Big shunt on the M40 yesterday

[adam.]

Lots of rumours flying around about this one, I was involved in the tailbacks on the northbound carriageway for a few hours, as I was caught a few hundred yards back, luckily out of view.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-h...

Posts out on social media suggest multiple 'high powered' BMWs racing up the M40, from the M25 at triple digit speeds with plenty of undertaking etc, when a couple lost it (on the arrow straight bit) just past J4 High Wycombe. Given the nature of the cars / posts involved, I'd be surprised if there weren't consequences.

Air ambulance, fire, police, all in attendance. We didn't move for ~2 hours.

[Vickers_VC10]

adam. said:

Lots of rumours flying around about this one, I was involved in the tailbacks on the northbound carriageway for a few hours, as I was caught a few hundred yards back, luckily out of view.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-h...

Posts out on social media suggest multiple 'high powered' BMWs racing up the M40, from the M25 at triple digit speeds with plenty of undertaking etc, when a couple lost it (on the arrow straight bit) just past J4 High Wycombe. Given the nature of the cars / posts involved, I'd be surprised if there weren't consequences.

Air ambulance, fire, police, all in attendance. We didn't move for ~2 hours.

Triple digit speeds on M40 seem to be the normal especially on the section from M25 right up to Stokenchurch.

[oyster]

I passed it southbound just after they re-opened the carriageway (with only 1 lane open).
2 vehicles, one with serious front end damage, one with serious offside impact damage, and the central armco bent for a 10-15m stretch.

As it happens I drove northbound on the M40 the day before and witness a pair of dicks 'racing' between junctions 2 and 3, well over 3 figures and weaving in and out of lanes 2 and 3. That was a pair of older Civic Type Rs though - the chavved up ones.


Is that what the M40 has become?

[adam.]

Indeed, it is a bit of an autobahn, and very very lightly policed. Which is part of its charm.

It's more the recklessness that's concerning.

There's a couple of posts around that suggest the group was as large as 15 cars, all driving in the same manner.

oyster said:

I passed it southbound just after they re-opened the carriageway (with only 1 lane open).
2 vehicles, one with serious front end damage, one with serious offside impact damage, and the central armco bent for a 10-15m stretch.

The markings on the tarmac were extremely long, and one vehicle seemed to have ping ponged side to side at least three times before coming to a rest, over many many yards.

[speedking31]

adam. said:

I'd be surprised if there weren't consequences.

Setting, for example, lower speed limits based on one or two rare detrimental incidents is just as logical as increasing the limit based on the fact that one or two cars travelled the motorway at 120 mph without incident (which probably happens more frequently). But we all know which way it's likely to end.

[mmm-five]

Vickers_VC10 said:

Triple digit speeds on M40 seem to be the normal especially on the section from M25 right up to Stokenchurch.

Ditto.

I've got a regular 4 hour drive, so just set my cruise to a decent speed and sit there comfortably overtaking trucks.

If you ignore trucks, it looks like the M40 speed limit has unofficially been raised to at least 90mph.

[adam.]

speedking31 said:

etting, for example, lower speed limits based on one or two rare detrimental incidents is just as logical as increasing the limit based on the fact that one or two cars travelled the motorway at 120 mph without incident (which probably happens more frequently). But we all know which way it's likely to end.

I meant consequences for those responsible, either in terms of their quality of life, or criminal record -- not the 70MPH limit.

[theboss]

The M25 to Stokenchurch section feels like an extension of the urban A40 through West London - abysmal lane discipline and poor speeds. It’s the sections between Oxford services and the A34 and also further up north of Banbury where traffic really seems to fly.

[littleredrooster]

mmm-five said:

...it looks like the M40 speed limit has unofficially been raised to at least 90mph.

My licence emphatically says that this is not true...

[Piersman2]

theboss said:

The M25 to Stokenchurch section feels like an extension of the urban A40 through West London - abysmal lane discipline and poor speeds. It’s the sections between Oxford services and the A34 and also further up north of Banbury where traffic really seems to fly.

^ This. I used to commute from Reading up to Coventry on a weekly basis. Monday morning trip up was a pleasure, cruise control set to 100, on almost empty roads, with almost everyone behaving themselves . A joy.

[unident]

I wondered what happened, I drove back North from Surrey yesterday evening and the M25 matrices were warning of long delays and carriageway repairs. Seemed strange that as I approached it nobody was using the A404 exit and cutting parallel back to the next junction at Stokenchurch. Looked like huge delays.

I have to admit that I drive way too fast along there once I clear the M25 and almost got sucked into a rather stupid race with a 69 plate 911, but for unknown reasons stopped myself. Observations are that the up and down sections are quite frustrating as people lose huge amounts of speeds going up the hills, either through inattention, or their cars struggling to maintain anything north of 80, then you hit the long straight and everyone boots it and that tends to carry on for quite a while. It’s a strange motorway, as speeds are generally very high, but as said above lane discipline is terrible.

Examples yesterday were the standard MLMs, a guy in a 68 plate Jag XF(?) who insisted on driving in the outside lane no matter what at c80mph, then occasionally blasting along north of 100 for no apparent or logical reason and a guy in some sort of people carrier with his main bean flicking on and off, who i overtook when i]he was doing around 85, then came past like I was stood still a few miles later, only to slow right down again very soon after.

[martinbiz]

unident said:

I have to admit that I drive way too fast along there once I clear the M25 and almost got sucked into a rather stupid race with a 69 plate 911, but for unknown reasons stopped myself. .

Unlike some I don’t make a habit of berating posters, but this sort of post boils my piss, if you don’t know what stopped you then god help us all. How about killing your self or worse someone else, or a few years in prison, are they good enough reasons, T**T

[anonymous-user]

I did wonder about the cause of the jam, I was heading towards London from the A404 junction.

[babelfish]

adam. said:

I was caught a few hundred yards back

triple digit speeds with plenty of undertaking etc,

If you were a few hundred yards back and they were travelling at those speeds wouldn't they have passed you?

[adam.]

babelfish said:

If you were a few hundred yards back and they were travelling at those speeds wouldn't they have passed you?

We only got on at J2, going by the timings we must’ve just missed them.

[JP18]

Got caught in this, I was on it from the M25. 2 Bmws, an older 3 series and current 6 series flew past in the outside lane followed by a 991 a few minutes before I hit the back of the queue. Just remembered I have a dash cam so may be able to find some footage

Edit: There was a smaller crash earlier on from the main queue - two cars in the central reservation. It had been coned off but no police were there
Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZjdoMvma1k&fe...
Apologies in advance for the shocking camera quality and not bothering to set the right date/time. For reference I was doing about 85 (kph obviously)

Edited by JP18 on Thursday 27th February 04:23

Edited by JP18 on Thursday 27th February 04:47

[motco]

JP18 said:

Got caught in this, I was on it from the M25. 2 Bmws, an older 3 series and current 6 series flew past in the outside lane followed by a 991 a few minutes before I hit the back of the queue. Just remembered I have a dash cam so may be able to find some footage

Edit: There was a smaller crash earlier on from the main queue - two cars in the central reservation. It had been coned off but no police were there
Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZjdoMvma1k&fe...
Apologies in advance for the shocking camera quality and not bothering to set the right date/time. For reference I was doing about 85 (kph obviously)

Edited by JP18 on Thursday 27th February 04:23

Edited by JP18 on Thursday 27th February 04:47

How come it's dark in your video? The crash happened mid=afternoon.

[selym]

Vickers_VC10 said:

Triple digit speeds on M40 seem to be the normal especially on the section from M25 right up to Stokenchurch.

The M40 is a free for all. Quite dangerous, as the OP's experience proves and there don't seem to ever be any plod in waiting until you get past the Oxford Services junction.

[Drumroll]

[quote=JP18

Edit: There was a smaller crash earlier on from the main queue - two cars in the central reservation. It had been coned off but no police were there
Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZjdoMvma1k&fe...
Apologies in advance for the shocking camera quality and not bothering to set the right date/time. For reference I was doing about 85 (kph obviously)

[/quote]


Why did you bother to post a poor quality video, that has nothing to do with the OP, apart from it happened on the same motorway?

[JP18]

There was a big tailback that evening after the same junction that I got caught in, so I assumed it was the same incident. Didn't realise it occurred in the afternoon