Morons blocking the motorway hard shoulder after an accident

[Parksy]

Check out the footage of impatient idiots blocking the hard shoulder of the M1 after an accident.
The guy doing the filming and 'interviewing' the idiots deserves a medal. M1 accident

 

[chrisbee1]

Having seen this kind of thoughtless behaviour a number of times before I can't say I'm surprised. It amazes me that one of the large number of apparently surplus police officers hanging around at the accident scene doesn't walk back up the hard shoulder and book the lot.

 

[GStockton]

Stunning! I say pick the cars up with a forklift and drop them in an adjacent field

 

[Lutz]

That the hard shoulder is intended as a lane for emergency vehicles in the UK is new to me and I can't quite see the logic of it because the hard shoulder is also there for vehicles which have broken down. These would also have to be removed first before an emergency vehicle can get through. That's why over here if there is a traffic jam, the outer and middle lanes are obliged to move over and create a temporary fourth lane to allow emergency vehicles to pass through in between them. It still means that the hard shoulder must be kept free as well except for breakdowns, though.
Just a note for those coming over to the Continent and involved in a similar situation.

 

[xtrailman]

I cant see the problem.
It wasn't long ago that the government were proposing using the hard shoulder as a extra lane.
At present we have 10miles of motorway down to two lanes, no hard shoulder, no route for the services.
Which is why we have the air ambulance.
I dought if anyone will be prosecuted, either the law breaking camera man, or those on the hard shoulder, both are breaking the law.
And no i have never used the hard shoulder expect to replace a flat caravan tyre.
Far too much danger of a tyre puncture from the debris.

 

[mullsy1]

The attitude of the culprits,especially the two women,was appalling.We know we're doing wrong but so what.Seems to sum up this country today

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I cant see the problem.
It wasn't long ago that the government were proposing using the hard shoulder as a extra lane.
At present we have 10miles of motorway down to two lanes, no hard shoulder, no route for the services.
Which is why we have the air ambulance.

Not seeing a problem depends on your circumstances. A person wouldn't see a problem in using the hard shoulder if his exit was a mile or so further. The problem comes when all the other lemmings can't get any further because the accident is before their exit. You would see a problem if you or one of your family were critically injured and needed an ambulance but it couldn't get through. It's so simple but ill thought out to say that's why they have the air ambulance. How many air ambulances do you think there are? Are they sat there waiting for you personally to have an accident on the motorway or do you think it's possible they could be tied up on other incidents like ramblers, hill walkers, riders, paragliders or other numerous pursuits where people get injured in inaccessible places?
Wait. You might be trapped and ambulances have limited extrication equipment. No problem. Send the Air Fire and Rescue!!!!!!!!
Yes the government were proposing using the hard shoulder and do in areas like the M6/M5 junction at Birmingham but only when it says so on the information gantries. These can be switched off at a moments notice in cases of emergency plus they have escape bays for broken down vehicles where the hard shoulder is used.

 

[Parksy]

...............Yes the government were proposing using the hard shoulder and do in areas like the M6/M5 junction at Birmingham but only when it says so on the information gantries. These can be switched off at a moments notice in cases of emergency plus they have escape bays for broken down vehicles where the hard shoulder is used.

The hard shoulder is now used as an extra carriageway on the M5/M6 link and in order for this to be feasible the hard shoulder was upgraded and electronic signage gantries and lay by type breakdown refuges were constructed so that broken down vehicles can be towed out of harms way when the hard shoulder is being used as a carriageway or when the extra lane is needed for emergency services.
The idiots in the footage had decided to try to use the hard shoulder to get past the blockage which turned out to be an overturned vehicle. The police had used a rolling road block to stop motorway traffic until the wreckage could be cleared and casualties attended to but the selfish morons had decided to ignore this and if they had been allowed to continue they would have endangered the emergency services personnel at the scene of the accident. As it was they became stuck and they had blocked any possibility of more emergency vehicles attending the scene if necessary. I hope that they were all booked.

 

[xtrailman]

My lord
Not much point in switching the gantries off if the hard shoulder is filled with traffic?

I regularly use a motorway which is down to two lanes for 10 miles, due to road works.

So no hard shoulder, this situation isn't something that has just happened, its been around for a long time.

 

[602]

Hi,

A litle OT, but never mind.....
Years ago, heading East out of Wales, traffic in outer lane, nose to tail, all doing 80mph We passed a broken-down camper van (old Commer with narrow front track) PARKED ON THE CENTRE RESERVATION. We pulled into the next service station, and luckily found a police car. The driver said it was the first he'd heard of it, and would go and take a look.
And now I've started ..... one dark rainy night, driving on my Toc-H headlamps, having just crossed the Severn Bridge into England, I glimpsed - just - a raised thumb begging for a lift. The white face looked about 12 years old. That is all I saw, a face and a thumb. I caled it in at the next phone box.
A finally, my mate Mike Worthington Williams was driving his 1920 Austin Heavy 12 up the M4 at night, falling snow, when the police stopped him. "We saw your semaphore indicators, but don't think the Porsche driver did. Do you think it sensible .....?" They were amazed to learn this was Mike's only car, but he said they were fairly polite, and he didn't think they recognised him. Mike is a well known classic car journalist. Whatever, he dragged his car into the 20th century, very soon after, fitted flashers.. Also bought himself a ""Male Menopause", aks Ford Capri.
602

602.

 

[Steve L]

It never ceases to amaze me, just how many people don't know what certain lanes are for. Also the amount of people who "couldn't give a ****

FYO
Hard shoulder of a motorway is for brokendown vehicles to seek refuge. It isn't a playground either and all vehicle occupants should be evacuated from the vehicle and the vehicle parked as far to the left as possible.
It is correct to say that it is for the use of emergencey vehicles only. They need to get to an accident sceene quickly to tend the injured and then get the carriageway clear so that the lemmings can still carryon being that.
As for the new useage of hard shoulders to eliviate congestion. you can only use the hard shoulder if directed to do so by the gantry signage.

As LB has "hinted". Air Ambulances are not available willy nilly! These multi million pound per annum flying machines are funded by public charitable funding. Some might mockingly call them "tin rattlers". As someone who has worked in the agriculture construction industry, I have worked in some very inaccessable places and appreciate just how life critical an air ambulace can be to someone injured in the countryside. Most of my jobsites were at least an hour's drive away from the nearest hospital, but this is cut down to minuits by air.

I would advocate all ambulances and fire engines be fitted with push bars to shove the pillocks blocking access out of the way.

My cousin got into hot water one day for using his fire engine to shunt parked cars out of the way so they could get to a house fire with persons trapped. Some thoughtless moron had parked over a fire hydrant point in the road. Well actually the pavement that he was half parked upon.

I used to use a push bike to get to my RNLI station because it was quicker than wading through peak summer traffic and people in a car. They had often stopped because they'd seen the maroon go up and the siren sound. What they didn't realise was that Lifeboatmen are not supping tea in the boat house. They are working their day job in the town and need to get to the station very quickly to get the boat launched before they can start the job of helping others in peril (for free).

People need to stop and think about other people and consider how they can be helpfull for a change.

For instance the 5 guys who rode with me in our chicken shedding van weren't the sharpest tools in the box, but they always gave the silver change from the morning stop at the news agents, to the air abulance box. The philosophy being that they might of paid for the gallon of fuel needed to run the helicopter when (not if) they had their accident.

 

[PhilFraeHowMill]

As LB states, for several years I worked on the Police recovery scheme in Cumbria, on many occasions we were required to attend accident scenes urgently with heavy recovery equipment to;
1) Clear blocked lanes and obviously get traffic moving again.
2) Sadly, assist the Fire service in retrieving the deceased from severely damaged vehicles (normally trucks), but more importantly..
3) Assisting the aforementioned Fire service to rescue trapped and injured people from accident damaged trucks and cars.
If we were lucky, we would get a Police escort straight to the scene, but on a number of occasions, we had to make our best efforts to get there on our own, nowadays people seem to have little respect for blue lights, well I can assure you they have a damned site less respect for orange ones!! The hard shoulder must be the most dangerous place in the country to have to stop, so god only knows why people would choose to stop on itor indeed drive along it.

Phil

 

[RogerL]

The hard shoulder of UK motorways has ALWAYS been intended for use by emergency vehicles as well as broken down vehicles - the clue is in the words "IN AN EMERGENCY" - it's also always been permitted for emergency vehicles to carry out "reverse running" on motorway hard shoulders, ie travelling the wrong way on the hard shoulder.

 

[NickinFrance]

The hard shoulder must be the most dangerous place in the country to have to stop,

The French Police have said that your life expectancy if you stay in a car on the hard shoulder without hazard flashers is about 20 minutes & with hazard flashers about 35.