Darth Vader tested on his Green Cross Code

Dave Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars films managed to pull onto the hard shoulder of the M1 when “everything went kaput on the car” during his journey to Burton on Trent where he was filming.

Dave rang through to the Highways Agency using an emergency response telephone and a patrol was dispatched to help. Whilst waiting behind the barrier for the Traffic Officers to arrive Dave was surprised by the speed and the sound of the cars whizzing by.

While assisting Dave, the Traffic Officers realised who he was, and also the unusual history of his Mercedes car.

“It has a great provenance as the car was previously owned by my good friend Kenny Baker who was R2D2,” said David. “Of course, because of Kenny’s size he used to keep a little ladder inside the boot so he could climb up and put his suitcases in the back. When he had finished, he’d put the ladder back into the car but then he couldn’t reach to close the boot, so he had tied a cord to the boot handle. I decided to leave the cord there as a reminder of the car’s previous owner.”

Traffic officer Craig Chapman, attending the scene said: “We meet all kinds of people on the hard shoulder but, since I started work for the Highways Agency, meeting Darth Vader is definitely one of the strangest situations I’ve been in.”

It looks like he escaped from the dark side once more!

No crying on a hard shoulder this Bank Holiday

With the Bank Holiday weekend quickly approaching it’s a good time to do a check on your vehicle.

A SURVIVE spokesperson comments, “With many motorists taking to the roads this summer to holiday in the UK, we are anticipating record numbers of incidents. We want to educate motorists so they know what to do in the event of a crash or a breakdown and also how to prevent it.”

Spokesperson for road safety charity Brake, Katie Shephard, says, “We are urging motorists to conduct essential checks before they set off on journeys this summer. Our report revealed that seven in ten motorists wait for their annual service to identify problems with brakes and a number of people never check their tyres depth, pressure or water, 16% never check their lights or indicators are working.”

Motorists can look for advice and tips on the web site http://www.survivegroup.org/pages/safety-information

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.

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”.