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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

26 Pile-up on M5


Attero

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Watching the report on Sky news now, looks horrendous. "several dead and many more with life changing injuries" 7 Artics and 20 cars involved including 2 fuel tankers! Thoughts to those who have lost their lives and loved ones. The fog here is terrible today and being bonfire night is likely to be bad again later.

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It actually amazes me this does not happen more often the standard of driving is abismal these days, you cannot leave a safe gap anymore as some idiot will just drive in it. The new bad habit to me is the Ive indicated so im coming in your lane effect, it seems people have now connected their right hand indicator to their steering column !!!!!! Only the other night, a bit foggy and dark, some idiot was driving his 6 series (top down) in the fast lane at about 65 for 2-3 miles, the little hatchback behing him got fed up and pulled into the middle lane and undertook him, he tried to stop it but another car pulled out on him, so he does this amazing manouver where he goes from the outer to inner lane and tries to undertake everything, by now im in the outer lane and accelerating, he is blocked on the inner lanes and with the front wing of my range rover level with his rear wing he indicates AFTER looking in his mirror and seeing the RR and just pulls out into my lane, not too sure how we didnt touch but we didnt, fat boy in the 6 series then decides 60 is the speed he wanted to do all along and stays in the middle lane. 5 miles further on and the traffic is all stopped with all the cars involved virtually next to each other, the discussion was quite entertaining!! mr 6 series even had shades on, obviously trying to impress the very attractive young lady next to him who services he had no doubt paid for!!!! I dont think she was too impressed by the time we had finished with himas his roof went up and shades came off. But this is typical driving etiquette these days, I drive the long country way to work just to miss the carnage of the main roads.

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It actually amazes me this does not happen more often the standard of driving is abismal these days, you cannot leave a safe gap anymore as some idiot will just drive in it.

 

Don't often agree with you but this time I do. You can add going through red lights to that. It is obviously okay if they've only just turned red. I had a bloke blast his horn at me for what I assume was for me stopping at a red light. Didn't brake harshly or do anything untoward. He displayed his machismo by then immediately blasting past me when the lights went green. He did this by driving the wrong side of a pedestrian crossing island! Audi A5 by the way. Figures.

 

I drive the long country way to work just to miss the carnage of the main roads.
Me too! The scenery is better as well.
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Horrible accident and my thoughts are with those who have died and been injured.

 

I spend a lot of time on motorways and as John says, there is an attitude that if you have been good enough to indicate you have the right to move wherever you want. I always see people coming back from the third lane into the second not actually looking for people pulling out of the inside lane. How they avoid each other is more by luck than judgement. I have been at the scene of a number of accidents and only one fatality fortunately. It is something that I wouldn't want anyone to share.

 

While people are driving in their inpregnible little box all is fine. Once the kack hits the fan and you realise that no-one is beyond death then you may want to calm down a bit. The weather will claim a lot of people this winter but it's driving attitudes that will claim more.

 

H.

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Don't often agree with you but this time I do. You can add going through red lights to that. It is obviously okay if they've only just turned red. I had a bloke blast his horn at me for what I assume was for me stopping at a red light. Didn't brake harshly or do anything untoward. He displayed his machismo by then immediately blasting past me when the lights went green. He did this by driving the wrong side of a pedestrian crossing island! Audi A5 by the way. Figures.

 

Me too! The scenery is better as well.

 

Well there is hope for the world !!!!!! We have finally agreed on something !!!!! Really our thoughts should be with the families of the dead and injured. On that note im off to Surrey Rolling Road.

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People traveling too fast and too close for the conditions. I have highlighted conditions as people think driving the speed limit in fog or torrential rain is acceptable.

 

Driving the speed limit in those conditions is perfectly fine and acceptable, there is nothing wrong with that

 

Its the distance between cars and the way they drive that is not acceptable

 

As said earlier leaving a gap isnt done anymore as people just pull into it but people need to realise and remember that the stopping distance increases in different conditions so its not the speed thats the problem its the drivers and how they drive

 

Signalling is there to let people know you intend to move if clear, its an option not a right

 

The worst thing people do in this country is anchor up and slow right down with a little bit of rain or constantly changing lanes as one is going faster than theirs

 

The underlining problem is not the speed in adverse or even slightly adverse conditions its how we drive

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This was right after the rugby club which is yards from the M5, I used to live in Taunton.

 

The club were having a bonfire and firework display at the time of the pile up. So add smoke, and distracting fireworks to apparent fog and bingo.

 

Speculation I know, but having fireworks and a bonfire that close to a busy M-way doesn't seem too clever in retrospect.

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved.

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That looks and sounds terrible, its been a long time since there has been a crash like that, must have been hideous for all involved, devastating, a bad RTC on a motorway, involving trapped, in fires and more than likely children, it doesn't get any worse than that.

 

I agree with the comments about bad driving, but most of the time what causes a lot of crashes is doing something other than concentrating on driving, letting other things distract you, I've lost count of the times we have found things in the drivers foot well at crashes, as Dude says lane discipline and distance are 2 of the worst things on a motorway.

 

That's my two penneth anyway, my feelings go out to all involved, this will change a lot of lives forever.

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This was right after the rugby club which is yards from the M5, I used to live in Taunton.

 

The club were having a bonfire and firework display at the time of the pile up. So add smoke, and distracting fireworks to apparent fog and bingo.

 

Speculation I know, but having fireworks and a bonfire that close to a busy M-way doesn't seem too clever in retrospect.

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved.

 

A witness on the tv said the visibilty was good at the scene BUT the traffic kept slowing to watch the fireworks !!!!

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A witness on the tv said the visibilty was good at the scene BUT the traffic kept slowing to watch the fireworks !!!!
I was driving southbound just before it happened (saw the fireworks too) and while it was quite misty overall visibility was fine. Nobody had their rear fogs on - they weren't needed at that time.
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In the report one witness is saying that they just hit a "wall of white" and then it was clear on the other side. Was this patchy fog or was it smoke from the Rugby club?

 

H.

It's only supposition on my part as to what was on the other side of the road just as the accident occurred, as I was already about 5 mins south by then.

 

There were occasional bits that were thicker, but not badly so (IMO), but if you have a fire going when conditions are prone to fog the smoke particles can stay suspended in the area for a while, so this may well be what happened at the exit.

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would not be a surprise if people just slowed down to watch the fireworks, just like they do to look at a crash on the other side of the barrier, causing sudden breaking behind them for no reason on a clear road, we have all been there sudden traffic jam for no reason? tragic out come this time. Just to on the news tonight the police have taken away 2 slightly damaged cars from 400 yds in front of the crash?

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RIP... I wonder what those Artics are carrying though looks very flamable...
I think their was a mention of an oil tanker too? I have seen a car go up in flames before, it happens so quickly it is unbelievable! From start to finish I'd say it takes 5 minutes at most!
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