motorhome accident (1 Viewer)

peter marshall

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I was thinking why couldn't the dogs stay crated in the Motorhome while it was being transported off the M40, therefore nothing to do with the RAC's vehicle. Pete
 

dogman

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did the RAC inform any of the other agency's of the hazard???
spose we will never know:Doh:
Many years ago I worked for a company that assisted/removed vehicles from the Severn Bridge based in the Aust Service area, along with many miles of the motorway, this company also ran the workshops at Gordano Services on the M5, so a huge area of motorway was covered. I have been on many hundreds of motorway breakdowns in the 8 years I did the job (1978-1986). At the time all motorway breakdowns were initially reported to the police via the phones next to the hard shoulder and then the police would pass on the details to the breakdown/recovery company or arrange for a local service to attend in the event that the vehicle had no breakdown insurance.
Since then things have changed, the mobile telephone is owned by most people and calls can be made direct to the recovery company from the broken down vehicle and the police are then bypassed and thus may not be aware a vehicle is stranded on the hard shoulder for some time, until in fact it is reported by someone else, a patrol vehicle comes across it or it is seen on a TV monitor if a camera is close by.
If the vehicle contacted the RAC direct did the RAC in turn report the breakdown to the police?

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John & Joan

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Motorhome recovery is not a simple thing. You can often need a specialist vehicle because of weight/overhang problems. The RAC employ contractors to recover commercial vehicles not their own breakdown vehicles.

I broke down in the south lakes at the village called "The Hill" near Millom. No initial response as it was done by phone. Broken fan belt that could not be replaced on the roadside from previous experience. Actually needed tensioner replaced.

I was constantly contacted by the RAC to make sure I was OK but the only vehicle available to load my motorhome on was on a job in Gateshead (NE England) and I was not far from Barrow in Furness (NW England). I was picked up after an 8 hours wait. I assured them regularly that we were OK and had put out triangles to warn other traffic and had 4 way flashers going. They kept us informed of the progress of our recovery. We stayed in the vehicle all of the time and prepared our meals as normal. When the truck returned to its depot, the manager turned out to recover us.

In the UK it is not recommended that we use the triangle, compulsory on the continent, to warn other vehicles of a breakdown.

In contrast
I broke down just over the border into Spain. 2 police motorcycles there before I could get the triangles out of their boxes. They took the triangles and positioned them for me riding against the traffic flow on the hard shoulder. They then positioned a man with a flag out of line of sight on the approach to let other vehicles know there was a problem. When the breakdown vehicle approached they towed me off the motorway with a font lift rather than loading the vehicle on board. A slow tow off the road to the garage but all done with care to avoid any rear end grounding.
 
Aug 18, 2011
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do you do much motorway driving Graham??
iv seen lorry's,cars,vans,all wonder into the hard shoulder,on a daily basis:Doh:

NO MOTORWAYS IN NORFOLK.:roflmto:BUSBY.

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Feb 27, 2011
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I have questions about the incident and won't form an opinion with respect to the RAC until all the facts are in.

My initial questions were;
Why were the occupants still in the vehicle? Surely they should have been on the other side of the crash barrier along with their dogs?

I have read somewhere that their vehicle is over 3500KG so they needed a specialist vehicle to recover hence the 3 hour delay.

As I read it either the RAC hadn't arrived yet OR he wasn't able to recover the vehicle due to the size/weight and a specialist vehicle was being despatched. If he had arrived he may have refused to move the vehicle due to its weight. The smaller vans only have 2 seats so he may not have been able to get all three passengers off the motorway never mind finding space for 10 dog crates in his small van already packed with tools.

There is too much that is unknown about this incident to form valid conclusions.

Whilst I sympathise with these three ladies they do have to take some responsibility for their own safety. I know that sounds harsh but a lot of problems could be avoided if people took responsibility for themselves. There is no way on this earth I would stay in a vehicle that had broken down on the hard shoulder.

The problem here is that the dog owning fraternity have taken to facebook etc and are immediately blaming the RAC before the facts are in.
 
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chrisgreen

chrisgreen

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I have questions about the incident and won't form an opinion with respect to the RAC until all the facts are in.

My initial questions were;
Why were the occupants still in the vehicle? Surely they should have been on the other side of the crash barrier along with their dogs?

I have read somewhere that their vehicle is over 3500KG so they needed a specialist vehicle to recover hence the 3 hour delay.

As I read it either the RAC hadn't arrived yet OR he wasn't able to recover the vehicle due to the size/weight and a specialist vehicle was being despatched. If he had arrived he may have refused to move the vehicle due to its weight. The smaller vans only have 2 seats so he may not have been able to get all three passengers off the motorway never mind finding space for 10 dog crates in his small van already packed with tools.

There is too much that is unknown about this incident to form valid conclusions.

Whilst I sympathise with these three ladies they do have to take some responsibility for their own safety. I know that sounds harsh but a lot of problems could be avoided if people took responsibility for themselves. There is no way on this earth I would stay in a vehicle that had broken down on the hard shoulder.

The problem here is that the dog owning fraternity have taken to facebook etc and are immediately blaming the RAC before the facts are in
.
are they? have you facts to prove this:RollEyes:
as i see it is the women phoned the RAC who arrived,and refused to rescue/recover them and left without making a risk assessment and parking the RAC van behind with his emergency light's on.
but i bet the RAC come out with "lessons will be learnt from this":Doh:

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Feb 27, 2011
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are they? have you facts to prove this:RollEyes:
as i see it is the women phoned the RAC who arrived,and refused to rescue/recover them and left without making a risk assessment and parking the RAC van behind with his emergency light's on.
but i bet the RAC come out with "lessons will be learnt from this":Doh:

There you go stating facts not in evidence. I have loads of posts on my facebook pages slamming the RAC. No one knows the full facts yet so anyone assigning blame now is jumping the gun. You just have to look at the facebook page of the RAC to see the dog owning mob baying for blood.

It depends which news source you read if the RAC had actually been on scene or not. There are too many unknowns... And yes I stand by my statement about the dog fraternity. They are being very vociferous at the moment.


As with any story like this it is best to be patient and give it a week or two as more facts will turn out.
 
Feb 27, 2011
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I can confirm it was a tag axle motorhome so likely to be 4500KG or more. This would have required a specialised truck to take it away.
There was a low loader on route.

And it appears there was no RAC van on scene at all. They were dealing with the call center who were dispatching a suitable vehicle.
 
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"Whilst I sympathise with these three ladies they do have to take some responsibility for their own safety. I know that sounds harsh but a lot of problems could be avoided if people took responsibility for themselves. There is no way on this earth I would stay in a vehicle that had broken down on the hard shoulder."

This page:

http://www.dogworld.co.uk/product.php/104798

.......... appears to have a reasoned account of the incident although the comments below it suggest that few people have bothered to read it. My only comment is that it is unreasonable to expect anyone to spend up to 3 hours exposed to the elements in temperatures below 0 degC so leaving the van probably wasn't an option. Most peoples outdoor clothing isn't designed to be survival kit.

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pappajohn

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So....the :dm: strikes again....

The dogs were Corgis......the dogs were more exotic breeds in yesterdays report.
the truck jack-knifed.....in yesterdays report a witness said the truck veered into the hard shoulder more than once and hit the mh directly from behind.
yesterday...11 dogs...today 12 dogs
 

pappajohn

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The Kennel Club said it had spoken to the RAC, AA and Green Flag about their policies regarding the transportation of dogs following a breakdown.


I certainly hope they take no notice.......Animals of any description travel in the disabled vehicle which is how it should be.....cant see what their problem is.

Would you want to be the next customer and climbing into a cab stinking of wet dog and getting covered in dog hair....i wouldnt.
 
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Many years ago we broke down on the motorway in our coach built motorhome, we had AA cover. The AA patrol man arrived and said you are not covered you are over length. We insisted we had the correct cover for our length, he then got out a tape measure and measured our vehicle which confirmed we were in the right. Only then did he tow us off the motorway to a safe place to awaite the correct recovery truck. On renewal we changed companies.

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magicsurfbus

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I'd rather freeze on the verge than spend one second too long on the hard shoulder. I've seen far too many drifting HGVs to think otherwise. It was one of the first things I was taught when I did school minibus driver training.

I'm sorry it happened but I have to say it doesn't surprise me, regardless of who was right or wrong.
 
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If the vehicle contacted the RAC direct did the RAC in turn report the breakdown to the police?

Yes I can't understand why they didn't contact the police as they wouldn't allow a vehicle to be there 3 hours without a car behind it. As John& Joan posted here in Spain the Guardia will turn up & wait/slow traffic until the vehicle is removed to a safe area here. They'll even take the lane out of use if a repair/wheel change has to be done before it can be moved.

Another thing which I agree with Jim on is that they should never have allowed the use of the hard shoulder in the UK for anything other than breakdowns. If the road is exceeding its capacity make it wider /build new.
 
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I'd rather freeze on the verge than spend one second too long on the hard shoulder. I've seen far too many drifting HGVs to think otherwise. It was one of the first things I was taught when I did school minibus driver training.
I entirely agree - but 3 hours at below freezing especially if there's a breeze and dressed in light outdoor clothing could/would be equally life-threatening.

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Wildman

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The other point is what was the HGV driver doing on the hard shoulder, instead of lane 1, in the first place? Another thing we don't know.
According to the driver of vehicle following the artic he had swerved into the hard shoulder a number of times before he hit the motorhome. Looks like he was falling asleep at the wheel. No amount of cones or flashing lights would have made a difference in that case.
 

GWAYGWAY

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But.. Dogs aside (and their death is very sad) ...
It does underline why you should not sit in your broken down vehicle on the hard shoulder..
Trouble with that is that this time of year you could not sit outside for three hours, without being severely compromised.
 

Badknee

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The rumble strip on the left of lane one is to wake drivers up as they drift onto the hard shoulder. If you see anyone drifting give them a wide berth and blow your horn, it might wake them up before there's an accident. 05.40, the driver could have been on the road all night or has been said texting, laptop, only time will tell.

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