Discussion
Massive traffic congestion today on the M62 near the M621 junction at Birstall, there was a car that has broken down in lane three. Wombles in attendance, closing both lanes three and four, with traffic backed up for a good few miles, and very slow progress.
It brought to mind the 1979 documentary on the Windy Hill section of the M62, where the old boy coppers would have hooked the car up to the Range Rover and dragged it out of the live lanes, fifty yards would have taken them to the J27 slip road, where there is a hard shoulder.
What would be the reason for not instigating a temporary stop and moving the car?
It brought to mind the 1979 documentary on the Windy Hill section of the M62, where the old boy coppers would have hooked the car up to the Range Rover and dragged it out of the live lanes, fifty yards would have taken them to the J27 slip road, where there is a hard shoulder.
What would be the reason for not instigating a temporary stop and moving the car?
Someone abandoned a car in my OHs work carpark a few years ago. Left it there for a week. Police weren’t interested until I used my Landcruiser to tow it out onto the dual carriageway next to the car park.
It was lifted within hours.
That was locked, had the handbrake on and was in gear so I can’t imagine three police-ish Shoguns or whatever struggling to move similar, even if it’s a distance to the only bit of the hard shoulder that still exists.
It was lifted within hours.
That was locked, had the handbrake on and was in gear so I can’t imagine three police-ish Shoguns or whatever struggling to move similar, even if it’s a distance to the only bit of the hard shoulder that still exists.
Wombles do not like towing vehicles of the carriageway
All sorts of excuses
1) impossible to be familiar with the towing points on all vehicles
2) might be unseen damage
3) might cause additional damage to vehicle or carriageway
4) might cause injury
5) they have unsuitable vehicles / equipment / training
6) not allowed by their insurance
7)scared of their own shadows - might get wet / cold
Damage only / minor injury RTC we regularly used to used Police vehicles to get the road open
All sorts of excuses
1) impossible to be familiar with the towing points on all vehicles
2) might be unseen damage
3) might cause additional damage to vehicle or carriageway
4) might cause injury
5) they have unsuitable vehicles / equipment / training
6) not allowed by their insurance
7)scared of their own shadows - might get wet / cold
Damage only / minor injury RTC we regularly used to used Police vehicles to get the road open
gazza285 said:
Massive traffic congestion today on the M62 near the M621 junction at Birstall, there was a car that has broken down in lane three. Wombles in attendance, closing both lanes three and four, with traffic backed up for a good few miles, and very slow progress.
It brought to mind the 1979 documentary on the Windy Hill section of the M62, where the old boy coppers would have hooked the car up to the Range Rover and dragged it out of the live lanes, fifty yards would have taken them to the J27 slip road, where there is a hard shoulder.
What would be the reason for not instigating a temporary stop and moving the car?
Well, it's obviously that easy so why didn't you offer to hook it up and drag it out the way?It brought to mind the 1979 documentary on the Windy Hill section of the M62, where the old boy coppers would have hooked the car up to the Range Rover and dragged it out of the live lanes, fifty yards would have taken them to the J27 slip road, where there is a hard shoulder.
What would be the reason for not instigating a temporary stop and moving the car?
Rough101 said:
All responses with folk with modern automatics to include how to get the car into neutral mechanically and to over ride the hold and/or electric parking brake.
My son's BMW had an ECU melt down due to a dodgy coil pack (I guess that's modern cars for you). RAC couldn't get it out of Park. . I'm pretty sure I read that wombles aren't actually allowed to do anything - it was in relation to changing a wheel so I'm sure it may apply to towing a vehicle as well. They're pretty much restricted to putting cones out until someone with the authority/ability to do something arrives.
Well there is a severe lack of knowledge shown on here!
There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
XF-Andy said:
Well there is a severe lack of knowledge shown on here!
There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
Well said.There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
XF-Andy said:
Well there is a severe lack of knowledge shown on here!
There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
Shhhh, your lot very slightly inconvenienced someone, you should be ashamed.There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
DaveyBoyWonder said:
I'm pretty sure I read that wombles aren't actually allowed to do anything - it was in relation to changing a wheel so I'm sure it may apply to towing a vehicle as well. They're pretty much restricted to putting cones out until someone with the authority/ability to do something arrives.
You read wrong. You're right that they can't change a wheel but most recovery companies won't change a wheel at the side of a motorway either. They absolutely can and will tow or drag anything they can out of the road.
edthefed said:
Wombles do not like towing vehicles of the carriageway
All sorts of excuses
1) impossible to be familiar with the towing points on all vehicles
2) might be unseen damage
3) might cause additional damage to vehicle or carriageway
4) might cause injury
5) they have unsuitable vehicles / equipment / training
6) not allowed by their insurance
7)scared of their own shadows - might get wet / cold
Damage only / minor injury RTC we regularly used to used Police vehicles to get the road open
Absolute nonsense.All sorts of excuses
1) impossible to be familiar with the towing points on all vehicles
2) might be unseen damage
3) might cause additional damage to vehicle or carriageway
4) might cause injury
5) they have unsuitable vehicles / equipment / training
6) not allowed by their insurance
7)scared of their own shadows - might get wet / cold
Damage only / minor injury RTC we regularly used to used Police vehicles to get the road open
XF-Andy said:
Well there is a severe lack of knowledge shown on here!
There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
Was stuck M6 southbound for a couple of hours , March 2021, reason given was this pesky Peugeot was proving difficult to move, I was caught right at the front and the officers “in charge “ were waiting for it to be lifted for fear of damaging the carriageway even though the car in question has clearly skidded for 40 feet. Rope round the front would have taken it to the hard shoulder in minutes but no, they had to wait whilst it was hoisted. Health and safety gone mad even though there was a risk of further accidents back up the road as traffic had to grind to a halt. There can be a myriad of reasons as to why the vehicle was not moved; electric vehicles can’t be towed, automatic stuck in park, tyre off the rim (would cause damage to the carriageway), part of the vehicle hanging down that again could damage the road surface, vehicle weighing over 3.5 tonnes (unfortunately the days of us towing 44 tonne artics are over). Etc etc.
Trust me when I say that we would far rather tow vehicles to a place of safety than be stuck out in live lane!!
But let’s not let the truth get in the way of what somebody read on the internet!
And just to add we can tow a lot more than the police can.
andy43 said:
About that...WTF ref. electric cars being unable to be towed? Exactly how is that reasonable design for modern roads? I get that they're far more 'direct drive' than an ICE with a gearbox, but...
- Is there genuinely no way of de-coupling the motors from the wheels? Surely that can't be beyond the wit of engineers?
- Given you can dial right back the brake regen on an EV (and acknowledging the increased drag even so on the tow vehicle), where's the difference between being towed and coasting, from the EV's perspective*?
- As EVs get older and start encountering more borkage, are we going to see a substantial increase in hold ups on our roads where an EV has just died at traffic lights / in the middle of the M1 / etc. and can't be moved until the AA/RAC etc. arrive an hour later, realise it's an EV and send for a flatbed, which then takes another hour.
* OK, if there's a general system failure then I can see there might be headaches.
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