Huge accident on M5

[molinari]

It's all speculation until the police finish their report, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone has just pulled out from the on-ramp into the path of a truck which has had to take drastic action (but again, that's my speculation from looking at the images).

What will make the traffic on the surrounding roads even worse, is carnival traffic, and the fact that part of Bridgwater is closed due to part of the river bank giving way in the town centre, and the possibility of the road falling into the river!

 

[thedoc46]

Yea, we don't get them very often. The last big one was 2009 on the M27, and before that 3 people died on the M42 in an accident which seems bigger than this one in 1997.

Wasn't there a similar accident around 1990 on the M1 ? Around the same number of fatalities, during similar conditions.

 

[Kristoph]

Hearing from a relative another car has crashed and on its side up near Cribbs on the M5?

 

[Outcast]

Hearing from a relative another car has crashed and on its side up near Cribbs on the M5?

That's a normal day by Cribbs !!

 

[Scania]

Hearing from a relative another car has crashed and on its side up near Cribbs on the M5?

And in other news, there will have been similar incidents up & down the motorway network, apart from traffic reports,the media would not pay attention to any of them due to generally slight or non injury.

 

[Fusion]

According to the BBC News website it's feared that at least 10 have died.

 

[Tibbz2]

Ouch 10 people?

Horrible crash.

 

[Westyfield2]

Heard about this last night. Terrible news . I read it's near an entry sliproad, wonder if that was anything to do with the cause?

Excessive speed in wet, dark and foggy conditions.

This is probably true. Unfortunately in the UK people have it in their heads that 71MPH at 2am on a deserted motorway in the dry on a clear night with miles of visibility and not a car in sight is ZOMG DANGERS, but 69MPH in rush hour on a busy motorway with zero visibility due to heavy fog and torrential rain is perfectly safe. .
What we need is people to drive to the conditions, be it 100MPH in the first example or 40MPH in the second.

 

[benjo]

RIP to all

North Petherton carnival tonight, so even more roads closed in the surrounding area

 

[NiCkNaMe]

This looks really shocking RIP to all involved.

My immediate reaction was some sort of incident involving lorries. The other day a car was trundling along at 45mph in the slow lane whilst a queue of lorries who couldn't pull into the inside lane were sitting far to close to the slow moving vehicle.

I really do think a bigger emphasis needs to be put onto maintaining your speed... driving slow on the motorway is a real danger IMO.

 

[Kristoph]

Complete speculation here but hearing that some local people think the firework display alongside the motorway at the rugby club may have caused smoke to drift onto the motorway.

 

[Kristoph]

RIP to all

North Petherton carnival tonight, so even more roads closed in the surrounding area

Heard it may be cancelled.

 

[Scania]

Complete speculation here but hearing that some local people think the firework display alongside the motorway at the rugby club may have caused smoke to drift onto the motorway.

The firework display had ended before the accident from what Radio 5 were reporting last night.

 

[Reaper 392]

Think one of the lorries was a petrol tanker. Someone may have been smoking. Sparks from the crash could've ignited. Probably a "what are the chances" thing.

RIP the ones that lost their lives, but the injured have my sympathies.

wouldnt have been smoking. the mythbusters tried their hardest to get petrol to ignite from people smoking and no matter what they did there was no fire.

whatever the cause, it was a horrific accident, so my thoughts are with those affected by it

 

[Kristoph]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-15606278

 

[knip]

RIP to all

North Petherton carnival tonight, so even more roads closed in the surrounding area

Heard it may be cancelled.

It's been cancelled as a mark of respect.

 

[dave_beast]

just seen the ariel shots. Horrendous, absolutely horrendous. The ariel shots do tell a good story though. Lorry at front slows/stops, Iceland lorry pulls right taking out vhicles to right, next lorry TNT jack-knifes and lorry behind pullls left taking out cars to left into the barrier. Next two lorrys straight into the back, one on fire. Car straight under the back of the last lorry.
My read, vehicles too close, little evidence of avoidance prior to impact.

 

[TaKeN]

Link to those dave beast? Please.

 

[Scania]

just seen the ariel shots. Horrendous, absolutely horrendous. The ariel shots do tell a good story though. Lorry at front slows/stops, Iceland lorry pulls right taking out vhicles to right, next lorry TNT jack-knifes and lorry behind pullls left taking out cars to left into the barrier. Next two lorrys straight into the back, one on fire. Car straight under the back of the last lorry.
My read, vehicles too close, little evidence of avoidance prior to impact.

Got any links to the aerial shots?

You make it sound so simple - and avoidable.

 

[phill1978]

RIP tragic.

I know its horrific in any light but 7 people out of 50+ involved in a night time motorway horror crash including fireballs and super heavy weight trucks at 60-80mph in THE worst possible crash shows how far modern cars have come on in safety, 10 years ago that figure could be have been tripled!


Its morbid but i tend to look at the types of vehicles people were in when they hit things on the reports, u know when three teenagers die in a car crash its usually into a wall in a saxo and when you see some arse in court for drink driving with a car half way up a wall there usually in a larger, safer saloon car.

I hope with those that were burnt alive the fumes got them first.