[Closed] 100 Car Pile Up

Just heard this on the news. Chuffing Ell!

Hope no-one's seriously injured but given that amount of vehicles then it's not likely.

Some of them even piled up on top of a lorry!

I had a couple of trips from Brizzle to Oxford this week, thankfully being driven by a fairly cautious chap. There was quite thick fog for our 45mins or so on the M4. As ever, the way people drive in fog...tailgating, speeds, no-indicator manoeuvres, etc etc - just staggering.

Hopefully everybody makes it home alive from there today. 😐

Jings, sounds like a terrible incident. Can only hope never to be involved in something like that. Doesn't matter how safe a driver you are, if you get hit in a multi vehicle incident like that it's all a lottery.

G

[quote=deadlydarcy said]I had a couple of trips from Brizzle to Oxford this week, thankfully being driven by a fairly cautious chap. There was quite thick fog for our 45mins or so on the M4. As ever, the way people drive in fog...tailgating, speeds, no-indicator manoeuvres, etc etc - just staggering.

Yup, seen all that stuff before. I'm glad I don't have to partake in the daily motorway car commute lottery anymore.

Six seriously injured according to the beeb 🙁

personally I'd nick the bloody lot for "due care & attention" oh and confiscate their mobiles too .... see how many were on their phones just before ...

Bet that would be an interesting statistic 👿

in thick fog 🙄 will drivers never learn? (that's a rhetorical question BTW just to save you all time).

There's going to be some unhappy swampies today!

Insurers already looking for ways to wriggle out of paying up I bet.

Blimey. That'll be a lot of insurance forms getting filled in.

ambulance chasers are using twitter to contact those involved;

[i] @LAS_UK: Involved in the Sheppey Bridge Collision, we can help, DM us or email lasnewclaims@gmail.com #sheppey[/i]

there's always someone prepared to go slightly lower than you thought possible, isn't there.

In other news today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23967547

@jock-muttley - I'd go for that and add in compulsory breath & drug testing too if it were up to me.

personally I'd nick the bloody lot for "due care & attention" oh and confiscate their mobiles too ....

So if you stopped in time but someone went into the back of you then you'd get nicked, makes sense that...

Imagine how many of their injuries could have been negated if they'd all been wearing helmets. It should be mandatory.

Reading the thread title I thought, "Oh, those Germans again... with their lack of autobahn speed restrictions."

Kent? Wow.

Hope no one is too injured because ambulance access will be hard work.

edit: Saying that, the opposite carriageway is clear at least.

Some folk are just too cool or important to slow down.

Coming back to Devon on tueasday after bank holiday we drove through that crazy storm; haven't driven in rain like that for 10+ years even if it was over and done with in 5 minutes. Anyway, we slowed down to about 35 like everyone else but there were a couple of smartarses in jag/BMW's who seem to have the sort of technology that affords them the visibility and roadholding to steam through at 70. 🙄

Some folk are just too cool or important to slow down.

I travel many motorway miles in my current role and see far too many examples of this. Not quite sure if it is really poor driving technique or just an extension of the selfish attitude displayed by many people.

Thoughts go out to the innocent drivers and passengers caught up in this. I hope that none of them are too badly injured.

Like above every driver should be tested for drink and drugs, then sent on a driver awareness course,for a day.

All claims for whiplash banned, only serious injuries to be claimed for, and all those motorbikes just be heaved over the wall into the river below, they shouldnt be allowed on busy roads in daytime working hours.

reminds me of a bit in one of Mike Birbiglia's stand up shows:

"Last time I was Washington there was a hundred and twelve car pile-up on the freeway. A Hundred and Twelve cars! I can kind of understand the first.... hundred, but the last twelve are a bunch of morons! There are ONE HUNDRED CARS crashed in front of you on the freeway!"

Saying that, the opposite carriageway is clear at least.

no-one want to go to sheppey.

and all those motorbikes just be heaved over the wall into the river below, they shouldnt be allowed on busy roads in daytime working hours.

Eh? Could you explain your 'reasoning'* behind that statement?

* the word is used figuratively in this instance, obviously

Should let the chap chap who was thinking of moving there see this, shows how desperate people are to get away from Sheppey.

So if you stopped in time but someone went into the back of you then you'd get nicked, makes sense that...

As others have mentioned, the standard of driving in fog/torrential rain/etc is often appalling, people make no adjustments to the conditions and often don't even put their lights on. So glad I don't have to do a daily drive like that. Hope the injured recover OK.

This was clearly the work of a cyclist.

"All you could hear was cars crashing. We got out of our car and it was eerily quiet with visibility down to just 20 yards.

"Then you would hear the screeching of brakes and then a thud. It was all you could hear for about 10 minutes - crash after crash after crash.

Actually scratch my last post, it appears to be the work of over 100 utterly incompetant drivers.

Imagine how many of their injuries could have been negated if they'd all been wearing helmets. It should be mandatory.

I'm sure people like the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust will be all over this. Oh, wait.

So if you stopped in time but someone went into the back of you then you'd get nicked, makes sense that...
because using your mobile whilst driving is perfectly fine as long as you don't cause a 100 car pile up

I await the hordes of MPs who will popping up over the next few days saying

"Obviously we shouldn't be building any more expensive infrastructure like the Sheppey Bridge for motorists until they learn to behave properly on the roads"

So if you stopped in time but someone went into the back of you then you'd get nicked,

Err where in his example did he say he would be using a mobile?

binners - Member

and all those motorbikes just be heaved over the wall into the river below, they shouldnt be allowed on busy roads in daytime working hours.

Eh? Could you explain your 'reasoning'* behind that statement?

They weave in and out of traffic with no regard for their safety or others, cause vehicles to swerve,have absolutely no crash protection on faster roads, andf create massive bills for the nhs, when they frequently fall off.

oh and at least its taken the media and us plebs eye off the syrian g20 conflict for a few hours.

Ah... ok. Phew. For a moment I thought you were going to spout a load of generalised, sanctimonious, prejudiced and ill-informed twoddle.

But clearly you've presented a well thought through and rational argument instead. Well done you.

They weave in and out of traffic with no regard for their safety or others, cause vehicles to swerve,have absolutely no crash protection on faster roads, andf create massive bills for the nhs, when they frequently fall off.

Sounds a lot like what people say about cyclists that does!

Not quite sure if it is really poor driving technique or just an extension of the selfish attitude displayed by many people.

Both.

I'm out most days on the road, and it seems that driving a vehicle is at least third on the list of priorities of people when driving their vehicles. Also, having vehicles with so many safety features does seem to make people think they are invincible.

The selfish behaviour many Britons have acquired over the last few decades does tend to display it self in the way they drive.

Sounds a lot like what people say about cyclists that does!

Cyclists aren't travelling around in a two ton box of metal.

They weave in and out of traffic with no regard for their safety or others, cause vehicles to swerve,have absolutely no crash protection on faster roads, andf create massive bills for the nhs, when they frequently fall off.

What a fantastic bit of stereotypical exaggeration ,well done 🙄

What a nasty little thread.

In other news - I think I counted 22 cyclists on my way to work this morning, my journey involves 29 miles of country lanes and fast A-roads/Dual carriageways.
Visibility was well below 100m at quite a few points due to thick fog (Not that far from Sheppy as the crow flies)

Only 2 of these cyclists had any lights on their bike....

It isn't just car-drivers who behave like tw*ts in the fog...

I think it's daft when cyclists and motorcyclists take pot shots at each other. We're both basically in the same boat - i.e. invisible to crap motorists.

There's only one person taking dim-witted potshots at motorcyclists though, thankfully

What a nasty little thread.

Was never the intention 🙁

I know, Jamie, I know. Sad, really.

Edit. Already been said.

project - Member

oh and at least its taken the media and us plebs eye off the syrian g20 conflict for a few hours.

Are you suggesting some sort of lizard overlord conspiracy on this good day to leak bad news?

my least favourite time of year to commute by bike.

low sun, nights drawing in, add in a bit of rain/fog and its as tough as it gets.

roll on winter. i will take ice anyday.

a similar accident happened before 40 cars or so cant remember where but coppers did prosecute all drivers for undue care etc etc

too right

What a nasty little thread.

Here's a little kitten for you to sooth your rumpled feathers petal.

[img] [/img]

We missed a massive pile-up by a few feet one Friday evening driving down the M61 towards Manchester. The Police convoy carrying Dale Cregan from Preston Crown Court back to Strangeways overtook us, helicopter, motorbikes, cars and two prison vans. We sat behind the moving roadblock and as we passed Chorley someone behind us was distracted by a small incident on the hard shoulder... I saw a sudden movement in my mirror, looked and saw the apocalypse happening; cars spinning, shooting up the verge, hubcaps flying, dust, tyre smoke, absolute mayhem. For the next few miles there was only the Cregan convoy, us and two other cars on the M61 Southbound....

Just heard about this on Radio 4. Hoping for no fatalities as a result of this accident.

Coyote - Member
Some folk are just too cool or important to slow down.
I travel many motorway miles in my current role and see far too many examples of this. Not quite sure if it is really poor driving technique or just an extension of the selfish attitude displayed by many people.

^^This

In other news - I think I counted 22 cyclists on my way to work this morning, my journey involves 29 miles of country lanes and fast A-roads/Dual carriageways.
Visibility was well below 100m at quite a few points due to thick fog (Not that far from Sheppy as the crow flies)

Only 2 of these cyclists had any lights on their bike....

It isn't just car-drivers who behave like tw*ts in the fog..

But bikes dont come equipped with lights and most of us cyclists dont use or need lights until the darker nights start.

[i]"I was in the outside lane when vehicles in front of me braked and cars were crashing," he said.

"There was another pile-up behind the group of cars I was travelling in. All I could do was brake, stop and await further instructions."

He said it was very foggy and in some places he could only see 30ft in front of him.[/i]

Admittedly he /could/ have been driving at 30mph or less in the outside lane...

I was stationary right next to a multi car pile up in similar circumstances on the opposite carriageway on the M4 near Heston years ago. Its the scariest thing I've ever seen/heard/experienced. Very quiet, then a screeh of tyres and a horrible bang, then silence again for a few moments and then it happens all over again. What made it worse was quite a few fires started and you could hear a sort of whump sound when they started and then see an orange glow.

That was in incredibly thick fog, which was why my, much less busy carriageway (west bound early morning), had ground to a stop.

I can't really comment on the wisdom or otherwise of drivers, but I'm pretty sure nobody intentionally made this happen. I reckon its a lot like the accusations of rubber necking you hear about all the time. actually the Highway Code does suggest you should slow down and take appropriate action when you see blue flashing lights. When you do you get accused of gawping. I suspect that some people slow down more than others in fog, and the disparity in speeds is probably the problem, especially so when as in this case you are near a river. You often suddenly run into much thicker fog. etc etc

Its just not always as simple as someone is to blame and someone is a **** when things go wrong IMHO.

Project wrote...

They weave in and out of traffic with no regard for their safety or others, cause vehicles to swerve,have absolutely no crash protection on faster roads, andf create massive bills for the nhs, when they frequently fall off.

But bikes dont come equipped with lights and most of us cyclists dont use or need lights until the darker nights start.

[img] [/img]

El-Bent;

"Sounds a lot like what people say about cyclists that does!"

Cyclists aren't travelling around in a two ton box of metal.

Neither are the motorcyclists the previous comment you quoted was referring to, either 🙄

Neither are the motorcyclists the previous comment you quoted was referring to, either

I was referring to the cyclist quote. Keep up.

[quote=El-bent ]Neither are the motorcyclists the previous comment you quoted was referring to, either
I was referring to the cyclist quote. Keep up.

I was referring to the motorcyclists comment that project made so not sure what relevance your quote had?

For the past few years i've had a 3 mile cycle to my work on a very quiet Galloway road for 3 days a week, no issues whatsoever, last year i took a second job at a bike shop 10 miles away which means i drive the A75 back and forward another 3 days a week and the amount of ****ing idiots who overtake in the most stupidest places astounds me, folk who tailgate are another pet peeve, in general i'd welcome a re-test every 5 years and remove a decent amount of folk from the roads.

As for the above crash ^, bad driving caused it, not the fog.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-adverse-weather-conditions-226-to-237/fog-234-to-236

Personally I would just welcome some proper roads policing. Don't stand on street corners with a speed gun at 11pm. Get out at rush hour and nick the ****s overtaking wildly at way in excess of the limit and gassing on their phones.

No I have not been nicked late at night and I don't drive in a way that's likely to result in it either.

Shocking accident. How they will get to the bottom of who is a victim and who is a clot I don't know.

I was referring to the motorcyclists comment that project made so not sure what relevance your quote had?

Sounds a lot like what people say about cyclists that does!

The relevance being that cyclists or motorcyclists may dodge and weave through traffic, but are not going to cause the kind of mayhem and cost to the NHS that happened today when 130 metal boxes that crashed into each other. Except of course, if they are driving cars badly.

It isn't just car-drivers who behave like tw*ts in the fog..

So failing to fit a bike light (which you don't usually need at that time of day and might not obviously need when you leave home) is directly equivalent to driving too fast for the conditions? How many of those cyclists crash into other road users do you reckon?

I actually think that it should be a legal requirement to fit lights on any bicycle you ride on the road regardless of the time of day. You wouldnt have a car that didn't have lights just because you only usually ride it in the day time and there usually arn't adverse weather conditions. Couple of flashing lights on permanently and people might notice bikes more often.

M62 Saddleworth moor where it goes from 4 lanes to 3 you get jet pilots in cars + fog and of course the ol favourite M62 jct 24-26. Hello fog bye bye DROP YOUR speed........EVERYONE.

I'm with garage-dweller.

Nick people who drive like twunts especially during busy times and on fast roads, dish out proper sodding fines for bad driving, not joke fines of a couple of hundred, something that will make a real impression, like the cost of a whole car - i.e. thousands. Or a few nights in lockup.

Probably unrelated to this thread, but; driving without a license/insurance/mot should be an imprisonable offence, make it a three strikes rule or sliding scale of fines-jail, but there seems to be this assumption that piloting two tons of metal is a birthright for every human, when the truth is that some people are just so woefully bad at it they shouldn't be allowed to do it.

Oh, and causing death through dangerous driving? Go directly to jail do not pass go do not collect £200.

Agreed. ^^

I drove in this morning - quite heavy rain, loads of spray on the M60 and there were loads of cars without lights on, 80+ in the outside lane, tailgating, you name it.

Driving standards in this country are abysmal. 🙁

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-23984059

Good grief. Sad isn't it that the rules have to be changed, rather than allow motorists to use common sense to slow down for bad conditions. Simply because a percentage of motorists have no common sense.
Makes you wonder, maybe driving lessons/tests should be forced to integrate some bad weather driving experience? bit late for some I realise 🙁

Makes you wonder, maybe driving lessons/tests should be forced to integrate some bad weather driving experience?

Yep. Simulators for everyone. Including simulations of a variety of crashes.