Two dead after M-way coach crash
Fire crews had to cut passengers from the wreckage
A man and a woman have died and 10 passengers are seriously ill after a coach crashed near Heathrow Airport.
The London-to-Aberdeen National Express coach overturned, at 2345 GMT on Wednesday, on a slip road from the M4 to the M25 in west London
There’s a 40 mph speed limit on that bit…
seen this on news. RIP to the dead and swift recovery to the injured.
I did think the limit was low there and the weather was ■■■■ last night with wind and rain,
a high sided( was a double decker thing) in the wind and rain, poss speeding as no other cars involved…
you do the maths…
harry:
There’s a 40 mph speed limit on that bit…
According to the Superintendent who’s just been on Sky News he said there wasn’t a speed restriction on there 
Not been down that way for a while now so I can’t comment further on that.
The driver, in his 40s, has now been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is being questioned in a Berkshire Police Station.
According to reports coming out from some of the passengers the coach ‘clipped something’ causing the driver to lose control ultimately resulting in the coach overturning and sliding along the carriageway. The Superintendent said this was the crash barrier.
My condolonces to the families of the berieved.
Maybe early reports were wrong. It states M4, M25. I assumed he had left Heathrow & was going North But now they report that he had left Victoria & was going to the airport. How the M25 got into I wait to see.
Apparantly (according the bloke from National Express) the coach had just left Heathrow Bus station and was heading for the M25 to continue its journey towards Carlisle.
That would make sense but on the M4 ,M25 slip going Watford direction there definitely is a speed limit.
Going slightly off on a tangent but we just got a new double decker and have some more coming soon 16’1" high and to be honest im ■■■■■■■■ myself at the thought of going over the 62 in high winds with them.
jammymutt:
Going slightly off on a tangent but we just got a new double decker and have some more coming soon 16’1" high and to be honest im [zb] myself at the thought of going over the 62 in high winds with them.
Won’t keep you upright, but will keep you safer if it does go over 
gardun:
jammymutt:
Going slightly off on a tangent but we just got a new double decker and have some more coming soon 16’1" high and to be honest im [zb] myself at the thought of going over the 62 in high winds with them.Won’t keep you upright, but will keep you safer if it does go over
Jammy will be pulling Skyscrapers
I spent 4 years working at a fire station covering the M25 stretch, Junctions 14 upto 18.
As most of you know this covers the inter-changes of the M4 and the M40.
In that time I must have been to 15+ lorrys that rolled on the slips.
Beware of the cambers on the slip roads on and off the 25
onto the 4 and 40 they can be lethal if you’re just a little top heavy or take them at the wrong speed.
Let alone when some car cuts you up on them.
Believe me I’ve seen the results and they aint nice.
Even in a exec chauffeur car that slip onto M25 needs to be taken with care.
Totally agree with Cardo and Harry!!
used that slip more times than I care to mention, there is a 50 speed limit or maybe 40. The slip is one of those wonderful creations that really tightens halfway around the curve causing a quick steering change with the camber assisting in pushing the unwary into the barrier.
The slip should be a 30 with a bend tightens warning. IMO when the bridge was built the engineers miscalculated the distances to bring the S/Bound M4 SLIP to C/Wise M25 and the N/Bound M4 to C/Wise M25 and kinked the slip road to accomodate the error. Otherwise why do it it makes no sense and is simply bad road design.
Add to the mixture a high sided Vehicle and the wind conditions and it was always a recipe for disaster even with the driver adhereing to the speed limits.
My sympathies to all the families involved in this tragic incident.
Heard/saw on the news today , terrible shame ,condolanses to the victims familys can only hope the rest of the injured are home soon and not to badly hurt
The driver, has now been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving,
wot you thinking ? over hours or just to fast on the bend?
National Express removes coaches
National Express is to withdraw 12 double-decker coaches with immediate effect as a "precaution
It was not driver fatigue. There were two drivers & had only been on duty for an hour. It was the bend. Even in a car when I picked up execs from the airport I had to keep down to 40 on account of the luggage in the boot & the suit in the back. With a top heavy coach & a side wind you would have had to creep around there. Normally traffic will slow you down but at the time it went over there would have been a clear road.
Just been reading on the Sky news Website the coach was owned by Trathen’s and was in National Express colours. 
After some of the stuff recently written about Trathen’s on here, should we be surprised??
rip to the people,
i dont like dirivin anything high in wind but he prob got blown of track and going bit too fast, he was just unlucky and come on we all have done it at some point when the hairs on back of your head stick up
Looks like the trip had just started & the driver had Aberdeen in his sights…
From todays Sun…
THE coach in the M4 horror was going flat out at 62MPH when it crashed on a slip road bend, a survivor said last night.
And driver Philip Rooney, 47, was yesterday arrested amid claims he was trying to make up 30 lost minutes.
Injured survivor Michael Milbourne, 69, said: “It seemed the bus was doing about 80.”
In fact, the nearly-new National Express double decker had a 62mph speed limiter.
Two people died and 67 were injured as the coach flipped on its side in the wet at a tight slip road bend from the westbound M4 to the clockwise M25 at 11.45pm on Wednesday.
The coach involved was a Neoplan Skyliner – and National Express last night took their fleet of 12 Skyliners off the road as a precaution.
A trucker who travelled on the 592 a week ago yesterday claimed: “That was an accident waiting to happen.”
Tony Dallas, 52, of Maidstone, Kent, said the driver on his journey skimped breaks and “veered” across the road.
This is from the Mail…
The coach in today’s crash did not carry a ‘black box’ recorder, National Express admitted.
Accident investigators had hoped the vehicle - a modern Neoplan Skyliner - was fitted with the airline-style computer.
I thought that all busses were on tacho’s…?
And from the Metro // Looks like he lost the back end…//
Survivors said they suspected the driver was going too fast in the moments before the crash.
Greg Grimes was in tears after visiting his injured father Peter, 45, in Hillingdon Hospital last night.
He said: 'Dad was sitting by the window when the coach toppled over and, as it skidded along, he managed to hold three people in and stop them falling out.
‘He said they were going very quickly when they tried to take the bend. He just knew before the crash it was going to happen.’
Eddy Loney, 37, recovering in Charing Cross Hospital, told a friend the driver left Heathrow 30 minutes late and was racing to make up for lost time.
The friend, who asked not to be named, said: 'He’s lost the back one way then lost it the other way. Then it’s come back a third time and he is heading towards the reservation.
‘That’s when Eddy knew they were in the s***. He is surprised only two people died. There was blood everywhere, apparently.’
James Lant, 51, whose step-brother Michael Milbourne, 69, broke his back in the accident, said: 'He told me the bus was going very quickly and felt like it had burst a tyre.
‘It went up on to two wheels and span around and went out of control. They were half-an-hour late because of a luggage delay at Heathrow and they were trying to make up time.’
Thames Valley police said the driver was being interviewed at a Berkshire police station. Witnesses to the accident should call 08458 505 505 .
Thanks for the update posts Harry,
62MPH in the wet and rain on that slip road (if it was the case) is just suicidal. Most loaded cars would be on thier limit on that bend let alone a double decker coach.
I wonder who was pushing him to make up the 30mins!! 
Lets just hope that the employer bears that responsibility and that other TM’s and Planners take it on board. 