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Jams and slow lanes
Page 9
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Mr X looks at why an accident which should only stop one vehicle can end up blocking a region and bringing business to a halt.
Who was held up needlessly last week on one of Britain's motorways? Whose company failed to achieve its delivery targets? Who dare not book a flight departure without leaving home hours earlier than necessary?
Probably all of us come into one of these categories. The 16-hour debacle on the M20 last Tuesday graphically illustrates my concerns. At 2.30am a bog-standard night trunk artic had a little accident all by itself. No other vehicles were involved and no-one was hurt. The rig ended up on its side partially blocking the coast-bound carriageway.
As the morning build up of traffic starts at 5.30arn in this area, the recovery services had about three hours to act before any serious disruption occurred. This should have been easy. Any blockage on this particularly sensitive road system results in total gridlock of the surrounding area, so the effects are felt all over Kent, the M25 and South London. Anyhow, at around tea-time the motorway was reopened and everyone could start to think about getting home (having spent most of the day getting to work).
There are several issues worthy of consideration here. First, look at the practicalities: this was a simple roll-over. The non-hazardous cargo of parcels stayed inside the box trailer; the only spillage was a few gallons of diesel. The rig could have been righted and towed off the motorway in a few hours, and the spilled diesel mopped up using high-tech products available to the marine industry.
Instead, we had the 16-hour debacle referred to earlier with aborted appointments, children late for school, ferries and planes missed, staff three hours or more late. A true microcosm of life on Britain's motorways.
The second consideration is merely a perception, but one that is popularly held, that the police seem to revel in the closure of motorways, possibly using it to illustrate the need for safer driving.
Well I can tell them it doesn't work. Accidents will always happen agreed they are mostly avoidable but we all need the co-operation of the boys in blue to keep the roads flowing. The use of roads is not a luxury, it is an absolute necessity.
"The police seem to revel in the closure of motorways, possibly using it to illustrate the need for safer driving"