I was travelling south on M6 monday 26/10 at about 13.10 with traffic queing for over 2.5 miles to exit for M69. as many of you will know there is roadworks on the slip road which creates the stop start effect on traffic.i was following an artic bulk tipper, watching closely when i moved towards the middle lane to get a view in front of him. as soon as i got a view in front i braked hard instantly as i could see the standing traffic.
i estimate my speed and that of the vehicle in front at about 25MPH. unfortunatley the bulk tipper in front braked after me and made an attempt for the hard shoulder. in his failed bid to stop the tipper rammed a transit pick up in the back shunting this into a rigid and shunting the rigid into a van in front. i was braking and with space in front eased off before coming to a stop level with where the tipper had dropped its water etc on impact. the rigid behind came to a stop on the hard shoulder level with the rear of my unit, not the trailer. a tanker in the middle lane stopped along side me.
i jumped out and ran to the poor guy now trapped in the wrekage of his transit. on reaching him he was initially unconcious. i raced back to the truck grabbed my phone and rang for the emergency services. the guy driving the tanker by now was at the transit talking to the trapped driver(a long with one or two others) who by now had come round. the trapped driver seemed initially in remarkable condition, he new his name, where he was and which football team he supported etc. the wait for the emergency services seemed to take for ever, although it probably was about 6 minutes.
the traffic had by now begun to creep passed in the outside lane, most of them that busy sraining their necks to view the transit. the guy from the tanker had by now placed his coat over the transit windscreen to stop the morbid freak show that most of the passing vehicles were turning this into.it took the fire brigade over an hour to free the poor driver who had taken a turn for the worse.
what i can not understand is how so many people can drive by without even attempting to see if they could help in any way. also how people gathered on a bridge overhead to view this, they were not passing but just stood staring. im normally the first to critisise the emergency services for closing the motorway, but with a front row seat about 15 feet from there work i can now understand, and infact have changed my opinion on the work they all do and my driving style. even the pretend police(highways agency) were extremely profesional and effective. finally if anyone knows the eventual condition of the transit driver i would be greatful to know. if you were the tanker driver or a member of the emergency services well done.this crash happened in a split second, but has changed at least my life for ever. as for my time sat watching and waiting, it made me a few hours late home, but at least i got home.
a five-vehicle crash on the M6 near Coventry led to major delays for several hours.
The accident happened just after 1pm on the southbound carriageway between junction two at Walsgrave and three at Bedworth and involved three lorries and two vans.
One van driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to University Hospital, Walsgrave, with back pain.
The second van driver, a man in his late 20s, had to be freed from his vehicle by firefighters. He was also taken to University Hospital, suffering from facial and lower limb injuries.
The three lorry drivers were assessed at the scene and did not need further treatment.
The accident caused severe delays on the motorway and surrounding roads, including the A444 into Coventry.
yorkshireborn:
most of them that busy sraining their necks to view the transit. the guy from the tanker had by now placed his coat over the transit windscreen to stop the morbid freak show that most of the passing vehicles were turning this into.
Thats human nature for you 
yorkshireborn:
what i can not understand is how so many people can drive by without even attempting to see if they could help in any way.
usually not much joe public can do in these situations, apart from standing around looking at the “professionals”
yorkshireborn:
but with a front row seat about 15 feet from there work i can now understand, and infact have changed my opinion on the work they all do and my driving style.
Shame it takes an collision to make people change their driving style
Hopefully, some of the people who “viewed” this collision will change their driving style.
yorkshireborn:
even the pretend police(highways agency) were extremely profesional and effective.
Why would they be anything but professional, thats what they are trained to do.
The driver reported to have leg injuries was incredibly lucky. He has no lasting injuries, nothing even broken surprisingly. My mate was at scene for the HA and he has passed this to me.
As for the rubber neckers and standing watchers, have a look on u tube and im sure by now there will be some video of it. I dont know how their mind works TBH, something very disturbed about the sort ofpeople who do this. It is one of the reasons we (The useless Traffic officers) will close the road initially to assess, then we discuss with the Emergency services what their requirements are and implement the decision. I understand why its a pain when we do this but to have slow moving cars etc passing in lane 3 when the Fire are trying to cut someone out is just dangerous for all concerned, including the drivers of those vehicles as their attention is not on the road but on what is happening. Ive had people stop in the only running lane to take pictures and video!!
To try and help the Highways Agency have just bought lots of incident screens. These are similar to the fencing that surrounds building sites but covered in green plastic sheeting. It comes to scene on a trailer and can be quickly deployed by 2 men. The idea is that it blocks off the incident and it means we can open up some of the lanes and try to get traffic moving again. they will start to be used from November onwards.
Cheers
Mick.