Caravan crash.

May 24, 2014
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Just been reading on the news that a caravan has been travelling the wrong way on the M40, southbound on the northbound carriageway. It has been involved in a collision.
Hope and pray everyone is ok. You have to ask how as its not an easy mistake to make. Possibly confusion has played a part.

Even if you accidentally get in that situation the flow of traffic would tell you something was wrong.
 
Mar 24, 2014
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Thingy said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-oxfordshire-45869648
Doesn't appear to have extension mirrors..........mind you he probably wasn't looking too much behind himself, most of his problems were in front of him!
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Looks like a Hymer or Trigano pop top with Forester tow car. Dash cam footage doesn’t show number plate clearly but so many vehicles around it.
 
May 24, 2014
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Three dead. Caravan driver in late 80's. He and passenger and a driver in his 30's. Can only say its a tragedy that should not have happened.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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otherclive said:
Thingy said:

Being foreign registered that would be lane 1 (slow) for an overseas driver. Would have had to cross UK lanes 1and 2 after coming down the slip road.

That would have been his fast lane, , lunch time news states Both Driver and passenger , both in their 80's unfortunatley killed in the crash.
Edit, I see what you mean about slow lane. Hutch.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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EH52ARH said:
otherclive said:
Thingy said:

Being foreign registered that would be lane 1 (slow) for an overseas driver. Would have had to cross UK lanes 1and 2 after coming down the slip road.

That would have been his fast lane, , lunch time news states Both Driver and passenger , both in their 80's unfortunatley killed in the crash.
Edit, I see what you mean about slow lane. Hutch.

Yes perhaps I could have explained better my logic. The driver going the wrong way was probably so confused that they would have gone into an auto response and sought to align themselves with vehicles going in their direction. Those vehicles would have been on the adjacent carriageway and going in the same direction as the caravan driver and from that drivers perspective they could have thought moving into lane 3 was the right way to go. As that lane would have been akin to their own National Lane 1 or slower nearside lane. Similar to when we have to join carriageways together as M ways merge examples being around Birmingham although in that case all vehicles are moving in the same direction.
A tragic accident for all concerned.
 
Sep 29, 2016
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I see nothing 'freak' about this tragic incident, a driver made a mistake whilst driving abroad (I've done it :blush: ).

But I guess age and reduced cognition was very much a contributing factor, for how long would one drive into oncoming traffic before becoming aware that something was amiss?

Perhaps there were other factors involved also, alcohol and drugs (including the adverse effects of medication) are possibilities.

Sorry but I do not subscribe to the 'freak accident' description used in some reports.

Many mourning and distraught relatives and friends of the deceased share an unfortunate burden though, they have my sympathies.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Anseo said:
I see nothing 'freak' about this tragic incident, a driver made a mistake whilst driving abroad (I've done it :blush: ).

But I guess age and reduced cognition was very much a contributing factor, for how long would one drive into oncoming traffic before becoming aware that something was amiss?

Perhaps there were other factors involved also, alcohol and drugs (including the adverse effects of medication) are possibilities.

Sorry but I do not subscribe to the 'freak accident' description used in some reports.

Many mourning and distraught relatives and friends of the deceased share an unfortunate burden though, they have my sympathies.

From the point of view of those involved with the exception of the driver and passenger of the outfit, it was a "freak" accident as defined by most dictionaries.
Collins "A freak event or action is one that is a very unusual or extreme example of its type."
 
Sep 29, 2016
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otherclive said:
Anseo said:
I see nothing 'freak' about this tragic incident, a driver made a mistake whilst driving abroad (I've done it :blush: ).

But I guess age and reduced cognition was very much a contributing factor, for how long would one drive into oncoming traffic before becoming aware that something was amiss?

Perhaps there were other factors involved also, alcohol and drugs (including the adverse effects of medication) are possibilities.

Sorry but I do not subscribe to the 'freak accident' description used in some reports.

Many mourning and distraught relatives and friends of the deceased share an unfortunate burden though, they have my sympathies.

From the point of view of those involved with the exception of the driver and passenger of the outfit, it was a "freak" accident as defined by most dictionaries.
Collins "A freak event or action is one that is a very unusual or extreme example of its type."

I most certainly would not make this subject a point of argument of definition.

The frequency of such accidents are relatively few I accept, "unusual or extreme examples", regrettably not.
 

Parksy

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Nov 12, 2009
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So sorry for all those involved, this particular incident is unusual because a vehicle towing a caravan was involved but its not unknown for a foreign registered vehicle to travel on the wrong side of the road.
In this case the driver had unfortunately made it onto the carriageway and possibly imagined that he was in the 'slow lane'. A tragedy was inevitable.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Academic but to answer the earlier points,
freak-accident. Noun. (plural freak accidents) An incident, especially one that is harmful, occurring under highly unusual and unlikely circumstances.
Sadly the European driver made a catastrophic error of judgement resulting in carnage, his , the passenger and young innocent drivers death.
It does seem strange, disorientated or not , he did not think it odd so many vehicles were approaching him head on. Maybe the poor chap suffered some medical event and was on a sort of autopilot oblivious to his surroundings.
No doubt the post mortems will reveal more.
Sad day :(
 
Oct 20, 2015
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As has been illustrated through all the heartfelt words in this thread,: a real tragedy. whether caused by a 'simple mistake, or momentary error of judgement' or other reason- a tragic accident with a devastating outcome - kind thoughts go out to they who will not see those people near and dear to them again as a result.
 
May 24, 2014
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Thre dead for no good reason is awful, but considering the traffic on the M40 which looked busy, it could have been massive.
If it was a medical episode, I wonder why the passenger didnt pick up on it.
 
Dec 6, 2013
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The news article says that the passenger also died, so it will never be known whether he/she picked up on it or what action they tried to take. My heart goes out to the family and friends of those who died.

I do wonder though about how some people's minds think if they witness anything like this, given how quickly that dash cam footage appeared online. If you did witness that, and learnt after arriving at your destination that there had been an accident, wouldn't your first reaction be to submit the footage to the police and not to the press?
 
Mar 14, 2005
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The loss of life under any circumstances is sad to her about, and like others my sympathies and my condolences go to the family and friends of those involved. We are likely never to know the exact reasons why or how this incident occurred, so anything posted so far is pure conjecture.

I also think its wrong to assume the videos pictures reached the press before the police. Unless the police release the time they received them we will never know.
 
May 24, 2014
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If you did witness that, and learnt after arriving at your destination that there had been an accident, wouldn't your first reaction be to submit the footage to the police and not to the press?

Quite so, unfortunately, in the age we live in, people automatically think social media and sensationalism rather than discretion.

Prof, about 2 hours after the accident happened, the police put out an appeal to ask people to stop posting the videos and images online, in particular the graphic ones. I remember the scenes on London Bridge where as a person lay dying, a woman was stood over them filming.
 
Sep 29, 2016
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On one news report today on the radio, it was said that the driver and passenger of the car towing the caravan were from Ireland.

Were it Northern or Southern Ireland the fact remains that they drive on the same side of the road as those of us in mainland Britain.

Same report mentioned that the slip road involved had been the locus of previous incidents of vehicles entering in the direction of oncoming traffic.

Perhaps the official accident inquiries will render information that will either enlighten us to the cause of the accident or result in recommendations for improvements to the road safety infrastructure relative to the slip road access to the M40.

I hope that the findings obviate or reduce the likelihood of future tragic recurrences.
 

Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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A recent news report about an inquiry into a death caused when an elderly man with dementia drove on the wrong side of the motorway, reported on missed opportunity to prevent this tragedy. What shocked me was the report that, on having your licence removed on medical grounds, all you get is a letter from the DVLA telling you not to drive. Clearly if you have Dementia this is totally useless.
All these events are awful tragedies, often without blame to the driver, who cannot be held responsible for their actions.
Mel
 
Jun 26, 2017
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Anseo said:
On one news report today on the radio, it was said that the driver and passenger of the car towing the caravan were from Ireland.

Were it Northern or Southern Ireland the fact remains that they drive on the same side of the road as those of us in mainland Britain.

Same report mentioned that the slip road involved had been the locus of previous incidents of vehicles entering in the direction of oncoming traffic.

Perhaps the official accident inquiries will render information that will either enlighten us to the cause of the accident or result in recommendations for improvements to the road safety infrastructure relative to the slip road access to the M40.

I hope that the findings obviate or reduce the likelihood of future tragic recurrences.

Southern Ireland ? :S
 

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