive on the grass on my right hand side, (her left)to get round me was priceless.
She had obviously missed her exit, and then must have handbraked the car around the left hand hairpin that is the motorway entrance to come back down to the roundabout.
Could have been very nasty if I was as competent driver as her!!!
She had obviously missed her exit, and then must have handbraked the car around the left hand hairpin that is the motorway entrance to come back down to the roundabout.
Could have been very nasty if I was as competent driver as her!!!
Almost a year ago - 11:45AM - lovely sunny day - a guy was following me on a single-carriageway A road. I was doing exactly 50 MPH with a 4x4 in front of me. Guy behind weaving in and out, and clipping the kerb - I was thinking he was drunk or falling asleep it was that bad.
After he took the car up to a foot in the air driving over a kerb he then missed my rear off-side bumper by millimeteres (VERY literally) then drove head-on into a car coming in the opposite direction, immediately next to me.
Looked absolutely horrific, but very fortunately all were ok - turns out that alledgedly he was a diabetic and had a seizure/fit.
After he took the car up to a foot in the air driving over a kerb he then missed my rear off-side bumper by millimeteres (VERY literally) then drove head-on into a car coming in the opposite direction, immediately next to me.
Looked absolutely horrific, but very fortunately all were ok - turns out that alledgedly he was a diabetic and had a seizure/fit.
Didn't see this, but my parents knew one of the people involved.
and it wasn't on a motorway either. sorry
single carriageway B road, long line of cars following a tractor. Motorcyclist overtaking line of cars at speed, and has to pull in behind tractor because of an oncoming car rounding bend. at the same time tractor slows right down to turn into a field.
The mudguard of the tractor punched straight through the mortorbikers visor, leaving him hanging there.
Parents friend (tractor) didn't drive for a couple of months after that.
and it wasn't on a motorway either. sorry
single carriageway B road, long line of cars following a tractor. Motorcyclist overtaking line of cars at speed, and has to pull in behind tractor because of an oncoming car rounding bend. at the same time tractor slows right down to turn into a field.
The mudguard of the tractor punched straight through the mortorbikers visor, leaving him hanging there.
Parents friend (tractor) didn't drive for a couple of months after that.
Driving round the M25 one evening going anti-clockwise between Reigate Hill and Godstone at a speed which may have been slightly in excess of the speed limit. At that time that section was not lit and I was on dipped headlights and in the middle lane. Suddenly I realise there is some guy in front of me doing a minimal speed, because he has no lights on, so cant see where he is going. As hge had no lights on I couldn;t see him either!
Result was I swerved to avoid him and paid a visit to the central reservation. Car stopped in the centre lane, but restarted to drive on to the Hard Shoulder.
I walk to the emergency phone and call police. Start walking back to the car and see approaching Police Jeep, so start jogging however it goes past me, and I think "Ah well another one will be along in a minute".
Sure enough 5 minutes later another police car arrives, takes statement. He asks "Are you on your own?" I reply "Yes", He says you were on your own" UI say "Yes", he says "you sure you had no passengers?" I say "I had no passengers" He says "Ah well never mind" and carries on with his questions, breathelises me checks the damage to the barrier etc.
After 15 minutes or so a Police Jeep turns up, and the policeman says to me "Do you know the guy in the back of the jeep" So I look and seeing no one say who? He says look in the back so I look more closely and sure enough in the back is a guy. Si I say "Never seen him before in my life". So the policeman says "Thats odd as he picked up just down the motorway and says he was with you! We'll take him back to the local looney bin"
What puzzles me is how the hell the guy knew I was there!
Result was I swerved to avoid him and paid a visit to the central reservation. Car stopped in the centre lane, but restarted to drive on to the Hard Shoulder.
I walk to the emergency phone and call police. Start walking back to the car and see approaching Police Jeep, so start jogging however it goes past me, and I think "Ah well another one will be along in a minute".
Sure enough 5 minutes later another police car arrives, takes statement. He asks "Are you on your own?" I reply "Yes", He says you were on your own" UI say "Yes", he says "you sure you had no passengers?" I say "I had no passengers" He says "Ah well never mind" and carries on with his questions, breathelises me checks the damage to the barrier etc.
After 15 minutes or so a Police Jeep turns up, and the policeman says to me "Do you know the guy in the back of the jeep" So I look and seeing no one say who? He says look in the back so I look more closely and sure enough in the back is a guy. Si I say "Never seen him before in my life". So the policeman says "Thats odd as he picked up just down the motorway and says he was with you! We'll take him back to the local looney bin"
What puzzles me is how the hell the guy knew I was there!
Have seen a few moronic driving procedures, and plenty of bumps and bruises, but the worst I ever saw was 25 years ago.
M5, near to Stroud in Gloucestershire, Caravan being towed in the inside lane doing about 55-60. Lorry goes past in lane 2, and the caravan (which had very uneven weight distribution) started to sway.
Eventually, the caravan rolled over completely, smashed to peices, luggage and belongings were strewn all over the M5. The force of the caravan then spun the car round, and appeared to drag the car backwards until the wreckage came to a halt, facing the wrong way in the outside lane.
I'm sure that there have been far worse accidents and incidents, but this one was bad for me, as I was ten years old, and was a passanger in my Grandad's car.
And it was my Grandad's caravan!
M5, near to Stroud in Gloucestershire, Caravan being towed in the inside lane doing about 55-60. Lorry goes past in lane 2, and the caravan (which had very uneven weight distribution) started to sway.
Eventually, the caravan rolled over completely, smashed to peices, luggage and belongings were strewn all over the M5. The force of the caravan then spun the car round, and appeared to drag the car backwards until the wreckage came to a halt, facing the wrong way in the outside lane.
I'm sure that there have been far worse accidents and incidents, but this one was bad for me, as I was ten years old, and was a passanger in my Grandad's car.
And it was my Grandad's caravan!
my worst was on the lovely M42. Heading east one day, towards the NECC, the motorway was full, and the traffic was snaking along, stop start stop start. Will at this start point the gap opened up quite well and I was folling a white transit van. Was momentarily distratcted by my passanger to look up and find said white van reducing spead at a fair rate of knots. I duly applied the anchors and pulled up 2 or 3 meters short of him and then looked into my driving mirror. All I can see this lovely big maroon BMW braking sharply and stopping said 2 meters behind me, then the transit van following him ploughed into the back of him and the domineo effect started heading backwards aup lane 3 of the M42. Saw said BMW driver take a face full of steering wheel as the transit hit him, followed by car after car after car finding thmseleves with no where to go and not enought time to stop. I could see one car on its roof, on top of another .
The BIB were sitting 20 feet ahead of me, on the hard shoulder and I am sitting there thinking WTF do I do now. The bmw driver saw me staring into my drivers mirror completeley at a loss for words and gestured for me to simply move on.
and the domineo effect started heading backwards aup lane 3 of the M42. Saw said BMW driver take a face full of steering wheel as the transit hit him, followed by car after car after car finding thmseleves with no where to go and not enought time to stop. I could see one car on its roof, on top of another . The BIB were sitting 20 feet ahead of me, on the hard shoulder and I am sitting there thinking WTF do I do now. The bmw driver saw me staring into my drivers mirror completeley at a loss for words and gestured for me to simply move on.
aka keith said:
my worst was on the lovely M42. Heading east one day, towards the NECC, the motorway was full, and the traffic was snaking along, stop start stop start. Will at this start point the gap opened up quite well and I was folling a white transit van. Was momentarily distratcted by my passanger to look up and find said white van reducing spead at a fair rate of knots. I duly applied the anchors and pulled up 2 or 3 meters short of him and then looked into my driving mirror. All I can see this lovely big maroon BMW braking sharply and stopping said 2 meters behind me, then the transit van following him ploughed into the back of him
The BIB were sitting 20 feet ahead of me, on the hard shoulder and I am sitting there thinking WTF do I do now. The bmw driver saw me staring into my drivers mirror completeley at a loss for words and gestured for me to simply move on.
Lots of drivers driving too close to the vehicle in front.
I do it far too often myself.
On the M1 Northbound, under a longish bridge somewhere near Oxford (autumn evening, rapidly fading daylight) a rusty Nissan Sunny parked on the hard shoulder. Just behind it, three guys of "Middle-eastern appearance" kneeling on their prayer mats, bowing to mecca.
Such stupidity really deserved removal from the gene pool.
Oli.
Such stupidity really deserved removal from the gene pool.
Oli.
When carphones (rather than hand held mobiles) were the latest thing, I remember sitting in the middle lane on the M1 in Yorkshire, with a chap in a Jag XJ6 in the outside lane...... talking on his phone... handset wedged on the shoulder, cable going across his front, he was also reading from papers/documents that he was holding onto the steering wheel with his right hand..... and with his left hand he was shaving with a battery powered electric razor.
Whilst doing around 40-50 mph in stop-startish traffic.
Whilst doing around 40-50 mph in stop-startish traffic.
One wet winters's evening I was joining the M25 (N) from the M3. As I was 100m or so from joining the carriageway I saw an old Mini Clubman spinning down lane 1 like a top. Literally; round and round it was going. My speed was about 50mph, and the Mini came past me going backwards heading towards the hard-shoulder. Luckily there was plenty of space and it recovered, although I imagine the driver needed new trousers. Presumably it had been clipped by another vehicle just enough to send it around.
SS7
SS7
proably about 15 years in the back of the parents car heading south on the M1, somewhere near the M25 junction one hot friday night.
There'd been a minor fender bender. crumpled bumper, split radiator not paying attention/too close in the rush hour traffic sort of job.
The big open top truck of the type thats normally used to shift sand about, which was in lane 2 had jammed on his brakes a little hard to avoid the scrape. The contents had shifted forwards and dumped itself across 3 lanes which is normally just pretty inconvient.
bad thing was that it was carrying innards from the knackers yard.
guts, tubes blood and gore everywhere. tonnes of the stuff. all over the front of the lorry, hanging off the sides. all mashed into the one open lane, under the wheels of the cars that stopped next to it. eugh.
by the time we got to the front of the queue to crawl past it was all getting a bit 'high' & there were a couple of police there standing back from the mess holding brooms not looking too happy about what to do next. probably awaiting delivery of a new keen recuit to start sweeping it up.
There'd been a minor fender bender. crumpled bumper, split radiator not paying attention/too close in the rush hour traffic sort of job.
The big open top truck of the type thats normally used to shift sand about, which was in lane 2 had jammed on his brakes a little hard to avoid the scrape. The contents had shifted forwards and dumped itself across 3 lanes which is normally just pretty inconvient.
bad thing was that it was carrying innards from the knackers yard.
guts, tubes blood and gore everywhere. tonnes of the stuff. all over the front of the lorry, hanging off the sides. all mashed into the one open lane, under the wheels of the cars that stopped next to it. eugh.
by the time we got to the front of the queue to crawl past it was all getting a bit 'high' & there were a couple of police there standing back from the mess holding brooms not looking too happy about what to do next. probably awaiting delivery of a new keen recuit to start sweeping it up.
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