I don't know what it was this weekend - but the M5 was carnage for caravans - have never seen anything like it as bad.
Apologies in advance if anybody on this forum was involved - but I've had to say something
I drove down Saturday and came back Sunday - on the trip there were 6 over-turned caravans, one missing a whole wheel assembly and another yesterday that had survived the snake (miraculously) but both car and caravan were nicely parked on the hard shoulder - facing the wrong way - how they survived that one unscathed its a miracle. Someone else had managed to get the car under the central metal barrier with the van still attached to the back.
I lost count of the number of vans I saw with the roof lights and sun roofs open and happily flapping in the (60 mph) wind.
Come on guys n gals - please take care on the motorway - slow down, load properly and check your vans thoroughly before leaving home and site - its horrible trying to explain to your kids why someones van is on its roof and what the ambulances and fire engines are doing to the people either sat in the car or at the side of the road !
That time of year again I suppose. Surprised there was not a stronger police presence on the M5 doing spot checks. maybe they were kept too busy cleaning up the mess.
Unfortunately, when the sun comes out a lot of caravans do their annual two weeks after being stood idle for the last 50 weeks.
we drove along th m5 from j3 to j7 on friday afternoon i lost count of the caravans that past us we had our cruse set a 60mph and they flew past us also we saw cars towing trailers carring bikes in the 3 lane(there must be some new law that i missed)but i have to say that in the whole its not young drivers but people of a certain age that should know better,come on people we get a bad enough press any way but these idiots tar us all with the same brush.
please watch your speed is it worth risking your life and other peoples to arive 30mins earlier.
tony
------------- If You Open Your Mind Too Much Your Brain Will Fall Out
If and i do mean if it can be proved that these accidents were caused by people driving badly, or with equipment that wasn't fit for the road, then the police should prosecute the fully, and publish who they are and what they did so that anybody inconvienienced by their negligence can sue them...
I think we have to be careful in jumping to any conclusions about caravan accidents as unfortunate as they are. Obviously people should obey the speed limit but its unwise to think that towing at higher speed is automatically dangerous, after all the maximum towing speen in France on motorways is 82 MPH, not that I particularly want to tow that fast! Unfortunately caravan are not required to have regular servicing and I wonder how many of these accidents are due to people not looking after their tyres. Statistically caravan accidents form a relatively small percentage of total accidents. All we can do is encourage people to make regular checks before they set and be aware of the possible problem areas.
Quote: Originally posted by MadFrank on 20/6/2010
Come on guys n gals
On here, you're probably talking to the converted IMO - it's the people who don't ever ask/look for advice who are probably at most risk...
We have so many threads about loading, noseweight, speeding etc, etc, it would take even a newbie about 5 minutes to work out the basics - unfortunately, a lot of them don't know about the wonders of this and other forums or are just not interested enough to search...
------------- 'In later life, you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the things you did.' - Mark Twain
Quote: Originally posted by MadFrank on 20/6/2010Come on guys n gals
On here, you're probably talking to the converted IMO - it's the people who don't ever ask/look for advice who are probably at most risk...
We have so many threads about loading, noseweight, speeding etc, etc, it would take even a newbie about 5 minutes to work out the basics - unfortunately, a lot of them don't know about the wonders of this and other forums or are just not interested enough to search...
You are probably right, but I feel threads like this are always a good reminder.
I have spent the day with my van washing, polishing, hoovering etc today. The last thing I done was load up the van for next week and ensured all was secure. I then checked the tyre pressures and adjusted as necessary, then got my scales out at setup my noseweight as per my towcars recommendations.
PS I will be going down the M5 on Saturday for 2 weeks in Perranporth, bring on the sun :)
I think its sad and feel very sorry for the people involved, it may be lack of experiance, bad judgement, ignorance, stupidtiy or just a complete accident. I think we should all hope we never have the same experiance.
Indeed, it quite possibly could be the number of other drivers that have and never will tow but believe that it's not a big difference to a car having a caravan on the back and feel free to cut us up and make us take evasive action, no?
Having cycled alongside the A1 yesterday (on a proper footpath, I hasten to add!) THAT really opens your eyes to speed, stopping distances and just what is going around you.
But yes, safe journies to all and have a great summer :)
Quote: Originally posted by MrPete on 20/6/2010
Indeed, it quite possibly could be the number of other drivers that have and never will tow but believe that it's not a big difference to a car having a caravan on the back and feel free to cut us up and make us take evasive action, no?
Having cycled alongside the A1 yesterday (on a proper footpath, I hasten to add!) THAT really opens your eyes to speed, stopping distances and just what is going around you.
But yes, safe journies to all and have a great summer :)
I'm not trying to attribute blame to anybody be it the drivers or the victims of other poor driving experiences - we all make mistakes like trying to drive off with the van hand brake on etc....
Just take those extra 5 minutes to double check (please) to save those awkward questions from the kids in the back seat.
We drove up north from Hampshire towing on Saturday.M27,M3, A34, M40,M5 M6 and M62.For some reason I was a nervous wreck and I'm not usually.I was the passenger. The traffic was heavy all the way and it was quite windy.Traffic joining from a slip road on the left were often a menace.Some cars just don't slow down as they join the motorway and just barge in. Where are you expected to go with a caravan on the back?!! Unfortunately there are a lot of nutters on the road.I was so glad when we arrived home safely.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Carnage on the M5 !
