Unrewarded Idiocy
Posted: Tue 13 March, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Commuting, Driving, People, Stupidity 4 Comments »On my commute this morning I saw one of the more incredible things of late.
In the outside lane of the M1, two drivers had managed to have a small collision in the traffic. Nothing major, from the look of it, a few scratches, maybe a resprayed bumper or somesuch. But there was nothing major – no broken bodywork, no wheels askew, or anything like that.
The drivers had stopped to exchange details, as one should in an accident.
In the outside lane of the M1. As one shouldn’t, in an accident or at any other time.
Some people are just too stupid to deserve to live.
But, if no traffic plod or AA/RAC patrol comes along to stop the traffic so you can get tot he hard shoulder, what can you do?
Both indicate and drive over to the hard shoulder. Get to safety (or at least the hard shoulder) and then discuss it, not get out the cars on the outside lane.
To me that’s common sense. Maybe I’m the one that’s in the wrong…
I think the wisdom from the traffic police is not to try to move yourselves from the outside lane if you are stationary on a busy 3-lane M-way, and the road is busy (you will simply cause more accidents as you will be doing 0mph and trying to get across 3 lanes, while oncoming traffic will be doing 70mph+++), but rather to stay in your vehicle with the hazard flashers on, until police or AA/RAC patrol arrives. They will then stop the traffic, allowing both vehicles to move over to the hard shoulder, where you should exchange details as far away from your vehicles, up the bank etc, as the geography allows.
If I saw this situation on a road I would feel justified in dialling 999 as it’s a potentially life-threatening situation.
But, I agree, being out of your vehicle in the outside lane is just stupid.
I would climb out and sit on the fence by the central reservation. Then it doesn’t matter if someone runs into the back of the car.