Why you don't park on the hard shoulder

niloc1951

http://www.chichester.co.uk/news/local/caravan-couple-s-lucky-escape-in-a27-accident-1-4396797

AND

http://www.wetherbynews.co.uk/news/wetherby/a1-hard-shoulder-crash-driver-gets-three-year-ban-1-4984092

Tallon

He didn't park, he broke down!

Gonna Cross post this to motors :eek:

niloc1951

Tallon wrote: »

He didn't park, he broke down!

Gonna Cross post this to motors :eek:

I know he didn't park My post was aimed at those who do park by choice, obviously if you break down you have no choice but to take your chances of not been blown to kingdom come by some dozy or mobile phone using driver.

slimjimmc

Just in case anyone thinks it only happens on busy motorways (like in UK) it does happen on relatively quiet motorways at home. This happened March 2011 on the M9 near Kilkullen.

http://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/local/woman-s-lucky-escape-in-motorway-truck-smash-1-2571307

AugustusMinimus

You have to wonder how you would crash into a person in the hard shoulder or the breakdown.

I can't think of a single ocassion where i've entered either on a motorway or dual carriageway. Add in the fact that I would get out of there if I saw a car parked in hard shoulder, it just makes it completely baffling.

niloc1951

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

You have to wonder how you would crash into a person in the hard shoulder or the breakdown.

I can't think of a single ocassion where i've entered either on a motorway or dual carriageway. Add in the fact that I would get out of there if I saw a car parked in hard shoulder, it just makes it completely baffling.

While you may give 100% attention to what is ahead unfortunately there are many who do not :eek: as evidenced by the repeated incidences of the type of crashes mentioned here.

IMHO it is a foolhardy gamble to stop voluntarily on any hard shoulder.

r3nu4l

I had to enter the hard shoulder on the A14 near Newmarket when the idiot in the lane beside me decided he was pulling into my lane. He just kept coming while yapping on his phone so I went into the hard shoulder. Then he suddenly realised what he had done and swerved back into the overtaking lane without looking to see what was there. Genius.

Now if someone had been parked or broken down in the hard shoulder near where I was, then one way or another I would have been involved in a crash.

foggy_lad

r3nu4l wrote: »

I had to enter the hard shoulder on the A14 near Newmarket when the idiot in the lane beside me decided he was pulling into my lane. He just kept coming while yapping on his phone so I went into the hard shoulder. Then he suddenly realised what he had done and swerved back into the overtaking lane without looking to see what was there. Genius.

Now if someone had been parked or broken down in the hard shoulder near where I was, then one way or another I would have been involved in a crash.

Would it not have been safer to brake and let the idiot into the lane ahead of you?

MadsL

Jesus, looks like an episode of Top Gear!

r3nu4l

foggy_lad wrote: »

Would it not have been safer to brake and let the idiot into the lane ahead of you?

Nope, definitely not. He was level with me when he decided he was entering my lane, so he was coming for a completely side-on impact. It was as if I was completely invisible! At first I thought he was just veering slightly until I realised that he was definitely coming into the lane and didn't realise I was there. He never even looked.

Braking would only have resulted in him clipping the driver's door and engine bay area of my car and possibly the guy travelling (close) behind me, rear-ending me. I was driving at 70 mph, the guy beside me was probably only driving at about 75, certainly no more than that. Safest option at the time was the hard-shoulder.

The guy got blasted out of it by several cars after that, not me though, I was too busy watching my life flash before my eyes