Hi , I witnessed an accident which may eventualy be seen on traffic cop tv.
Ahead of me on the A1 dual carriageway a patrol car was following (well back) a car being towed at 50 mph by another car, the car being towed did not have an "on tow" sign in the rear. The tow car was, in my opinion following too close to a pickup ahead of it and the car being towed was swaying from side to side. The pickup was overladen with a load of what appeared to be brushwood which could have been blown off at any time as there was strong croswinds at the time.
Taking all this into consideration I decided to hang back behind what was going on ahead of me. I followed for a mile and then all of a sudden the pickup took a sharp turn to the left , the tow car braked, the car being towed collided with the tow car and ended up accross the two lanes.
What surprised me was that the pickup just carried on his way when he clearly must have seen what happened behind him as there was a loud screeching of brakes and a cloud of dust and smoke from the t.yres. Admittedly the tow car was driving too close to the vehicle ahead but the driver of the pickup did appear to make a last second decision to take the left turn.
The patrol car immediately stopped the traffic behind and went to the assistance of the driver of the towed car, a young lady who was clearly shaken up. I was eventualy directed slowly past the scene by the patrol car driver.
A few things come to mind here, should the driver of the pickup have stopped, was he technically involved in the accident ?.
Could the driver of the patrol car in some way have anticipated what could happen in the circumstances and somehow prevented the risk of an accident ?.
Regards Mal.
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should the driver of the pickup have stopped, was he technically involved in the accident ? - Yes (owing ot the presence of a motor vehicle on road etc etc.
Could the driver of the patrol car in some way have anticipated what could happen in the circumstances and somehow prevented the risk of an accident - difficult to say, but judging by your post he seems to have done that otherwise you could have been involved.
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To me it appeared to be an accident waiting to happen, maybe if the parol car officer had followed (well back as she was) in the middle of the lanes, and at the same time switched his siren and lights, the two cars might have safely come to a halt well before the pickup driver had to turn left ,and maybe........ just maybe, the accident might not have happened.
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Sorry, just to confirm (not inferring it makes any difference) it was a female officer.
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I will also add that there was traffic overtaking us at 70 mph, it could have been real nasty considering where the towed car ended up across both lanes.
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As the driver of the towed vehicle was female it is possible that she is related to the towing driver which should make for an interesting insurance claim! The absence of an 'on tow' sign may be very relevant to any claim, I would assume this fact will have been noted by the patrol car crew
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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Don't quite understand what it has got to do with the pick-up. unless he did not indicate.
Towing car following too closely, and probably going faster than the cabability of the two drivers (towing and towed).
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..and let's be realistic, how many people would really stop if an accident happened behind them *especially* if they thought it could potentially be pinned on them?
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