Witnessed near accident this morning

Strider590

ziggyman99 wrote: »

The OP is moaning about police hiding behind wheelie bins in another thread. It seems theres no satisfying this one - either you want police to be seen or you don't - make your mind up.

Huh?

Go back to sleep.

The issue here was nothing to do with the Police, it's more about the use of these markings on non-emergency vehicles which are then parked without consideration for the markings they carry...
I witnessed a near serious incident which was a direct result of such a vehicle being parked in a poorly chosen location (on the grass/footpath next to a dual carriageway).

custardy

Strider590 wrote: »

Huh?

Go back to sleep.

The issue here was nothing to do with the Police, it's more about the use of these markings on non-emergency vehicles which are then parked without consideration for the markings they carry...
I witnessed a near serious incident which was a direct result of poor driver awareness of such a vehicle being parked[STRIKE] in a poorly chosen location (on the grass/footpath next to a dual carriageway).[/STRIKE]

...................................................

ziggyman99

Strider590 wrote: »

Huh?

Go back to sleep.

The issue here was nothing to do with the Police, it's more about the use of these markings on non-emergency vehicles which are then parked without consideration for the markings they carry...
I witnessed a near serious incident which was a direct result of such a vehicle being parked in a poorly chosen location (on the grass/footpath next to a dual carriageway).

No thanks. I'm wide awake - unlike the drivers of the cars involved in the near accident.
It doesn't matter whether it's a police car, emergency vehicle or plumbers van, it wouldn't make any difference at all, you'd still have the same idiots tail gating on the road.

skiddlydiddly

Sounds like it was the deluxe Darwin edition of a camper van.Its upgraded with "natural selection" graphics on the rear to help weed out poor drivers with low concentration levels..

RobertoMoir

Strider590 wrote: »

I think you miss the point...... Why do they insist on pretending to be the Police?

Additionally the driver at the front was travelling at the speed limit and simply panicked, as im sure many people have done before.

That was perhaps bad enough but if the vehicles behind him had to throw out the anchor and pray in the manner you describe then they were going too close/fast anyway. What would have happened had the lead vehicle had a genuine reason to make a full emergency stop?

Totally not the fault of the van in the lay-by, whether they're pretending to be the police or just need high vis markings on their van for one of the many other perfectly valid reasons.

VinceNoir

Strider590 wrote: »

Additionally the driver at the front was travelling at the speed limit and simply panicked, as im sure many people have done before.

So clearly his fault then.....

anewman

Anyone whose reaction to a speed camera/van etc is to slam the anchors on is a bit of a moron really.

Pro tip! There's these magic signs by the side of the road, they're sort of like red circles with a white bit and numbers in the middle. The number on these signs indicates the maximum speed you should drive at in miles per hour!

I love it when I drive past the speed cameras and some moron in the right lane is about to overtake then slams on the anchors because of a speed camera and you end up undertaking them while you travel within the speed limit, always a good laugh. If you know you're travelling at the speed limit you have no reason to brake.

VinceNoir

anewman wrote: »

Anyone whose reaction to a speed camera/van etc is to slam the anchors on is a bit of a moron really.

Pro tip! There's these magic signs by the side of the road, they're sort of like red circles with a white bit and numbers in the middle. The number on these signs indicates the maximum speed you should drive at in miles per hour!

I love it when I drive past the speed cameras and some moron in the right lane is about to overtake then slams on the anchors because of a speed camera and you end up undertaking them while you travel within the speed limit, always a good laugh. If you know you're travelling at the speed limit you have no reason to brake.

Some people always slow down at speed cameras, I find this increadible annoying. They'll be going along at 40 in a 40 zone, then slow to 30 when the see a speed camera.

laurz121

Strider this is quite honestly the most stupid thread I have ever read on an internet message board. Are you seriously suggesting that the owner of the stationary vehicle with high visibility safety markings on the back of it parked in a lay-by is at fault for a car slamming on the brakes for NO reason at all? You say this car wasn't speeding (which i'm amazed you can tell just by looking mr 'innocent bystander'. Yeah right, you were the driver and you got upset, we all know it) and yet for some reason hit the brakes? Why would somebody who isn't speeding jump on the brakes when they see a speed camera? That makes NO sense at all.
But ok we'll pretend that this happened. Who is to blame for a car travelling too fast and choosing to slam on the brakes? Is it the driver of said car or is it the owner of a vehicle parked up off the road in a lay-by? Let me think about that for a second...

Who is to blame for THREE other vehicles all driving so close to each other that when something happens in front of them they nearly slam into the back of each other? Is it the drivers who chose to drive so close? Or is it the owner of a vehicle parked up in a lay-by?

While you try to work out who you think it might be, i'll give you a little hint. It isn't the stationary vehicle.

You are claiming that some yellow paint in a lay-by is to blame for FOUR drivers nearly writing their cars off. I'd be amazed if you genuinely believed that.

And by the way, when I broke down and a recovery vehicle came to help me out I was VERY pleased it had those diagonal lines on the back so drivers could easily see us from further away.

DaveF327

Going to throw a spanner in the works now...

What if I told you that those markings may well be a legal requirement on certain vehicles? Click this link to see what I mean: http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_070568.pdf

For the last time, neither the van nor its markings caused the incident. No more than a "POLICE - SPEED CHECKS" sign, or surveyors with hi-vis jackets using those theodolites that bad drivers (who obviously are not aware of their speed or the legal speed) assume are laser speed detectors operated by policemen. The driver chose to brake sharply and neglected to react to his mirrors before doing so. It was a crime of commission which required conscious thought. The following drivers who could not stop safely within the distance they could see to be clear (without swerving into oncoming traffic) were just as bad. Even if the markings didn't come into the equation, the same moron could have slammed on for another reason, like they dropped the cigarette they were smoking, or thought the pedestrian a mile away would suddenly leap over their bonnet.