Last night whilst on my way along the M4 towards Bristol I passed two cars that were on the hard shoulder, about 10 miles between them and both had their hazard lights on.
Now as I was doing 90kms in the nearside lane, no chance of moving out because of the traffic, both drivers decided to walk along the side of their car and open the drivers door to get in, just as I was passing!
Am I the only person who thinks that this is a little bit dangerous?
Personally whenever I’ve had to stop on the hard shoulder I’ve always waited for a gap in the traffic to enter the car, or I use the passenger door if I’m in a lorry.
It can only be a matter of time before somebody is killed by doing this, either by the lorry passing them, or due to the lorry moving out because of the car door opening!
Maybe it’s time for a Government Information Film!!!
some people do not realise the danger they place themselves in by doing this.even if i’m parked in a layby in the truck i’ll exit via passenger door.but if in my car i wait for a safe gap between the traffic.the wind in itself is enough to drag some one under the vehicle if they are not watching whats coming up in the inside lane to them whilst on the hard shoulder.
maybe quinny could put something up on that car website he is on,just to put them in the picture of the dangers they face by doing this
Jobber, that sort of thing always scares me and I try to pull out if I see something on the shoulder.
It’s also further proof that the average motorist reads enough of the Highway Code to pass their test then forgets it. This quote is from the Highway Code from the section on what to do if your vehicle breaks down on the motorway.
leave the vehicle by the left-hand door and ensure your passengers do the same. You MUST leave any animals in the vehicle or, in an emergency, keep them under proper control on the verge.
If I can’t move over to the middle lane, I push over right up to the white line. If the person on the hard shoulder then starts to walk towards the drivers side of their car, the horn button is pushed and stays pushed untill I’m passed the problem. I also watch them in the mirrors till I’m passed as well.
A couple of years ago I went past the scene of an accident between High Wycombe and Oxford. There was a car neatly parked on the hard shoulder and about 15 feet in front of the car was something(one) covered by a blanket.
The car had a nassive dent in the drivers’ door panel and what it seemed that had happened was a passing vehicle had ‘clipped’ the driver and thereby catapulted him into the door and then forward, over the top of the vehicle.
A 7.5 tonner was parked on the shoulder about 400 yards further on with the driver looking very nervous.
Aye Karl, I nearly drove over a bloke doing the same thing at Toddington services a while back. Never even saw him but then again I shouldn’t have been taking the wagon across the edge of the car park
i was thinking same thing jobber last week going up m1, just before newport pagnell services, a car had broken down and the gentlemen wandering round the car like he was on his driveway. i pulled over to outer white line on middle lane just in case, some people just don’t realise what danger they could put themselves in to
well, I saw something today that I thought was absolutly mental…
I was coming back from Shepton Mallet on the A303. I was on a Dual carriage way section, which should be, as we all know, 50mph for Lorries and 60 for cars.
But we all know that most users drive at motorway speeds…
Anyway, about half a mile from a turn off, there was a bloke… standing there gutter, wearing one of those advertising boards, saying that there was ‘Good Food at the Inn - Next turning left!!’…
and there he was just standing there, with this board strapped to him self, watching the traffic pass by inches away…
I dont want to know how much they wer paying him, but no amount of money is worth that job…
The bloke must have been off his head…
They just thought it was any old road, and thought they’d park up for a wee or to get a laptop out the boot, so they can carry on a mobile conversation… !!!
Ha… You think these berks actually know what kinda situation they’re in… let alone keepin an eye out for trucks ‘n’ stuff…
I was coming back from Shepton Mallet on the A303. I was on a Dual carriage way section, which should be, as we all know, 50mph for Lorries and 60 for cars.
But we all know that most users drive at motorway speeds…
The limit for cars on a dual carriageway is 70 mph the same as a motorway. That makes it even sillier that the limit for lorries is 10 mph less than for the motorway.
