2 Dead on the A40 and I am in shock.
Discussion
Had just left a friends leaving do in Notting Hill, and heading down the A40 towards the M25, my self and the rest of the sensible drivers were adhearing to the speed limit whilst a bloke in a focus played brake and accelerate between the cameras. We all left it to him as he weaved throught the traffic. 2 mins later all i can see is emergency yellow lights on cars people braking, I spotted the two cars (one the focus) had carered accoss from the RHD lane across the LHD and into a tree hiting another car, 40-50 mph. As a first aider I am dialing 999 getting out of the car emergency lights on, the majority of rubberneckers are standing around most nobody trying to help the injured, typical I think. That is until I get to the cars, one brand new focus a tree and 50 mph and the driver is dead I am still in shock now as I type, no pluse went to check the other car and the other driver is dead.
Police take my mobile off me to give accurate directions to the "ambulance" that i had ordered.
Just had to tell someone as all I can see is the images again and again, It just makes me mad one innocent bloke minding his own, and that twat in the focus acting the
Police take my mobile off me to give accurate directions to the "ambulance" that i had ordered.
Just had to tell someone as all I can see is the images again and again, It just makes me mad one innocent bloke minding his own, and that twat in the focus acting the
You have my utmost sympathy and respect. I think that we would all like to think that we would stop in such circumstances, but you had the ability and sense of duty to do so. It is unfortunate that your skills werent put to use, but I hope that should I end up in a situation like that and I need by-the-road medical aid, that someone like yourself will stop....
Also, I completely agree - senseless waste of life for someone who though he would have a five minute speed fix, or was running late for something.... just think, was it really worth it...? Now we know the outcome - no, but it is easy to forget sometimes...
Cheers,
Paul.
P.S. If you need it I would strongly suggest seeking professional support - Its not whipish or the like, you have just witnessed something that 99% of the population cant even visualise and as a result its worth just making sure you are really OK....
Also, I completely agree - senseless waste of life for someone who though he would have a five minute speed fix, or was running late for something.... just think, was it really worth it...? Now we know the outcome - no, but it is easy to forget sometimes...
Cheers,
Paul.
P.S. If you need it I would strongly suggest seeking professional support - Its not whipish or the like, you have just witnessed something that 99% of the population cant even visualise and as a result its worth just making sure you are really OK....
Holy shit !
Hey dude,
Watch out for yourself. This will affect you, and it will stay in your head when you do not realise it.
Try to share what you can with friends and loved ones. Don't keep the images to yourself, and let those people who matter most to you know what you are feeling.
It will fade. It might take a long time, and it may never go away , but it will fade and you will move on.
Good luck mate.
Hey dude,
Watch out for yourself. This will affect you, and it will stay in your head when you do not realise it.
Try to share what you can with friends and loved ones. Don't keep the images to yourself, and let those people who matter most to you know what you are feeling.
It will fade. It might take a long time, and it may never go away , but it will fade and you will move on.
Good luck mate.
At least the Foc-arse driver is dead - most times these 2@'s walk away unscathed.
I'd like to think that in the same position, faced with a surviving perp, I'd "finish the job".
The images in your mind can only damage/influence you if you allow it. Many of those remembered and parading later today will have endured the same or worse horrors, yet they survive with no inner demons, as will you with the right approach.
I'd like to think that in the same position, faced with a surviving perp, I'd "finish the job".
The images in your mind can only damage/influence you if you allow it. Many of those remembered and parading later today will have endured the same or worse horrors, yet they survive with no inner demons, as will you with the right approach.
Mad Jock said:
While sympathising with your situation, I would like to point out that the "Safety Cameras" did not prevent this accident. I would suggest a strongly worded letter to the appropriate Safety Camera Patrnership to that effect.
...indeed from the initial post it seems like they may have contributed to it, by causing the Focus driver to accelerate and brake erratically...
Skywarp said:
At least the Foc-arse driver is dead - most times these 2@'s walk away unscathed.
I'd like to think that in the same position, faced with a surviving perp, I'd "finish the job".
Felt like that about the kid who ran a stop sign and nearly killed my parents 13 years ago (wasn't nearly as horrific though). The guy was so remorseful, he kept wanting to meet my dad and apologize, but the insurance agent advised against it. Finally my dad said, "tell the kid I'm fine so he can get on with his life". He thought it was ironic that, after years of test piloting in the Air Force, he'd nearly get killed on the ground. Nobody plans on killing anyone like that, it's bad judgement, clouded by whatever emotions (road rage?) that does it. People just don't think sometimes; stupidity and selfishness aren't the same as outright malice, even though the result is just as tragic.
Talk to people about it. It might not seem like saying it out loud would make much difference, but it does help to sort of set it outside of yourself.
- maybe they even attended!Heebeegeetee said:
[quote=Mad Jock] they may have contributed to it, by causing the Focus driver to accelerate and brake erratically...
Come on, now, nothing and no-one 'caused' the Focus driver to do anything...
Apart from maybe the ten pints of lager he had just consumed....losing control of a car like that in traffic, suggests a total lack of sobriety to me...
If i was a witness to that accident, I would definately mention the speed camera's and how i thought the driver was apparently adjusting his speed to counter them, whether he was right or wrong, it happened and people should know both sides of the speed camera story...
As some of you have spotted I was infering something about the speed cameras, and this is exactly what i felt, there were police cars about before the accident and this guy drove past two of them, did they pull him for having the fog light on ( I think its on the lower RHS of the bumper on a focus) did they . If they had hemight have stopped being a twat. As you say i felt now sympathy for the dead driver of the focus, but having seen casualty and the like a few times i could not believe the angles human bodies can adopt in an accident, the innocent was sat dead in his seat ( with the belt on). The weird thing was the complete lack of blood considering the trauma both the bodies must have gone through.
But yes I am left wondering who can I write to to convey my utter disgust at how speed was not the contributing factor in this terible accident. ( In fact it was not a accident) The moment that guy started driving like he did he started a chain reaction which there was no stopping. I continualy read in the motoring press about speed reduction being the holy grail off the police and road saftey bods,but having seen that driver skill is what is the holy grail. Last night I was acctually considering selling the ATR and getting a new car with allround airbags etc.... But this is the route cause of the skills problem people have in cars. They read all this bullsh*t about NCAP test etc... Airbags and they believe that they are immortal untouchable. We as a country need to start evaluating our control of license issue, and controlling those drivers whilst on the road WRT driving safely. I for one have just seen the proof of the statistics showing the sharp decline in dangerous driving, I am now just wanting to find the relevant police person dealing with that accident so that the innocent party will not be made the fall guy or a 50-50 party. Cheers guys and girls 9 hours sleep later and am feeling a bitbetter.
Keep Safe.
>> Edited by dazren on Tuesday 11th November 23:04
. If they had hemight have stopped being a twat. As you say i felt now sympathy for the dead driver of the focus, but having seen casualty and the like a few times i could not believe the angles human bodies can adopt in an accident, the innocent was sat dead in his seat ( with the belt on). The weird thing was the complete lack of blood considering the trauma both the bodies must have gone through. But yes I am left wondering who can I write to to convey my utter disgust at how speed was not the contributing factor in this terible accident. ( In fact it was not a accident) The moment that guy started driving like he did he started a chain reaction which there was no stopping. I continualy read in the motoring press about speed reduction being the holy grail off the police and road saftey bods,but having seen that driver skill is what is the holy grail. Last night I was acctually considering selling the ATR and getting a new car with allround airbags etc.... But this is the route cause of the skills problem people have in cars. They read all this bullsh*t about NCAP test etc... Airbags and they believe that they are immortal untouchable. We as a country need to start evaluating our control of license issue, and controlling those drivers whilst on the road WRT driving safely. I for one have just seen the proof of the statistics showing the sharp decline in dangerous driving, I am now just wanting to find the relevant police person dealing with that accident so that the innocent party will not be made the fall guy or a 50-50 party. Cheers guys and girls 9 hours sleep later and am feeling a bitbetter.
Keep Safe.
>> Edited by dazren on Tuesday 11th November 23:04
[quote=adl]The weird thing was the complete lack of blood considering the trauma both the bodies must have gone through.
[quote]
I understand that under sudden death, the heart obviously stops pumping, and therefore doesn't pump the blood out.
I didn't know that about stats on dangerous driving. Now that's down to cameras, 'cos patrols are being taken off the roads whilst all that loverly jubberly rolls in, AND the police can show high conviction rates into the bargain.
But a box on a pole did not 'make' that man do anything. If you go down that route you might as well remove the onus of personal responsibility from us all.
Don't forget, if he drove like that there, he'd almost certainly been driving like a tw@t everywhere else as well. Was probably going to happen somewhere at sometime.
Be interested to hear if he's insured/licenced etc. I mean, if you can't drive down a straight piece of dual track without killing two people you're probably uninsurable, and don't even have the brains to raise the wherewithall to buy even a Focus. There's another thread at the moment on elderly drivers, but apparently there's a million uninsured drivers out there at the mo. If you're the sort to drive uninsured, you're not likely to be the sort to drive sensibly either. They're likely to be a much bigger problem than the elderly. Mind you, I'm obviously asuming the Focus driver wasn't old - shot meself in the foot there if he was.
>> Edited by Heebeegeetee on Sunday 9th November 09:43
[quote]
I understand that under sudden death, the heart obviously stops pumping, and therefore doesn't pump the blood out.
I didn't know that about stats on dangerous driving. Now that's down to cameras, 'cos patrols are being taken off the roads whilst all that loverly jubberly rolls in, AND the police can show high conviction rates into the bargain.
But a box on a pole did not 'make' that man do anything. If you go down that route you might as well remove the onus of personal responsibility from us all.
Don't forget, if he drove like that there, he'd almost certainly been driving like a tw@t everywhere else as well. Was probably going to happen somewhere at sometime.
Be interested to hear if he's insured/licenced etc. I mean, if you can't drive down a straight piece of dual track without killing two people you're probably uninsurable, and don't even have the brains to raise the wherewithall to buy even a Focus. There's another thread at the moment on elderly drivers, but apparently there's a million uninsured drivers out there at the mo. If you're the sort to drive uninsured, you're not likely to be the sort to drive sensibly either. They're likely to be a much bigger problem than the elderly. Mind you, I'm obviously asuming the Focus driver wasn't old - shot meself in the foot there if he was.
>> Edited by Heebeegeetee on Sunday 9th November 09:43
HeeBeeGeeTee said:
But a box on a pole did not 'make' that man do anything. If you go down that route you might as well remove the onus of personal responsibility from us all.
I may be wrong but i think it is too late to worry about that, I do not get the feeling that anyone feels responsible for their actions as it is. It is the result of living in a Nanny State you see
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