Seven Minutes on the Hardshoulder

As I’m sure you’ll agree the hardshoulder is a dangerous place to find yourself. The following story from a Highways Agency Traffic Officer just goes to prove that:

Early one morning I was on my way home from a night shift when I came across an accident on the M23. The people involved had exited the vehicle but were still in the carriageway, traffic was flowing around them while they stood in the dark, just around a bend in very wet weather.

I stopped on the hardshoulder to call the accident into to the Regional Control Centre. Once I’d done that I helped the people involved get safely to the hardshoulder so they didn’t get run over.

Just seven minutes after I stopped, and as I was getting the people involved behind the barrier, another car had an identical accident. This time however it hit my car parked on the hardshoulder rather than bouncing off the barrier and back in to the carriageway. The attached photo show what it did to my car.

Hardshoulder collision right-off

Whilst I’m annoyed at losing my car, at least by stopping and assisting it prevented the second car spinning back into the carriageway and collecting those that were standing there.

Goes to prove what can happen in just 7 minutes on the hardshoulder.

It’s snow joke

Stranded on the M1 in freezing temperatures isn’t much fun – but one person decided to entertain motorists by building a snowman to pass the time! The surreal moment was spotted at around 11am in the morning during the recent inclement weather.

An eye witness said of the crazy snowman scene:

“It was a passenger in a car. He got out and I thought ‘what is he doing?’

“He rolled a body then put a head on it and then put some stones in for the eyes and mouth. It shows you how long we were all stuck there.”

And another businessman demonstrated his entrepreneurial skills by selling groceries from his van to fellow marooned motorists on the Junction 10 sliproad at Luton.

The onlooker added: “Then I saw another man open up his van with all boxes of fruit and veg inside. He was shouting across to ask if anyone wanted anything.”

Needless to say, this is not considered best practice!

When taking a trip in winter is it good practice to check weather and road conditions before you make your journey, also ask yourself if the trip is really necessary. Remember to pack warm clothes and water.

More winter safety tips can be found here

Busy day for this part of the M62

The same stretch of motorway played host to two separate incidents recently. A car and a wagon caught fire on the M62 in two separate incidents – in exactly the same location.

A Seat Leon driven by an elderly man ignited after being clipped by another car at 10am. His wife and a young passenger, believed to be his grandson, were in the car at the time but no-one was hurt.

The incident happened on the fast lane of the M62 east bound near Hartshead Services.

Police shut the motorway while the carriageway was cleared of debris and paramedics checked the family.

In the aftermath of a collision for your safety head for the hard shoulder, turn on your hazard warning lights and turn your steered wheels to the left. For your personal safety exit the car on the left hand side and move behind the barriers.

Firefighters from Brighouse Station were then called out to exactly the same location at 2pm when the engine of a wagon set alight.

The driver managed to put the flames out with a dry power extinguisher before fire crews arrived but it caused some disruption with the motorway closed for 30 minutes.

Watch manager Andy Medlock said: “We had no choice but to wait for the engine to cool down because putting water over it could cause cracks to the wagon which could be dangerous.

“We then had to wait for the Highways [Agency] to grit the road as the road surface was slippery.

“Luckily, no-one was hurt in either incident”.