Motorway mayhem
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MOTORWAY safety was thrust savagely back into the public eye last week when 10 people — some of them lorry drivers — died in a horrific pile-up on the Surrey section of the M25 London ringway.
The pile-up, near Limpsfield, occurred within a six-minute period at around 6am on Tuesday last week, in thick fog.
At least some of the fatalities occurred as a result of a fire which engulfed the 22 vehicles in the pile-up. A petrol tanker exploded in the crash, and other lorries involved included two carrying timber and paper.
Commenting on the implications of the accident, on an unlit section of the M25, a Freight Transport Association spokesman said there was no doubt that overhead lighting made motorways safer in conditions of poor visibility.
But he added to the general view that many drivers exceed safe speeds in fog, and said the FTA urged its members to adhere to a fog driving code which the FTA publishes annually.
Pictures by CM photographer Colin Sovvman.