Pile-up

[dpr59]

Imagine the carnage it were a truck.

Of course we never seen a truck so close to our back bumper at 50mpf that you'd not get a fag paper between us.........now have we.

Many years ago this happen to my Dad.
Stationary at the back of the jam when a wagon went over the top of three or four cars. He went forward then back with such force the seat back broke so as the truck went over he was layed flat. Saved his life and he walked away from the car. Much to the surprise of the emergancy services when they arrived.

 

[Hellcat]

If I'm coming upto stopped traffic on a road I brake really early and roll upto the back of the pack, making sure I'm not stationary at the back. That case of the lass who died when she became the clio in a 7.5 tonne lorry sarnie made me think hard about how to avoid being pasted from behind.

Stationary in the pack is fine, as is being at the back but still moving. Picking up a lorry 'motor sport safety car' style gives you the best protection.

p.s. Panda section doesn't count for reposts.

 

[Andy Monty]

If I'm coming upto stopped traffic on a road I brake really early and roll upto the back of the pack, making sure I'm not stationary at the back. That case of the lass who died when she became the clio in a 7.5 tonne lorry sarnie made me think hard about how to avoid being pasted from behind.

Stationary in the pack is fine, as is being at the back but still moving. Picking up a lorry 'motor sport safety car' style gives you the best protection.

was that the one featured on Traffic cops a couple of years ago wasn't it a girl in a Peugeot where the hgv driver was pratting about with his new in cab phone??


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/5252872.stm


And i do the same as you HC i put my own form of rolling road block till the driver behind slows.... and if forced to stop behind another car i leave plenty of room and turn the wheel to the verge so if i am shafted from behind i get pushed up the embankment

 

[Jai]

poor chaz n jai

we is not dead...............

besides i can think of a lot worse to be caught in a major smash

 

[dave]

if i am shafted from behind i get pushed up the embankment

some one will sig that

 

[ScoobyChris]

If I'm coming upto stopped traffic on a road I brake really early and roll upto the back of the pack, making sure I'm not stationary at the back.

This is sound advice If I'm coming up to stationary traffic, I'll stop early and leave a big gap between me and the pack/queue as well as sitting on the brakes so approaching cars have a sporting chance of seeing they are approaching slowing/stationary traffic. If I'm in lane 1 or lane 3 it also means I have easy escape routes to the hard shoulder and central reservation if need be too.

Chris

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Stationary in the pack is fine, as is being at the back but still moving. Picking up a lorry 'motor sport safety car' style gives you the best protection.

How does rolling at 4 MPH stop you from being blasted into the back of the car infront and crumpled into nothingness, I'm a bit confused

if forced to stop behind another car i leave plenty of room and turn the wheel to the verge so if i am shafted from behind i get pushed up the embankment

You do this all the time when stopped in traffic? Is it not a hassle turning the wheel to full lock every time

 

[Kirbs]

Well I'll certainly be slowing down in the future when there's fogs around. Wish they'd done the test without putting the stationary vehicles handbrakes on as this would have been a more accurate example of the true effects.:dead:

 

[Andy Monty]

You do this all the time when stopped in traffic? Is it not a hassle turning the wheel to full lock every time

not to full lock about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn that and a good distance behind the car in front too much of a turn and the car will just spin/ be pushed along anyway

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

too much of a turn and the car will just spin/ be pushed along anyway

That was going to be the next thing I was going to say, lol.

 

[RichDoblo120]

I've been driving full time as a courier and a coach driver since 1982 and the main thing I've learnt about motorway driving is that the gap is everthing.
Those chevrons you get on motorways where it says keep 2 apart, that's not a big enough gap. I think it should be at least double that, even in perfect conditions.
If you're looking half a mile up the road or more, instead of the back of the next car you're going to see problems developing way up the road and anticipate them with plenty of time to spare.
I'm not saying you can keep this gap all the time. If you're overtaking or you've just been overtaken the gap will be a lot less, but you should get that gap back as soon as possible.
And you can't say 'what if someone pulls into my gap', you just ease off the gas untill you get the gap back then bring yourself back up to speed again. It might feel as if the person that's pulled in front is slowing you up, but if you ease back you'll soon find you're travelling at the same speed you were doing before.
It's a very easy and relaxed way of driving on a motorway.

I'm not trying to preach, it's just that I've done a hell of a lot of motorway driving, 100,000 miles a year as a courier, and I know there's a few young or new drivers on the forum and I think that when you get on a motorway you should just be concentrating on that gap.
The gap can never be too big, but it can be too small.

A guy once said to me that he never leaves a big gap on a motorway because someone will pull into it, and then you're going backwards.
It can feel like that, especially if you have to ease back off the gas to get the gap back but you've got to remember that you might drop your speed from 70 to 68 just for a few seconds then back to 70 again. That's hardly going backwards.

But what about when the motorway is really packed but still moving at 70 plus?
I regularly get into situations where the 2nd and 3rd lanes are bumper to bumper, travelling at 65 to 70, brake lights flashing on and off, but I'm on the inside lane doing the same speed with a quarter mile gap in front because no one wants to back out of the rat race and use that inside lane.

Once you've got that big gap and you're looking half a mile up the road, you'll be the first to see the stationary traffic and you'll have plenty of time to put the hazzard lights on and warn everyone behind you.

 

[Focus Owner]

i like massive gaps as well
so easy to drive in i ofter stick myself behind a truck and travel at 60 or so dont mind going faster but i see there is no point all im gonna have to do is over take tons of cars continuously

my mates will shoot past get there 2 mins earlier but yet i will be relaxed
and have twice as much fuel left in the tank

and i do have classical on oneof the buttons

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

i like massive gaps as well
so easy to drive in i ofter stick myself behind a truck and travel at 60 or so dont mind going faster but i see there is no point all im gonna have to do is over take tons of cars continuously

my mates will shoot past get there 2 mins earlier but yet i will be relaxed
and have twice as much fuel left in the tank

and i do have classical on oneof the buttons

OMG, your just like me. Classic FM is not button 5 in my car

I now pride myself to doing 55-60MPH and returning great MPG

 

[Focus Owner]

i dont know what button it is but its in there.
along with radio 2,4 ,radio leeds, mp3 channle, and one which changes alot

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

i dont know what button it is but its in there.
along with radio 2,4 ,radio leeds, mp3 channle, and one which changes alot

Lol.
1-The Beach (local)
2- 999 Radio Norwich (Regional)
3- Radio Broadland (Regional)
4- Kiss Radio
5-Classic FM
6- BBC Radio 2

lol.

 

[JFL]

1 - galaxy 105
2 - real radio
3 - viking fm
4 - minster fm
5 - radio 2
6 - radio 1

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

1 - galaxy 105
2 - real radio
3 - viking fm
4 - minster fm
5 - radio 2
6 - radio 1

Lol. I can see a new thread starting here, lol.

 

[Andy Monty]

I've been driving full time as a courier and a coach driver since 1982 and the main thing I've learnt about motorway driving is that the gap is everthing.
Those chevrons you get on motorways where it says keep 2 apart, that's not a big enough gap. I think it should be at least double that, even in perfect conditions.
If you're looking half a mile up the road or more, instead of the back of the next car you're going to see problems developing way up the road and anticipate them with plenty of time to spare.
I'm not saying you can keep this gap all the time. If you're overtaking or you've just been overtaken the gap will be a lot less, but you should get that gap back as soon as possible.
And you can't say 'what if someone pulls into my gap', you just ease off the gas untill you get the gap back then bring yourself back up to speed again. It might feel as if the person that's pulled in front is slowing you up, but if you ease back you'll soon find you're travelling at the same speed you were doing before.
It's a very easy and relaxed way of driving on a motorway.

I'm not trying to preach, it's just that I've done a hell of a lot of motorway driving, 100,000 miles a year as a courier, and I know there's a few young or new drivers on the forum and I think that when you get on a motorway you should just be concentrating on that gap.
The gap can never be too big, but it can be too small.

A guy once said to me that he never leaves a big gap on a motorway because someone will pull into it, and then you're going backwards.
It can feel like that, especially if you have to ease back off the gas to get the gap back but you've got to remember that you might drop your speed from 70 to 68 just for a few seconds then back to 70 again. That's hardly going backwards.

But what about when the motorway is really packed but still moving at 70 plus?
I regularly get into situations where the 2nd and 3rd lanes are bumper to bumper, travelling at 65 to 70, brake lights flashing on and off, but I'm on the inside lane doing the same speed with a quarter mile gap in front because no one wants to back out of the rat race and use that inside lane.

Once you've got that big gap and you're looking half a mile up the road, you'll be the first to see the stationary traffic and you'll have plenty of time to put the hazzard lights on and warn everyone behind you.

:stupid:

I agree its the same when Towing a trailer/ caravan you plod along in lane 1 will everything flying past then you come to a slow point the outside 2 lanes are stationary and you just keep plodding passing everything that ha passed you along use less fuel and arrive less stressed

 

[Focus Owner]

you missed the last advantage of caravan
ability to stop and have dinner on the cheap.
main disadvantage usually a long journey and when you forget to check your levels (dad)

 

[Hellcat]

How does rolling at 4 MPH stop you from being blasted into the back of the car infront and crumpled into nothingness, I'm a bit confused

It starts hundreds of yards earlier... just easing off as you see cars slowing in the distance... so you and the cars behind you are slowing down little by little.