Load of bull

Motorists heading home after the Bank Holiday weekend were held up by cows on the motorway.

The animals got loose from the horsebox they were travelling in on the anti-clockwise stretch of the M25 between Junction 5 and 6 after it was involved in an accident.

A Highways Agency spokesman said the motorway was closed in both directions because of fears the two bulls and a cow could have run across the central barrier and caused a serious accident on the other carriageway.

The two bulls were herded into a nearby field but the cow proved harder to catch and eventually a vet had to be called to sedate her on the hard shoulder!

Flashing: dos and dont’s

A few months back a lady spotted the driver behind her flashing his lights and waving at her on the M61 motorway; she thought he was a “nutter”.

But it turned out the car behind was only trying to point out that she had left her purse on the car roof after filling up with petrol.

She eventually pulled onto the hard shoulder of the motorway and was amazed that her purse was still on the roof — after travelling around 5 miles.

She was reported to have said: “I had no idea what the man was trying to tell me. I thought he was a bit of a nutter. I didn’t know what he was doing.

“When he started waving his wallet, I realised what he meant and I pulled over. I was really surprised that my purse was still there. I would like to say thank you to the driver. Money, my driving licence and all my cards were in there.”

This story raises several serious questions:

1) Does loosing cash, valuables and credits cards constitute an emergency?

2) Is risking your life on the most dangerous part of a motorway to fetch a lucky wallet or designer bag really worth it?

3) Should you distract a driver on a motorway even if your reasons are honest?

Put yourself in their places, what really constitutes an emergency…

Let us know what you think.

Age Old Question Answered

A stranded motorist tried an Emergency Roadside Telephone on the M20, but could not hear the Regional Control Centre (RCC) operator.

He could see another phone, so made their way to it… across the motorway!

He told us his name was Mr Chicken, so now we know why.

True or False? You decide…

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”.

Hard Shoulder Statistics

Hard shoulder accidents claimed the lives of 67 people in the five years from 2000 − 2004, and a further 950 people were injured. Even so, drivers still put themselves at risk by pulling over for non−emergencies such as phone calls, checking the map or even taking a toilet break.

A vehicle parked on the hard shoulder is more likely to be involved in a serious accident than one travelling in motorway traffic, according to research by the Highways Agency.

Quentin Willson went out on patrol with Highways Agency Traffic Officers to find out about some of the high−risk behaviour they see on the motorways, including a vehicle that stopped to release racing pigeons from the hard shoulder and people stopping to swap Christmas presents.

Superheroes

Traffic Officers Phil Atkinson and Rajinder Mahay from the Highways Agency’s Eastern Region came across the ‘man of steel’ on the hard shoulder between junction 2 and 1a after he had to pull over with a punctured tyre. He had been driving in convoy on the M40 with Spiderman, Batman, Robin and The Riddler, who were also parked on the hard shoulder. It turned out that the superheroes had decided to travel in costume from Birmingham to a car show in France.

Phil, Rajinder and their Traffic Officer colleagues who are based at the Heston Outstation on the M4 help hundreds of drivers every week but this was certainly one of the strangest incidents they have dealt with.

Narrow Escape

“Highways Agency Traffic Officers are reminding road users about hard shoulder safety after a heavy goods vehicle collided with a broken down car on the hard shoulder of the M25 in Buckinghamshire.

“Luckily the driver had followed vital advice and was out of the car and behind the safety barrier before it was struck between junctions 15 and 16.

“This action saved the driver, a 38 year old woman, from physical injury and she now hopes that other drivers will not ignore the safety advice to stay out of their vehicles if they have to stop on the hard shoulder. She said: “I am very glad that I followed advice and waited behind the safety barrier slightly away from the car while I waited for recovery. It was quite cold and the prospect of waiting on the hard shoulder was not a particularly pleasant one but I can only say that I am very glad that I did. In future I will always pack a rain jacket and thermal blanket in case I get caught out again.

“I am also glad I didn’t attempt the repair myself. The car only had a flat tyre and I might have tried to change it myself as it does feel a bit pathetic calling the breakdown services just to change a tyre for you, but I don’t want to imagine what might have happened if I had been doing that when the lorry struck the car.”

Danger of Staying in your Vehicle

Time and time again, a stranded motorist will say ”No, I’m not getting out the car to find a marker post or SOS box, it’s far too dangerous!”
Simple common sense should spell out that the vehicle they are sitting in is a bigger target and even if they saw the oncoming car/truck/van approaching, there isn’t any way they could get out in time!