Highways England to be sued for Corporate Manslaughter
Discussion
In June two guys were killed on the M1 near Sheffield when they stopped on what was the hard shoulder following a collision. They were exchanging details, there was no emergency refuge area near by for them to stop and get out of the way.
They put their cars as close as possible to the barriers but were hit by a lorry and both killed.
The widow of one has accused Highways England of fair.ing to provide her husband and the other driver with a safe refuge area or having adequate systems in place to detect stationary vehicles in live running lane unable to reach a refuge area.
Highways England report has revealed drivers are 3 times more likely to breakdown in a live lane where the hard shoulder has been removed. On the section of M1 in question 4 people have died in 10 months over the 16 mile section, furthermore a HE report shows it takes an average of 20 minutes for CCTV operators to spot a stationary vehicle.
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Highways England, not fit for purpose, not been fit for a long time. Ever since the start of the M42 experiment we've been saying this is a disaster waiting to happen, sadly for some families that disaster turns up with officers at the door giving a heart breaking message.
They put their cars as close as possible to the barriers but were hit by a lorry and both killed.
The widow of one has accused Highways England of fair.ing to provide her husband and the other driver with a safe refuge area or having adequate systems in place to detect stationary vehicles in live running lane unable to reach a refuge area.
Highways England report has revealed drivers are 3 times more likely to breakdown in a live lane where the hard shoulder has been removed. On the section of M1 in question 4 people have died in 10 months over the 16 mile section, furthermore a HE report shows it takes an average of 20 minutes for CCTV operators to spot a stationary vehicle.
More here behind paywall but you can register to read for free.
Highways England, not fit for purpose, not been fit for a long time. Ever since the start of the M42 experiment we've been saying this is a disaster waiting to happen, sadly for some families that disaster turns up with officers at the door giving a heart breaking message.
FiF said:
In June two guys were killed on the M1 near Sheffield when they stopped on what was the hard shoulder following a collision. They were exchanging details, there was no emergency refuge area near by for them to stop and get out of the way.
They put their cars as close as possible to the barriers but were hit by a lorry and both killed.
The widow of one has accused Highways England of fair.ing to provide her husband and the other driver with a safe refuge area or having adequate systems in place to detect stationary vehicles in live running lane unable to reach a refuge area.
Highways England report has revealed drivers are 3 times more likely to breakdown in a live lane where the hard shoulder has been removed. On the section of M1 in question 4 people have died in 10 months over the 16 mile section, furthermore a HE report shows it takes an average of 20 minutes for CCTV operators to spot a stationary vehicle.
More here behind paywall but you can register to read for free.
Highways England, not fit for purpose, not been fit for a long time. Ever since the start of the M42 experiment we've been saying this is a disaster waiting to happen, sadly for some families that disaster turns up with officers at the door giving a heart breaking message.
It’s not Highways England’s fault that the Government won’t give them enough money to widen the Motorways. I also expect that they’ve known that there will be fatalities due to getting rid of hard shoulders, but the Government considered the fatalities to be acceptable vs the need to increase the capacity. HE can only do what they’ve got the money to do.They put their cars as close as possible to the barriers but were hit by a lorry and both killed.
The widow of one has accused Highways England of fair.ing to provide her husband and the other driver with a safe refuge area or having adequate systems in place to detect stationary vehicles in live running lane unable to reach a refuge area.
Highways England report has revealed drivers are 3 times more likely to breakdown in a live lane where the hard shoulder has been removed. On the section of M1 in question 4 people have died in 10 months over the 16 mile section, furthermore a HE report shows it takes an average of 20 minutes for CCTV operators to spot a stationary vehicle.
More here behind paywall but you can register to read for free.
Highways England, not fit for purpose, not been fit for a long time. Ever since the start of the M42 experiment we've been saying this is a disaster waiting to happen, sadly for some families that disaster turns up with officers at the door giving a heart breaking message.
I witnessed 2 people exchanging details after a minor 5mph shunt in traffic close to J19 NB M6 , they were in lane one out on the carriageway taking pictures of the position of the cars with no thoughts about the cars and trucks 5ft away driving past
All the driver who was hit was worried about was proving blame and his ncb
People don't thing rationally if they think it's going to cost them money
All the driver who was hit was worried about was proving blame and his ncb
People don't thing rationally if they think it's going to cost them money
wack said:
I witnessed 2 people exchanging details after a minor 5mph shunt in traffic close to J19 NB M6 , they were in lane one out on the carriageway taking pictures of the position of the cars with no thoughts about the cars and trucks 5ft away driving past
All the driver who was hit was worried about was proving blame and his ncb
People don't thing rationally if they think it's going to cost them money
People don't think rationally when they're in a state of shock. That's why they didn't walk up the bank. All the driver who was hit was worried about was proving blame and his ncb
People don't thing rationally if they think it's going to cost them money
Terminator X said:
Why didn't they get off the road once stopped e.g. walk up the grass bank?
TX.
Looking at where the news report said the accident occurred, was it on a section like this?TX.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.4267036,-1.4162222...
Edited by sim72 on Sunday 1st September 00:37
Croutons said:
People don't think rationally when they're in a state of shock. That's why they didn't walk up the bank.
Who knew?How many emergency service workers and train drivers have been traumatised for long after the initial incident?
Perhaps Highways England were unaware that people can get shock? It's not reasonably foreseeable?
I think we don't know sufficient details which the judicial review will investigate.
For example how long were they stopped, was there somewhere to go beyond the barrier, as someone pointed out there are stretches on that part where it's not possible.
Equally we don't know about the third driver's actions.
Those are just some of the questions.
However it still stands that valid criticism has been levelled at Govt and HE and predecessor organisations for years now over this. It's time it was done in court imo.
For example how long were they stopped, was there somewhere to go beyond the barrier, as someone pointed out there are stretches on that part where it's not possible.
Equally we don't know about the third driver's actions.
Those are just some of the questions.
However it still stands that valid criticism has been levelled at Govt and HE and predecessor organisations for years now over this. It's time it was done in court imo.
jamei303 said:
The 20 minute thing is a joke. I'm sure their earlier publicity reassured that stranded vehicles would be spotted immediately and the relevant lane(s) closed.
This is troubling - I had assumed they automatic detection of stationary vehicles rather than relying on someone eyeballing the camerasFunny how the can develop and deploy technology to detect speeding vehicles without any bother
jamei303 said:
The 20 minute thing is a joke. I'm sure their earlier publicity reassured that stranded vehicles would be spotted immediately and the relevant lane(s) closed.
I saw a report that said around the m4/m5 interchange it was taking up to a hour for the operators to spot cars and take actionGood. I hope they get screwed - not that they will reverse all the engineering they’ve put into smart motorways. It’s pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain that this kind of accident was going to happen.
Even if getting out and going up a banking is an option you still have a significant period time where you’re exposed to fast moving traffic. Maybe it’s fine if you’re a lone driver, not suffering from any kind of shock and can think clearly and fast enough. Not so good if you have to empty the car of three children and carry each one up the banking!
Even if getting out and going up a banking is an option you still have a significant period time where you’re exposed to fast moving traffic. Maybe it’s fine if you’re a lone driver, not suffering from any kind of shock and can think clearly and fast enough. Not so good if you have to empty the car of three children and carry each one up the banking!
Zarco said:
I like the '3 times more likely to break down in a live lane' stat. Where else can they break down when it's all live lanes?!
(Radio X listeners may have heard Chris Moyles mocking this last week, as did I)
Don't get the problem with the stat.(Radio X listeners may have heard Chris Moyles mocking this last week, as did I)
I just interpret that as only one in three manage to get to the hard shoulder before coming to a stop when they break down & there is a hard shoulder available.
(ie even if there is a hard shoulder available most don't get to it before coming to a stop).
Crumpet said:
Good. I hope they get screwed - not that they will reverse all the engineering they’ve put into smart motorways. It’s pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain that this kind of accident was going to happen.
They don't need to reverse anything. Nothing more than perhaps a bit of paint is needed to convert a SMART motorway back into a normal one.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff