Sheppey car crash

[Shedendman]

Heard about this on the news this morning,so glad there were no fatalities.
But i have a question to ask,i've looked at a lot of videos and film footage ie
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/sheppey-ca...ists-drivers-collision-094450208.html#LwEuHgg
where the overhead warning signs as you get on most motorways etc i dont see any on or near that bridge,surely the traffic highway bods/police whatever must have foreseen a fog coming over.
But as one of the comments made,SLOW DOWN if you cant see

 

[awemawson]

It was a very misty morning here, and I expect it was there too. Drivers have a responsibility for their own actions - if the conditions are bad you should drive appropriately. No number of signs will slow down impatient people. Obviously I sympathise with their plight but don't blame the authorities. People expect not to have to apply common sense these days

 

[Shedendman]

I agree with you 1000% on impatient people and common sense and some drivers should never even be behind the wheel,my comment really is this is a fairly new bridge(6 yrs) why wasn't the warnings etc built,they have them on others far older,ie,dartford crossing,the forth,the severn why not on this one?

This is a little weird for me,because today i was working 2 miles from the coast, hastings in east sussex,scorching hot day all day but come around 3.30pm sun was gone,temp went down very quick,then seconds later a fog was rolling in,rather surreal.

 

[garethp]

It's a miracle no one was killed. There's been many a time on foggy days when vehicles have gone screaming past me on all types of road, common sense seems to be seriously lacking in some drivers and some people seem to think if they can't see anything in front there isn't anything there.

 

[garethp]

Do people really need a sign to tell them it's foggy?

 

[Shedendman]

Do people really need a sign to tell them it's foggy?

Sadly yes,as said before,common sense doesn't happen these days

 

[anjum]

Unfortunately the ones that read the signs don't need them, and ones that crash ignore them anyway.

 

[mike os]

sounds like a proper bunch of tossers on the loose....

 

[awemawson]

I agree with you 1000% on impatient people and common sense and some drivers should never even be behind the wheel,my comment really is this is a fairly new bridge(6 yrs) why wasn't the warnings etc built,they have them on others far older,ie,dartford crossing,the forth,the severn why not on this one?

This is a little weird for me,because today i was working 2 miles from the coast, hastings in east sussex,scorching hot day all day but come around 3.30pm sun was gone,temp went down very quick,then seconds later a fog was rolling in,rather surreal.

Well in that case I bet you went past our farm gate on the A21 about six miles north of Hastings - next time call in for a cup of tea.

 

[garethp]

Sadly yes,as said before,common sense doesn't happen these days

Thinking back you're right, common sense is severely lacking in some people but sadly now too many then get backed up by keen lawyers who see reasons to sue, making a bit of cash for a 'victim' and a lot of cash for themselves.

 

[chunkolini]

Quote from a driver in todays paper 'they should have closed the bridge it was too foggy'.
So there we have it is 'Their' fault, the drivers were not to blame.
Big points to the trucker who worked out what was happening and blocked the road to stop more people joining in.

 

[Shedendman]

Well in that case I bet you went past our farm gate on the A21 about six miles north of Hastings - next time call in for a cup of tea.

Sadly had to go the other way to hailsham,but that reminds me,must get some of those sausages

 

[norsa]

For what its worth, not all the drivers involved were to blame for the carnage. I will qualify the comment. Before you have me down as a sanctimonious never break a speed limit driver, I am a licenced rally driver competing in the south of England rally championships.
My job is as a chauffeur and as such I chose to also be an advanced driver. Most of my work involves motorways and driving standards in general are pretty atrocious. I will always leave a gap between myself and the car in front at what ever speed we happen to be doing but more often than not, Mr Important rears his ugly head and has to sit right on my bumper. (Mr really important has to sport a full set of fog lights at all times)He has now lost the power of rational thought as we are holding him (usually but not exclusively) up from an important schedule, is now a ticking time bomb and is primed to make an error causing others to react and not always the right way. Its anyone's guess as to what the ridiculous outcome is but it lies squarely on his/her shoulders. 9 accidents out of 10 that I come across involve cars hitting the back of the car in front.
Nick

 

[Dave3066]

The fact that there were no fatalities is hardly miraculous. Modern engineering and vehicle safety systems make cars very safe places to be. The real worry for me is that fatalities in accidents such as this make people think about how they drive in these conditions. We learn from experience and people dying tends to focus the mind a bit. Now, many will look at the lack of fatalities and carry on as normal because no-one died.

Dave

 

[awemawson]

To a large extent modern vehicles isolate the driver from the reality and consequences of his stupidity as a driver. Air conditioned comfort masks icy roads, air bags and side impact bars make servivabilty more likely, so the driver retains his genes in the gene pool and can still breed!

It has been said that the most effective safety measure would be a spike in the middle of the steering wheel pointing at the driver. Driver then would be most careful

 

[zx9]

Thinking back to the M40 pile ups ten (?) years ago, they always had photographs of burned out vehicles. Perhaps it is not just impact resistance of the passenger cell but also isolating fuel pumps during / after a collision that has helped to prevent loss of life on this occasion.

 

[bash'it]

lucky no one came off the side of the bridge

 

[outofthefire]

In my opinion matrix signs are complete waste of space 9 times out of 10 they are displaying incorrect or irrelevant information and as a result are largely ignored anyway. The problem in my opinion is that far too many drivers aren't sufficiently competent to be behind the wheel.

 

[Robotstar5]

In my opinion matrix signs are complete waste of space 9 times out of 10 they are displaying incorrect or irrelevant information and as a result are largely ignored anyway.

They tend not to ignore the signs on the M42 I use most days, exceeding the variable speed limit posted ends with points and a fine!

 

[Bsmith]

I will always leave a gap between myself and the car in front at what ever speed we happen to be doing but more often than not, Mr Important rears his ugly head and has to sit right on my bumper. (Mr really important has to sport a full set of fog lights at all times)He has now lost the power of rational thought as we are holding him (usually but not exclusively) up from an important schedule, is now a ticking time bomb and is primed to make an error causing others to react.

I very much agree and another of Mr really important's moves is overtaking and cutting back in too close in front in front of me. In the time it takes me at 70mph to check my mirror, brake (which cancels my cruise control) in order to maintain a safe distance, an accident immediately ahead could be caused by Mr really important (probably) or someone else. If during this instance, I run into the back of Mr really important, who's to say that it wasn't my fault?