bhouse Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I never had a "moment" or even saw an accident. I did see an accident once. I was southbound on a snowy, well below zero on the M5 just south of Bristol in early January. I was in lane 1 doing about 30mph which gave me good grip. I did feel I was possibly being over-cautious given the number of trucks and cars overtaking me at rather higher speeds, but I consoled myself with the thought that they must be much better drivers than me and very sure of their abilities. And then I saw brake lights about half a mile ahead. An artic that had recently overtaken me also braked - and started to jackknife. As he spun merrily down the road, a dozen or so cars behind it also braked hard and as a result waltzed into the side of the artic resulting in a huge mess of metal. The actual impacts seemed to be comparatively low velocity and people started to get out of their cars and immediately slip over on the frozen road. I managed to get past the melee on the hard shoulder and stopped at the next emergency phone to report the accident. Luckily no-one was hurt other than a few grazes and bruises. I dare say the insurance payout was quite substantial though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Brian, sorry that was misleading. I meant I'd never seen an accident whilst blatting over the Snake and Cat & Fiddle. I've seen many accidents. The last was coming north on the M1 just past the M69, An old Fiat in front of me started to weave slightly then more rapidly and wider and wider. I stuck my hazards on and moved from the outside lane to the middle. Those following saw what was happening and held back. The car ended up turning through 180 degrees and slamming into the central reservation. I pulled a few yards past in the centre lane, turned the steering to the right and left the hazard lights on. I ran to the car and a young girl was sitting there on the edge of panic screaming "what happened". I pulled her out and got her on the verge by the central reservation and had to slap her (only lightly) to calm her down. I explained that her rear tyre had burst and she was OK. I then rang 999 but I guess they had seen it all on the CCTV as a Vosa vehicle arrived. They stopped the traffic and I moved my car to the hard shoulder and they moved her car, on the wheel rim which dug a groove in the road surface. At first they thought we had had a collision and they didn't really want to listen to me. (where's a policeman when you want one). The girl borrowed my phone to ring her mum and I spoke to her mum to assure her she was OK. The girl was very concerned that she'd be late to hand her exam work in. I assured her the Uni would understand and she'd be OK. With that I left and the vosa men just had to accept it when I explained thay had no power to keep me and if they checked with the control room they'd confirm I wasn't involved in an accident. To say I wasn't impressed is an understatement. One of them had dark glasses on and thought he was a US highway Patrol Man. The scariest event was early one morning in fog at a crawl for the Dartford crossing. In the mirror I could see an Artic bearing down on us. I took a deep breath and in a split second considered diving to the hard shoulder (we were on the inside lane). Luckily I didn't because the artic driver saw the queue and he went down the hard shoulder with all wheels locked! I've seen a few accidents on our motorways, having spent 10 yaers driuving round the country doing 80.000 mile a year. Mind you, not as many as Stephen sees every day in Birmingham! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Seen plenty of accidents and plenty of aftermaths of them on the C&F. But then I've lived near by for nearly forty years now. The last one was this summer. A bike/armco coming together. I was probably the third car on scene, (in the Westfield). First car's occupants were doing what they could for the lad, which to be honest I suspect may have been more a case of comforting his last few minutes. The second car and my self just closed the roadside off either side of him till the police and ambulance arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Dave, do they still keep an ambulance at the side of the road at the Macclesfield end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Not year round, but do often see it during silly season. Have to add, it's not all bikers either. I'm sad to say, kit cars in particular are getting a bad reputation up there - though fortunately as far as I'm aware not from an accident point of view, just more of an anti-social behaviour on the road view point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu999 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I then rang 999 but I guess they had seen it all on the CCTV as a Vosa vehicle arrived. They stopped the traffic... They sound more like Highways Agency (Wombles) than VOSA Norm ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Stu, you're probably right, it gets confusing with all these half baked money saving ideas. Dave, I meant in the silly season, just forgot to say! It used to be parked on the right as you came down into the edge of the town. When I used to go over they were using a helicopter to catch speeding cars and bikes. I believe they have cameras on there now, but what's driving them is a mystery. Must be solar. Apart from the pub and the cafe being affected by noise it's difficult to understand how a car can be unsociable. I'd slap an ASBO on them I had some great blats over the C&F. The bikers would pull away on the straight bits and I'd catch them on the bends. I could usually get past coming out of the last bend on the downhill section, into Macclesfield, by accelerating hard out of the bend. Always had a frindly wave for each other. (well a wave from me and a sticking out foot from them) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickmaster Andy Lowe Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I've crashed my hang glider up the cat and fiddle Wounded if I'm one of there statistic !!!!!! I wasn't speeding or on the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User0083 Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Only accidents/aftermath' so ever saw pre Brum was on M5, caravan's and when brummies invade the south west and crash on M5 or on lanes. Also saw one on an autobahn (A52) on the way to work (what a route, 15 miles of unbroken country road to the autobahn followed by 17 miles of unrestricted autobahn... I owned a Ducati 916 and an Alfa 156 GTA!) where I was doing over 125mph and had a BMW estate behind me flashing his lights. I pulled across, he passed me, then as he went into vanishing point something happened, blow out???, and not much was left. But the guy was conscious and out of his vehicle pretty quick. I saw an Ariel atom facing the wrong way, in a field, in Cornwall and a big bit of a wooden fence missing. Stood on the grass verge was about six police offices and medical types just looking at the vehicle and pointing. I did not slow or look in to see what was going on, but guessing there was not enough of a driver/passenger to save. My "favourite" was in the snow, on my way home, in the Westfield. Chugging along at 10-15 I saw a golf heading towards me at speed. So I slowed and pulled to the curb, then watched the golf spin out of control, miss me by inches and end up in the vehicle parked a few feet behind me. I did what anyone else would do and drove off. Impact was not that fast and the driver was clearly ok, as he was attempting to drive away from the scene. Normally I would've got out, checked he was ok, photographed and contacted police with details. But when doing this in the past I get "What would you like us to do?" As a response. Then taking it as a genuine question I say and have had several responses, each one passing the responsibility to insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 thought it was the b678 in birmingham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Gibney - Lancashire AO Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Followed a couple of nutters across snake pass earlier on this year (well tried to follow) Not a dangerous road but a fun one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Followed a couple of nutters across snake pass earlier on this year (well tried to follow) Not a dangerous road but a fun one.... Odd, i dont remember seeing any when you followed me and Pete over the pass earlier this year... Oh, wait, er, ah, oops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User0083 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 thought it was the b678 in birminghamNot sure where that is. But to be honest, roads in Birmingham are not dangerous. Just the amount of people that do not follow road markings or how to use a round abouts that are.I tried an experiment. Same route, 0830, 1400, 1630 on the consecutive days. But in different cars! Being in a volvo is amazing! Not one person forced their way In, when doing 30mph on a long straight, in a 30, not one person tried overtaking or pushing me along the road and nobody cut me up. I made sure I drove the same each time. Not the same in the other, smaller cars and defiantly not the same in the There are a couple of "Dangerous" roads back home, but both roads are dangerous sections. One's a narrow hump back bridge on a corner. One direction at about 45, in a mini (rover), you get a nice bit of air. But other way it's not a good idea! I lost four friends (in the same car) when they ended up in the canal. Other section of road is similar story. Blind summit, slight bend, one way, 50ish gives you nice air, other direction puts you over a 30ft drop and into a field. Seen many holes in the hedge and a couple of cars in the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall_iom Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The roads over here are a bit on the dangerous side for two weeks of the year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVP66S Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 I usually commute to work on my Honda 599 Hornet, and also go on recreational rides on interesting roads. I have to agree with davep1. When a group of bikers get together and ride interesting roads in a group there is a desire to keep up. If you're at the back and beyond your personal limits, that's when you start to take chances. This is why I don't ride with groups. It's not the road's fault, it's human stupidity. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.