Frankydobo:
Apparantly there is a syndrome where heavy vehicles have struck others parked on the hardshoulder and despite stringent investigations no reason has come forward as to why, all the usual possibilities have been looked into such as tiredness, using phones etc and rejected.
Boffins say it could be something like momentary fixation where the driver is drawn towards the stopped vehicle yet his brain is telling him to move into line with this vehicle and follow it, something HGV drivers do more than other drivers is to return to the lane they have been in after overtaking, count how many times you will pass and move back into the lane during a days driving, its conditioned into a lorry driver.
Again how many times have you went somewhere and usually on a well trodden route, an hour or two later not remember passing the usual places. They believe some drivers, and they can’t explain why yet, go through a phase like an automaton (bit like being on a Scalextrix track) and only when its too late they realise the vehicle or vehicles infront are stopped. Not saying of course this happened in this case but some collisions do defy explanation even by survivors or those accused. All sad no matter what the cause and whether you think two years is not enough or not just hope it doesn’t happen to you sometime!
interesting post, and i really think there is something in this aswell.
bit like the drift scenario. i’ve done it myself, and seen plenty of others do it to. follow another truck mile, after mile, then all of a sudden the motor in front has a slight drift either way, and the vehicle behind seems to on occasions, do exactly the same.
the hard shoulder is the most dangerous place to be. i know sometimes its unavoidable, and the police have to be there, but i do agree with some in regards to everyday traffic stops,seatbelts, mobile phones etc, by all means stop the offender, but pull them off the motorway to do it, i’m amazed that in todays world of health and safety, that this is not the norm?
i certainly wouldn’t want to be an recovery driver, road worker or similar, dangerous job. i broke down in france in the late 90’s, was on the hard shoulder, when i got hit by a french artic doing 56m.p.h. that was a mess, and 5 minutes prior to being hit i’d put the warning triangle out 
