In 2005 I was madmaxed off the road by a truck full of wooden pallets. At 56 mph driver just changed lanes on M25 near Dartford without indicating while my car was alongside his trailer half way between front and back wheels. As soon as I saw the tractor veering into my lane I hit the brakes, side underride guards of the trailer ever so slightly nudged passenger side of my car sending me towards central preservation area and before I had time to say my pater noster I saw two giant rear wheels of the trailer way to close for comfort to my cabin and heard loud noise of mirror being ripped from passenger door and most of the front wheel arch being torn to shreds. It was inches from really bad ending.
The driver sped off. Police failed to investigate in timely fashion and then failed to obtain footage from highway agency cameras within reasonable time. Legal system misplaced bits of evidence. I met driver in court nearly one year later, his only defence was "I don't know anything about this, I didn't see anything like that" and I lost the case because the whole thing was based purely on my testimony.
It will sound like "kittens", but that one afternoon in Basildon, that one court case changed my ENTIRE outlook on justice system and dare I say - life in 21st century Britain. I still sometimes cannot sleep at night thinking what would happen if I had a passenger in my car that day and something really bad happen to them and I had to live with not just minor injustice and financial loss, but someone's health or life being lost and the driver just walking away unpunished because law enforcement and legal system in this country doesn't measure up to minimum standards of service.
The moment HD car cameras became available I purchased one. I am willing to pay or even go to jail if the footage in the future shows something I have done wrong. It's only fair. But I will not, ever again, pay for someone else's mistake.
We live in times when when any a-hole is encouraged to just walk into Argos, buy £30 worth of barely road worthy bicycle and join motorised traffic on A roads without anyone checking if they know not only basic road rules and signage but even as little as left from right or if they can see colours. Lights are being switched off on public roads at night just to fit some sort of green agenda. Haulage operators repackage delivery trucks to 44 tonne LHVs to save on congestion charges and M25 Low Emission Zone fines. Those trucks are then often run through towns via back roads and streets to avoid controls, manned traffic cameras, London Lorry Control Scheme etc, wreck the surface, leaving massive craters not filled for days ready to damage your car. Long distance commuters should really think about acquiring as much defensive tech as they can. Accessorize baby, accessorize!
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