what did the first car hit? next to the first HGV, to its left, its hit something but nothing is in front of it.. strange
it also looks like the last HGV has gone into the back of most of the cars at the back of the pack..
looking at the pics too, some of the crashed cars dont look too bad really, i think the people that had died got pinned in the car rather than dying on inpact, they must not have been going that fast, honestly looks like they got pushed around by the HGVs and fire killed them.
The amount of cars in front of the Iceland and TNT trucks tells me the trucks were possibly - I say that with caution! - innocent parties in the
initial accident. The police where paying a lot of attention to a mazda about half a mile up from the scene that also had damaged on it.
We may well never know for certain what caused it, as others have said it could have been any number of reasons mechanical failure, some kind of health issue (like a heart attack) or simply bad driving by one or two people up at the front. It is also possible that the person who caused it all didn't even realise and carried on with their journey unaware of the carnage that happened in the fog behind them.
The fog was a factor, one of many though.
Over the years many of the accidents of this type that I can remember have happened when it has been foggy so if there is any good at all to come out of this situation then perhaps we will all drive that little bit more slowly and carefully in the fog this winter to reduce the chance of something similar happening again.
did anyone check the metoffice on friday ? would be nice to know which way the wind was blowing..
its the HGVs, look at the pics, all 6 were in the left lane, all 6 behind each other.
1st HGV in the left lane, came to a stop for some un-known reason, second HGVs back end still in left lane, fronts pulled out, taking cars with it, 3rd TNT HGV jackknifed in left lane behind 2nd HGV, hitting 5 cars, 4th HGV getting pulled across 3 lanes by 3rd HGVs trailer having hit the back, again taking cars with it, 5th hits the back end of 4th HGV it bursts into flames pinning cars against barrier, also setting them a light, 6th HGV hits the back of 5th HGV hard
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-blame-fireworks-organiser-insists-fault.html
you can see how all the HGVs were following each other if you look at the pics
The HGV's were all following each other? what else would they be doing?
They would have been in a line, on cruise control most likely, doing circa 50 - 55mph,assuming it was clear prior to the accident....
I would actually say the HGV's were caught up in the aftermath of an initial, smaller impact - the possible reason for the first HGV inexplicably stopping.
On ITV, they mentioned all of the victims that died by name but then said 2 lorry drivers from Cornwall make the death toll 7.
I wondered why this was initially, that they had not named the drivers, I have subseqently learned that there was two Samworth trucks involved and two of the drivers were in the same cab , both of whom have died and the third driver, in the 2nd Samworth truck is critical in hospital....Without wanting to get too graphic the two in the first truck may not have been formally identified yet due to the fire. They know which vehicle(s) they came from and probably know who they should be but without formal identification, they won't release names which could, unlikely but could, later prove to be wrong. It could take dental records or DNA to identify them.
Sadly, some of the HGV drivers that your so quick to judge are not here to defend themselves,they have died & horribly, doing a job that this country, like it or not, would be screwed without!
I'd wait for the official enquiry before dishing out blame if I were you.
Patchy rolling fog is on of those things that you need to see and then take action to reduce speed "before" you run into it because if not it's often too late.If it's an unlit motorway at night the only way that you'll see it in time is by use of the main beam headlights because the dipped headlights won't pick it out rolling across in front of you until it's too late.
The accident scene is just after Jct25, which runs uphill , it could have been a slow truck or car had run up to join the motorway and everyone couldnt get out of the lanes in time,or it could have been the usual "I'll just pull on to the motorway and hope for the best" scanario that we have all seen before, but not to this extent, it could have been travelling in a wall of smoke & fog with no street lighting - that section of the M5 is unlit -, in wet conditions....
I can only hope seeing this accident reported in pictures on the TV & the net has taught the travelling masses how vulnerable we all are out on the road.
Stay safe people.
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