What A Plonker!
Of all the stupid road accidents that happen every year, yesterday’s one in Kent must rank as the most stupid.
This article on the BBC, which is entitled M20 motorway shut after lorry crash causes bridge collapse, gives full details.
There will be a lot of questions asked about this digger and as Dellboy would say, its right plonker of a driver.
- Why didn’t the truck and the digger have a specialist escort?
- Did the driver understand metres and/or feet and inches?
- What is the name of the company responsible, so that I can sue for a ruined holiday, spent camping on the M20?
At least the driver didn’t kill or serious hurt anybody, although it must have been a close run think for the motorcyclist.
A couple of weeks ago, I was seriously delayed because of another plonker, who crashed with a train on a level crossing at Waterbeach.
I think we could bring in a law, which meant that everybody, who is delayed by anything like this incident can contact a central insurance number or web site, where you can easily add your claim to the pile.
After all if my train is late, I can get a refund and have been able to for years. Recently, I was travelling on a Cheap Day Single ticket from Manchester to London, which arrived in London about two hours late, due to an unspecified problem. I filled in a form on the Virgin web site, when I got home and I had my compensation in a week or so.
The insurance companies have the power to knock some sense firmly into the minds of these idiots, who endanger everyone’s lives.
The Anonymous Widower 
I am afraid it is not quite as simple as that. The lorry with the digger was already on the motorway and even if it had joined at the previous junction (4) would have passed under three over bridges with sufficient clearance. This particular bridge slopes down from north to south, so the clearance over the hard should may be less than the minimum on a motorway (5m IIRC). In the south-easterly direction the slip road off the M26 continues as a running lane in place of the hard shoulder until just before the bridge. This does not happen in the north-westerly direction, but the bridge is just after the half mile sign for the M26 and the driver may have thought the hard shoulder was the slip road. In addition the bridge appears to have leakage at the joints. Strain gauges were fitted last summer, and whilst the bridge appears to have been sound enough in the vertical direction for these to be removed, its lateral strength may have been compromised by corrosion.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3088248,0.3799796,3a,15y,294.3h,101.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suSNddyzf664u38fVFeUFVA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en-GB
So unless the jib of the digger had for some reason been raised, it would seem that the driver hasn’t done anything worse than pull onto the hard shoulder and he may have even have had a perfectly good reason for that.
Comment by Mark Clayton | August 28, 2016 |
I have seen a database of bridge strikes on rail overbridges. The accident is not untypical and I strongly feel that thedriver in this accident, did not pay due regard to what he was carrying and caused the accident.
On a related topic, we seem to get double-deck buses stuck under bridges quite regularly.
Drivers must take more responsibility fopr their actions.
Comment by AnonW | August 28, 2016 |