passed a fiat sissyentro on the m1 today 300 yard before a service station on the hard shoulder,two people stood by the car,man near fencing safely, girl at back of nearside rear corner light not watching traffic but ringing the services on her blue screen mobile,i passed her in my recovery truck and at one time would have pulled up to offer assistance(i wouldnt now as i would probably be classed as some old perv) i hate to see people oblivious to fast moving traffic especially these days as i see so many people driving and texting ( my step daughters ex boyfriends best mate died while doing this so its a bit near the heart) anyway i passed and had to call into the services for an old mans needs,anyway i was in the truck having a coffee when said veeicle pulled in next to me closely followed by the 4th emergancy services,i spoke to the female about her use of the phone on the hard shoulder and how she could have been killed,she said it wont me want me i woz on the grass wont me,i explained again that she could have been my daughter and i was just trying to protect her life next time round,
the 4th service provider said to me ,"youve made your point mate ,ive told her the same because i saw her too
i drove on steaming.....
would i ever tell anyone again in the same situation?............no
let the government do it
muppets.........
im still wound up by
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 20/12/2007 at 22:03
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BB sometimes when i'm unfortunate enough to encounter the like that you have today i lose the will to live, what does the future hold when the offspring of such creatures mature.
Did you manage to get subtitles for the conversation, if so do post them so we all may enjoy.
Dr gb recommends a 'warmer of the cockles of the heart' otherwise known as a whisky mac.
Nothing wrong with being an old perv i've been practicing for years.
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bb
Let Darwinism have it's way.....
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>>and how she could have been killed,
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>>....im still wound up....
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Reading HJs news on the right (Christmas drivers 'should check fuel levels')
"According to The Highways Agency network performance manager Chris Holehouse, drivers assess the dangers of breaking down on the motorway in an "oblivious" fashion."
We are urging people to top up long before they hit the reserve tank to prevent these avoidable breakdowns," commented the official.
The body added that there were 67 deaths and 950 serious injuries on the hard shoulder between 2000 and 2004."
BB. This more than supports your concerns, feelings and efforts.
>>would i ever tell anyone again in the same situation?............no
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I hope you would and you can quote the above in round figures. 250 deaths and injuries each year, 50 a week. Just frightening.
You are in the ideal position to pass the word.
(By coincidence, last night I was watching one of those grainy videos from onboard a US cop's car when a truck ploughed into them. Fortunately none was killed)
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I had a blow-out of the front left tyre on the VW Caravelle on the M8. I stopped on the hard shoulder saw the tyre was beyond saving and then drove slowly about half a mile or so to the next raised Police observation platform thing. Reckoned my family and I were safer on there whilst I changed the wheel than right next to a very busy motorway.
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Always amuses me when I see broken down cars stopped - with the bonnet open in the pouring rain - that's obviously going to help matters....
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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May I add to bellboy's warning.
Do NOT get out of your car from the off side. Always exit from the side nearest the fencing. This warning is based on a real incident last year too horrific to describe.
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Broken down / stopped vehicles seem to become magnetic - they attract everything! years ago i broke down, stopped on hard shoulder (m6), and abandoned car and sat on banking out of harms way. As i was waiting for recovery, it was amazing how many vehicles were drawn towards it! although nobody actually hit it, many, mainly Hgv's, actually got thier nearside wheels onto the hard shoulder before veering away at the last minute. Luckily i've never broken down on a fast road since, but my first instinct is to leg it! then assess the situation. I shudder when i see folk in the situation mentioned in earlier posts, some folk have a death-wish gene.
Billy
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many years ago i broke down on the m1. pulled over as far as i could and got out the car to find a phone.
i heard a terrifying noise and turned around to sea a jet screeching just above the motorway and its undercarriage was touching the embankment. it was at kegworth and i have never seen such an awful site. i was less than 250mtrs away in front of it.
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As someone who works on the m/way, I agree. It's a scary place.
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As someone who works on the m/way I agree. It's a scary place.
I think I'd want to have my mid life crisis somewhere else then!
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It's a scary place.
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Sadly yet another death
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7160261.stm
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Talking about muppets. I used to take breakdown calls for the........anyway, a young bloke rang late at night from somewhere in London. He sounded very well-to-do and said he thought he'd had a puncture, thought? He said he didn't want to stop so hung his phone out of the window of his still moving Mini and asked if that was what a puncture sounded like.
Upshot was that he was far too posh to change a tyre and would "bat on" to his aunts and have a look there, only another twenty minutes.
Ah well.
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I contacted the Highways Agency about reducing the number of deaths and injuries on the hard shoulder. I did not imagine the figures you stated were that bad. I was prompted by witnessing someone driving along the shoulder for about a mile before leaving at an exit. If it had been dark and someone had been broken down, this idiot could have gone straight into someone.
Many of these drivers are not concentrating or are confused. I suggested that a spanner symbol be painted at regular intervals or coloured to make it stand out from the main carriageway like a bus lane.
They gave me a patronising answer that trials were ongoing to reduce collisions. I have not seen any evidence of this, has anyone else?
Thus until the hard shoulder is marked out in some way, these accidents/collisions will continue to happen.
Edited by scribe on 27/12/2007 at 20:43
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