Easy there with the clever remarks. Real people have died.

Agreed. What the **** is wrong with you people? Bunch of pricks arguing about crap that doesn’t matter. It’s not a wonder people are leaving this frigging forum in droves.

Or, we could be adults and accept that nasty things happen and discussing them is one way of learning how to prevent them happening again, or lessen their impact.

Discussion is one thing. Territorial pissings are quite another.

Easy there with the clever remarks. Real people have died.

+1

I know a lot of you seem to enjoy arguing on the internet, but really.

So politicans and procar lobbyiests are experts on road safety are they?

Are you?

Do you really think most people drive sensibly? I’m stunned anyone would think this after a short trip around our roads.

That’s out of context and not what I said. In hindsight though, “sensibly” is probably the wrong word; “at a reasonable speed” is what I meant. If we got rid of speed limits on motorways, I think the majority of people would drive at a reasonable speed. It might come as a shock to you, but plenty of people drive under the speed limit right now. However, I think a percentage wouldn’t, which is why limits are necessary.

Hang on.

Easy there with the clever remarks. Real people have died.

I’m not talking about this incident in any way. Is that directed at me? I’ll bow out here if so.

Discussion is one thing. Territorial pissings are quite another.

Yup, I can see this thread rapidly deteriorating.

…..as if could go in any other direction 😐

Thoughts are with the folk who lost family and friends..and all those working on it. BBC footage looked like a nightmare.
Jeezo why do these things always need to turn into a “I know best” contest on here?

excellent, the moral minority get to close down another thread.

no one’s being disrepectful, no one has come on said that they have relatives involved and that they’re personally offended. people are just discussing a tragedy in which people have died. we talk about iraq, people have died there too, should we stop talking about that ?

things are starting to get a little out of hand on here.

It’s not a wonder people are leaving this frigging forum in droves.

excellent, the moral minority get to close down another thread.

no one’s being disrepectful, no one has come on said that they have relatives involved and that they’re personally offended. people are just discussing a tragedy in which people have died. we talk about iraq, people have died there too, should we stop talking about that ?

things are starting to get a little out of hand on here.

+1 billion

If it is true this was started by someone joining the carriageway too slowly and kicking off the chain of last minute braking I wouldn’t be surprised… There seems to be an increase in bullying from drivers on slips joining dual carriageways/motorways. People seem to be forgetting about the give way to the right approach and they think they can simply join regardless.

I tend to think there’s been a bit of a increase in these sorts of things now we’ve largely replaced men in hats with yellow boxes. Indicators, road manners, distance (probably a factor here), texting etc. Can’t be managed by a yellow box.

I do quite a lot of motorway miles and from what I’ve seen most near misses involving slip roads are caused by people not confident enough to join the motorway at the appropriate speed. Basically treating the slip road as a give way junction and causing vehicles to slam on and try to swerve.

Boblo you are so right
The amount of people whom think they have the right of way to come out
whilst its a give way line is beyond me then the wrist actions that follow
when they are so in the right 😯
Driving mainly on the A13 is one in a million beyond reality some times.

Such a tragic incident, one which sadly i was close to less than an hour before it happened.

I was in nearby fields walking at around 8pm,, this was less than a mile away from the incident. At that time visibility was very poor, my head torch lit up the wall of fog like a white sheet in front of me. I could see at best 5 metres in front of me, my location was at the same level as the motorway so would assume it was as bad there.

I was away from that area at the time of the incident so can’t comment on the conditions over on the M5, but in town it was still extremely foggy.

At the time of the incident a nearby firework display was coming to a close, the display was very close to the M5.
My speculation based on conditions out there and the behaviour of people is thus.

Vision impaired on the M5 due to thick fog.
The nearby firework displays grand finale, is seen from the M5 through the mirk, as a bright flashing area, lots of colour, but only as a flashing colourful haze.

Drivers distracted by this haze, begin to bunch up, panic breaking ensues, lorries jack knife from heavy braking, inevitable carnage begins.

We all see the effects of rubber necking on the motorways, it’s stupidly dangerous during normal conditions, add poor viability and inappropriate speeds into the mix and this shit happens.

A friend just phoned me in shock as she’d just had to pull over after a driver in front of her, rubber necked at the news crews, etc, then panic braked as he’d crept up on the vehicle in front of him, the knock on affect was and maybe is a further accident..

Stay safe out there peeps, it’s full of crazy mindless drivers.

Thoughts are with all those involved, i hear of the horrific tales from the scene,children screaming, the heat from the flames being to intense for the first on the scene to be able to help. Them just standing helpless, hearing the panic and the pain.

The sound of the choppers and sirens through the night as the hero’s work tirelessly to do whatever they could. Amazing people.

And finally to those stuck in traffic, waiting for it to clear, no doubt moaning and cursing about having messed up their evenings due to the delay. Spare a thought you people, you night was nothing by comparison.

Sharki.

althepal FTW

R.I.P to those lost.

Accident on type of road nobody is taught to drive on as a standard shocker.

The test is wrong. It teaches people to satisfy a ticksheet, not to demonstate full control of a vehicle in different scenarios. Having said that I dare say motorway pile-ups still happen in Finland.

Very well said Sharki,

Thankfully, these things appear to be very rare in the UK these days. Thoughts with the families of those involved.

Now if A_A and other idiots want to pick a fight about speeding, please **** off and do so somewhere else

From driving that section of motorway a fair bit, it always seems to be prone to bunching and stop start traffic. As usual I doubt it will change anything, give it a few weeks, maybe an inquiry and it will be forgotten

Accident on type of road nobody is taught to drive on as a standard shocker.

The test is wrong. It teaches people to satisfy a ticksheet, not to demonstate full control of a vehicle in different scenarios.

100% agree. My mum wouldn’t even let me out to college in my car until I’d done the Pass+ course. Granted it’s not the be all and end all, but I spent a couple of hours driving up and down the M1/M18/A1M with the instructor talking me through pretty much everything that was happening. Compare this to my uni housemate who, afaik, still won’t use a motorway because she’s too scared. Maybe confidence was a massive factor in someone pulling onto the carriage way at too slow a speed – if that is what happened…

Why start a post like this? And why allow yourself to argue about trivia?

Thoughtless, ghoulish and unnecessary.

the hero’s work tirelessly to do whatever they could. Amazing people.

well said.

my thoughts are with everyone involved with and effected by last nights events.

Only just heard about this.. Truely awful! 🙁
Just called my Ex to make sure friends and family who usually attend the carnival with their kids and travel home via that stretch of the M5 are safe, thankfully they are.

My thoughts are with the friends and families of all those involved 😥

althepal FTW

R.I.P to those lost.

Accident on type of road nobody is taught to drive on as a standard shocker.

The test is wrong. It teaches people to satisfy a ticksheet, not to demonstate full control of a vehicle in different scenarios. Having said that I dare say motorway pile-ups still happen in Finland.

completely agree

Should the BBC be showing Mobile phone footage taken by someone driving in the opposite direction? IF it wasn’t the driver doing the filming shouldn’t they be making the fact clear? If it was the driver filming aren’t they guilty of encouraging law breaking?

Bunch of pricks arguing about crap that doesn’t matter

Well I’m sorry but I think something that cuases so may deaths on an almost daily basis is worth talking about.

Horrific incident.

Arguments about speed/proximity can go on for all eternity. Ultimately, I’m sure we’d all agree that there exists a significant minority of drivers who simply shouldn’t be allowed on the roads.

Obviously, none of the esteemed members of STW are numbered amongst their ranks, but how many times have you seen…

. Someone pulling out of a slip road without looking

. Someone already on the road oblivious to a slip road and neglecting to move to the other lane so that they can merge and join, despite said other lane being empty.

. Dangerous undertaking followed by driver swerving in front of you without indicating

. Cars crossing 2,3 or even 4 lanes of traffic in a single manoeuvre when joining or exiting a motorway.

. Cars swerving in front of you in order to exit a motorway/dual carriageway having missed the off ramp.

etc etc etc

I used to see one truly mental piece of driving every couple of months or so, now it’s every other time I drive.

I saw a car reversing on a roundabout the other day having missed the exit it intended to take! No amount of speed cameras are going to catch these people, but the reinstatement of properly resourced traffic patrols, draconian fines and giving courts far greater authority to ban people (for life if necessary) for reckless driving or order them to retake their driving tests may have an impact.

Driving conditions were foul last night, driving back from Yeovil up to Bruton in the fog was horrible. Had to take it really slow. We’re used to bad fog from living up in Leeds, but I’ve never known anywhere that gets it so patchy/thick.

That said, it sounds like the accident was more down to the driver entering from the slipway without due attention. Horrendous situation: excellent work by the emergency services, as ever.

Just for you A_A, as you’re struggling to read again today…

Really feel for the familys of people who lost a Mum / Dad / Brother / Sister / Uncle last night . Parents should never , ever , have to bury thier children . It must be harrowing and soul destroying . There will be many people grieving at the loss of friends and familly today .
Yes , it was a tragic accident .
Yes , the general standard of motorway driving could be better.
Yes , speed was an issue .
If they were doing 0mph there would not have been a crash. The use / misuse of fog lights , over-tired drivers rushing to get home to loved ones after a long week at work, plus poor driving conditions all are contributing factors. All it takes is a 1 sceond distraction and a chain of events unfolds which results in the horror of last nights crash .
My thoughts are for the lost , and the emergency services personnel who have to deal with unfortunate incidents like these too often .

Cars and lorries dont crash themselves unfortunately. There will be plenty innocent people who have been caught up in this crash, but someone somewhere did something stupid.

Well said Sharki and Bullheart.

Sad news.

So seven confirmed dead on BBC News; shall we just be grateful it was not our family or friends and move on from this thread.

Thoughts are with all those involved, i hear of the horrific tales from the scene,children screaming, the heat from the flames being to intense for the first on the scene to be able to help. Them just standing helpless, hearing the panic and the pain.

Yes, that paints it clearly Sharki.

So please would the judge-mental people stop posting; now is not the time.

Really sad to hear this on the news this morning, my thoughts go out to the friends and family.

The daylight helicopter views show two artics stopped with a TNT truck jackknifed behind them, and four or five burned-out trucks in a line, along with cars behind that, which tends to support the report of a vehicle joining the m-way causing others to brake. The jackknifed truck was the main cause of the carnage, probably because with fog and spray drivers coming up behind wouldn’t have been able to see it in front of them. Considering this is the worst multiple-vehicle accident since 1991, and considering how busy our roads are now, it shows that our roads are generally very safe indeed. I never feel uneasy driving on motorways, although I don’t do it very often, tbh, and I drive for the conditions. This whole 80mph controversy is rediculous though, an indicated 80 is actually around 72mph, as most speedo’s are 10% fast. Mine is, and the Puma I had before was*. People are generally going slower than they think they are.
*Checked against GPS, and the Puma’s digital speedo.

just seen a report on the bbc and very much pushing the 80mph speed change being a bad thing in light of this crash.

It just strikes me as being a mile wide of the mark. Not in favour of higher limits as i don’t think it actually will bring any benefits unless your the ceo of shell or bp. To be honest dropping the standard limit to 55 would probably be better. Introduce a variable limit so higher speeds at non peak times on all motorways

As an aside i wonder if anyone will use this to argue in favour of the clock changes that are being proposed. Dark evening are not good because it tends to be busier on the roads than dark mornings.

This is terribly sad.

As for speed limits, I’m sure most people can safely drive 10mph faster, but I really really don’t want the idiots to have a legal excuse to go faster.

As an aside i wonder if anyone will use this to argue in favour of the clock changes that are being proposed. Dark evening are not good because it tends to be busier on the roads than dark mornings.

I think it would be dark at 2030 either way anyway wouldn’t it?

Either way, this was a bloody awful accident. Lots of victims, coppers, paramedics, firemen, doctors and nurses coming to terms with what must have been a shit night today. 😐

There but for the grace of whatever…

As bravohotelier says above, we all see stupid things happening on the motorway each time we’re on it. One stupid mistake and you could get caught up in something like that through no fault of your own. Sometimes when I’m on the motorway, which isn’t much to be honest anymore, I’ll find myself just having drifted too close to a car in front, I’ll check myself, let the engine brake my car back to the two second gap…but in the meantime, had that car come to a halt against something immoveable, I’d be in his driving seat with him, both of us probably dead. I know no other STWers would commit such a stupid act, but there you go, it can happen to the best 😐 of us.

Careful out there. Lets everyone be awesome to one another!

FFS, the amount of arguing and speculation in this thread is ridiculous.

I feel for the folk involved and there families left behind I was there 3 hours earlier because I refused the overtime if I did the overtime well who knows

cut the shit folks there are people involved in this horrible accident please have a heart

Lets everyone be awesome to one another!

*Steve Vai widdle*

Introduce a variable limit so higher speeds at non peak times on all motorways

seems a good solution to me.