WTF are the AA thinking?

bijapos

I was flicking through the Indo today, there is this report on an AA mechanic who was badly hurt when he was hit by a car while at a breakdown on the N7. The procedure, and this is backed up by the AA's own website is to put anyone from the stranded car into the cab of the truck while they are attending to the breakdown.

My own experience of other countries is that you are told to leave the car and move well off the road, behind any barrier that may be there, or well up the embankment while the car is being repaired or winched onto the truck. It seems that a fairly high proportion of deaths on motorways and N roads are due to incidents like this on hard shoulders.

While a truck might seem safe, it doesnt stand much chance if its hit by an artic travelling at 80 km/h. I can't understand why the AA in Ireland consider this to be safe practise while their equivalents in other countries have a completly different view.

jimmycrackcorm

LOL - though the situation is not funny, the OP is - is it expected that the AA mechanic himself should just sit in the truck also instead of fixing the breakdown?

Mitch Connor

Einstein wrote: »

kinda confused...

Why are you annoyed at AA? Seems he did ask em to sit in the truck..?

he is saying the stationary truck at the side of the road is not safe and that the safe place would be behind a nearby barrier or up an embankment.

paddydriver

Reading the article I reckon this guy is the lucky one! Could have been far worse for all. WTF was the driver of the car doing which hit them - suddenly crossing all those lands and colliding with something in the hard shoulder. May have had a blow out or something... or maybe was acting the dick!

bijapos

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

LOL - though the situation is not funny, the OP is - is it expected that the AA mechanic himself should just sit in the truck also instead of fixing the breakdown?

I'm talking about the instructions that are given to the people in the car that has broken down. The AA person will obviously try to fix the car, if that isn't possible they tow it away.

In the meantime I think it's dangerous to have the people from the car sitting in the truck, its far safer to move them off the road like they do in essentially every country on the continent.

Zubeneschamali

bijapos wrote: »

its far safer to move them off the road like they do in essentially every country on the continent.

Lots of our motorways have no armco barriers. You'd have to go a long, long way from the traffic lanes to be safe.

Cookie_Monster

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Lots of our motorways have no armco barriers. You'd have to go a long, long way from the traffic lanes to be safe.

you could always hide behind some of the artwork

colm_mcm

Anyone injured apart from the recovery guy?

bijapos

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Lots of our motorways have no armco barriers. You'd have to go a long, long way from the traffic lanes to be safe.

A lot of motorways in other countries have no Armco either. Armco is a help but its no guarantee. And even moving 10m away from the road can make a huge difference in a crash.

The thing is I find it bizarre that the AA are using a rule that is contrary to the rule in so many other countries.

Einstein

Mitch Connor wrote: »

he is saying the stationary truck at the side of the road is not safe and that the safe place would be behind a nearby barrier or up an embankment.

I totally misread the end of his OP...

thats why i deleted mine

MargeS

paddydriver wrote: »

WTF was the driver of the car doing which hit them - suddenly crossing all those lands and colliding with something in the hard shoulder. May have had a blow out or something... or maybe was acting the dick!

It's called target fixation, it happens when something happens on the road and you end up crashing into the one thing you are trying to avoid.

Also, we tend to steer in the direction we are looking.

I learned all these things when learning to ride a motorbike, also when doing a course in Rally School Ireland. It's a shame this knowledge is not taught for 'regular' driving. The same applies for car drivers.

Someone travelling at 120kph on a motorway, looking at what's happening on the hard shoulder, take their concentration off the road and that's when accidents happen.

neilthefunkeone

Well from the accident the OP linked there was no embankment or barrier.. There was just about 5 foot of grass then trees.. so the safest place was for the person to be in the cab of the truck..

You have to be pretty good to get through the back of a tow truck to injure some in the cab..

cjt156

MargeS wrote: »

It's called target fixation.

Exactly; Look at the size of that pothole. Oh Feck!

As opposed to; pothole there - I'll aim over here instead.

munchkin_utd

tragic, but we need more stories like these being pushed in the media to stop people using the hardshoulder as their private office, urinal or picnic area.

Theres no motorway culture in Ireland, but eventually the message will get through to the majority of people that its a very different beastie to normal country cart tracks.

mlumley

bijapos wrote: »

My own experience of other countries is that you are told to leave the car and move well off the road, behind any barrier that may be there, or well up the embankment while the car is being repaired or winched onto the truck. It seems that a fairly high proportion of deaths on motorways and N roads are due to incidents like this on hard shoulders.

While a truck might seem safe, it doesnt stand much chance if its hit by an artic travelling at 80 km/h. I can't understand why the AA in Ireland consider this to be safe practise while their equivalents in other countries have a completly different view.

OP is correct, safest place is befind a barrier, not in a vehicle. I was taught this in England when undergoing bus driver training.

tommy21

If you keep moon walking back and forth you will be at least harder to hit.

stevenmu

colm_mcm wrote: »

Anyone injured apart from the recovery guy?

The article mentioned that the customer (I think it was a couple) were ok, it doesn't mention the driver (either for injuries or any penalties that may be relevant).