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