Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Driving Chaos As Motorway Shuts
Holidaymakers driving home were stuck in huge traffic jams, after a motorway pile-up closed the M4 in both directions. The crash in Wiltshire also spelt trouble for the thousands of commuters on their way to work. There were huge tailbacks locking thousands in a slow-moving traffic jam all morning.
Thirteen people have been injured in a major motorway pile-up involving two lorries, an empty coach and four cars. The collision took place on the M4 in Wiltshire around 1.45am on Tuesday morning between junctions 17 and 18 and left the motorway closed in both directions. The accident is believed to have been caused when a lorry's trailer crossed the central reservation and ploughed into the path of oncoming traffic. Police said nobody was killed in the incident, but one of the 13 casualties was seriously injured, and was rushed to hospital after fire crews battled to free him from his car for more than two hours.
The casualties were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. The Highways Agency described the incident as a 'very serious crash'.
At 1440 BST The Highways Agency said both carriageways had fully reopened.
...Well here we go again, the Police close a motorway and they bring chaos to thousands of people. Nobody was killed in this accident yet the Police had the motorway closed for over 12 hours. This is the Police being bloody minded in the extreme. There was no reason to close this motorway for so long, the increased cost to the economy is huge. It took me another 60 minutes to get up to London this morning and another 3 gallons of diesel, as I did about another 30 miles trying to avoid the severe congestion by going near Gloucester and Oxford. I would normally have been travelling through Junction 18 of the M4 motorway at around 09.45 - 8 hours after this accident, yet the Police kept the motorway closed in both directions.
Parliament should force time limits on how long the Police can close roads. The time and money wasted by these closures is madness. I think that a limit of 120 minutes is reasonable and practical. If the Police cannot get their arse into gear within 120 minutes then they should be sacked and their jobs given to people who care.
Holidaymakers driving home were stuck in huge traffic jams, after a motorway pile-up closed the M4 in both directions. The crash in Wiltshire also spelt trouble for the thousands of commuters on their way to work. There were huge tailbacks locking thousands in a slow-moving traffic jam all morning.
Thirteen people have been injured in a major motorway pile-up involving two lorries, an empty coach and four cars. The collision took place on the M4 in Wiltshire around 1.45am on Tuesday morning between junctions 17 and 18 and left the motorway closed in both directions. The accident is believed to have been caused when a lorry's trailer crossed the central reservation and ploughed into the path of oncoming traffic. Police said nobody was killed in the incident, but one of the 13 casualties was seriously injured, and was rushed to hospital after fire crews battled to free him from his car for more than two hours.
The casualties were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. The Highways Agency described the incident as a 'very serious crash'.
At 1440 BST The Highways Agency said both carriageways had fully reopened.
...Well here we go again, the Police close a motorway and they bring chaos to thousands of people. Nobody was killed in this accident yet the Police had the motorway closed for over 12 hours. This is the Police being bloody minded in the extreme. There was no reason to close this motorway for so long, the increased cost to the economy is huge. It took me another 60 minutes to get up to London this morning and another 3 gallons of diesel, as I did about another 30 miles trying to avoid the severe congestion by going near Gloucester and Oxford. I would normally have been travelling through Junction 18 of the M4 motorway at around 09.45 - 8 hours after this accident, yet the Police kept the motorway closed in both directions.
Parliament should force time limits on how long the Police can close roads. The time and money wasted by these closures is madness. I think that a limit of 120 minutes is reasonable and practical. If the Police cannot get their arse into gear within 120 minutes then they should be sacked and their jobs given to people who care.
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