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-   -   Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25? (https://www.londonbanter.co.uk/london-transport/10776-why-there-always-accident-clacket.html)

[email protected] May 4th 10 09:12 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?

B2003


JNugent[_4_] May 4th 10 09:22 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
d wrote:

On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?


I've asked the same question in the past, having noticed the same thing. I
remember one spectacuklar even in late 2004 when the M25 was closed both ways
between Sevenoaks and Godstone (A21 - A22) because two (UK-registered) HGVs -
going in the same direction - had collided with each other one night and gone
off the side of the carriageway, needing to be recovered painstakingly over
three days.

Needless to say, the whole region was in chaos. Even the northern side of M25
was affected with diversions round the other way.

The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV drivers
(trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms of speed and
capacity).

Some say it is because the area is the first really busy stretch of motorway
that foreign truck drivers encounter when coming along M20/M26. But not all
the worst incidents have happened when the road was busy (as noted above,
truck accidents often happen at dead of night). And not all the accidents
have involved foreign drivers.

The answer - there IS one - is to restrict HGVs to the nearside lane only,
24/7/365.

Brimstone May 4th 10 09:46 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 


wrote in message
...
On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more
times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing
some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?

Saaarf Lunnon morons innit?

They ain't got used to traffic moving at more than 15 mph through their
congested streets an' that.



Ian Jackson May 4th 10 09:54 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
In message , JNugent
writes
wrote:

On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services. Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits
roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25
more times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?


I've asked the same question in the past, having noticed the same
thing. I remember one spectacuklar even in late 2004 when the M25 was
closed both ways between Sevenoaks and Godstone (A21 - A22) because two
(UK-registered) HGVs - going in the same direction - had collided with
each other one night and gone off the side of the carriageway, needing
to be recovered painstakingly over three days.

Needless to say, the whole region was in chaos. Even the northern side
of M25 was affected with diversions round the other way.

The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms
of speed and capacity).

Some say it is because the area is the first really busy stretch of
motorway that foreign truck drivers encounter when coming along
M20/M26. But not all the worst incidents have happened when the road
was busy (as noted above, truck accidents often happen at dead of
night). And not all the accidents have involved foreign drivers.

The answer - there IS one - is to restrict HGVs to the nearside lane
only, 24/7/365.


It does seem that certain stretches of road attract a high proportion of
accidents or breakdowns.

In the last few months, that old favourite, the Dartford tunnel, seems
to be having a lot of breakdowns and lorries getting jammed. [A few
months ago, wasn't there fire which meant that it had to be closed for
nearly a week?]

On the M25, another favourite spot is the roadworks between J16 and 18,
past Rickmansworth.

On the M1, nearly every day there is one kind of incident or other in
the roadworks at the bottom end.

In roadworks, I've never really understood why there should be a greater
risk of accidents. In 50 years of driving, I've never seen one happen
there. [In fact, I've hardly ever seen a 'live' accident - except those
involving myself!]

And why do lorries choose to wait for roadworks before they break down?
--
Ian

[email protected] May 4th 10 10:04 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Tue, 04 May 2010 10:22:12 +0100
JNugent wrote:
Some say it is because the area is the first really busy stretch of motorway
that foreign truck drivers encounter when coming along M20/M26. But not all


You may have a point there as the accidents seem to usually be on the
clockwise side. Perhaps its anyone who's come off a ferry or the chunnel and
is almost falling asleep at the wheel and they hit this busy spot and crash.

B2003



[email protected] May 4th 10 10:08 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Tue, 4 May 2010 10:54:20 +0100
Ian Jackson wrote:
In roadworks, I've never really understood why there should be a greater
risk of accidents. In 50 years of driving, I've never seen one happen


Narrower lanes and lanes suddenly veering to the left or right and catching
out people who haven't been paying attention - on the M40 yesterday I saw
a BMW X5 gently veering in and out of the middle lane. When I passed it
it looked like the daft bitch was texting. If we'd been in roadworks she'd
have almost certainly crashed and probably taken a few other cars with her.

B2003



Mizter T May 4th 10 10:27 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 

On May 4, 10:46*am, "Brimstone" wrote:

wrote in:

On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more
times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing
some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?


Saaarf Lunnon morons innit?

They ain't got used to traffic moving at more than 15 mph through their
congested streets an' that.


As a Saarf Lunnon moron all I will say is that I have remarkably
little experience of the M25 - it's normally something I pass over or
under.

ChelseaTractorMan May 4th 10 10:27 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Tue, 4 May 2010 10:54:20 +0100, Ian Jackson
wrote:

And why do lorries choose to wait for roadworks before they break down?


you only hear about those!
--
Mike. .. .
Gone beyond the ultimate driving machine.

Mizter T May 4th 10 10:40 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 

On May 4, 10:54*am, Ian Jackson
wrote:
[snip]
In the last few months, that old favourite, the Dartford tunnel, seems
to be having a lot of breakdowns and lorries getting jammed. [A few
months ago, wasn't there fire which meant that it had to be closed for
nearly a week?]


You're getting muddled with the Blackwall tunnel - the northbound bore
was closed for repairs after a fire last November for a few days,
though I can't remember how long it lasted in the end though.

See:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23777182-.do
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/h...00/8385980.stm

Brimstone May 4th 10 10:43 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 


"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

On May 4, 10:46 am, "Brimstone" wrote:

wrote in:

On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to
this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25
more
times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual
that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing
some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?


Saaarf Lunnon morons innit?

They ain't got used to traffic moving at more than 15 mph through their
congested streets an' that.


As a Saarf Lunnon moron all I will say is that I have remarkably
little experience of the M25 - it's normally something I pass over or
under.


A good thing to do to it.



Basil Jet[_2_] May 4th 10 11:56 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On 04/05/2010 10:12, d wrote:
On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?


My first thought is that "Clackett Lane Services" is media slang for
"the stretch between J5 and J6", and that these are the two junctions
which are furthest apart, so if the number of accidents per mile is
constant, you would expect to hear "Clackett Lane Services" a lot.

Batman55 May 4th 10 01:43 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
wrote in message
...
On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more
times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing
some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?

B2003

Is it just because you know the name well, that whenever anything happens,
it stands out? "Accident near/between Junction X/Y" isn't so memorable. Are
there any stats available to us South London morons which would support your
supposition. I believe that area is subject to more fog than some so that
may be a factor (although presumably not in this case). The other
alternative is that people are so keen to get away from Clackets Lane, they
don't look where they are going!

MaxB



loopy livernose May 4th 10 01:59 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 

wrote in message
...
On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more
times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing
some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?

B2003


I have seen several caused by/around the services themselves (well the
location and id10t drivers.). there are the ones on the slip road out
(which is (generally) pretty short).. and so many drivers expect a gap to
be created for them.. on the entry way caused by, of course, the last
minute 3rd lane tw@s who drive across the lanes barely making the slip
road..

but its also a very crowded but very fast (until an accident is there) part
of the M25..

it is also one of the most poorly maintained bits of motorway (IMHO) with
potholes and truck ruts and in rain I've never known a bit of MWay so bad
for spray.. (seems to be worse than most but no idea why).

but generally its because of drivers being tw@s..





phil May 4th 10 10:28 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms of
speed and capacity).


HGV's are limited to 56 mph mate

phil



JNugent[_4_] May 4th 10 11:39 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
phil wrote:
The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms of
speed and capacity).


HGV's are limited to 56 mph mate


and?

How else do to two lorries crash into each other on a deserted motorway at 3 am?

MrBitsy[_3_] May 4th 10 11:48 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On 04/05/2010 10:12, d wrote:
On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane services.
Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits roads to this
service station have been designed? I've driven that part of the M25 more times
than is probably good for me but I haven't noticed anything unusual that
would give rise to so many accidents but clearly something is confusing some
motorists. Does anyone have any ideas?


This will be a question for ChelseaTractorMan to answer.

--
MrBitsy

Tom Anderson May 4th 10 11:52 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Tue, 4 May 2010, d wrote:

On the radio yet again this morning - an accident at Clacket Lane
services. Is there something particularly bad about the way the exits
roads to this service station have been designed?


Probably run by London Underground, right?

tom

--
My goal wasn't to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers. --
Woz

MrBitsy[_3_] May 4th 10 11:52 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On 04/05/2010 10:54, Ian Jackson wrote:
In 50 years of driving, I've never seen one happen there. [In fact,
I've hardly ever seen a 'live' accident


Interesting. Drivers rarely see a live accident, yet they happen daily
on the same stretches of road causing havoc for all. You would think
drivers would use a little logic here, rather than the standard
'continue as I always do as it's the other idiots'.
--
MrBitsy

Basil Jet[_2_] May 4th 10 11:56 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On 05/05/2010 00:39, JNugent wrote:
phil wrote:
The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms
of speed and capacity).


HGV's are limited to 56 mph mate


and?

How else do to two lorries crash into each other on a deserted motorway
at 3 am?


They're watching Battlestar Galactica videos?

Brimstone May 5th 10 06:47 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 


"JNugent" wrote in message
...
phil wrote:
The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms of
speed and capacity).


HGV's are limited to 56 mph mate


and?

How else do to two lorries crash into each other on a deserted motorway at
3 am?


With great skill and dedication. Not everyone can manage it.



Mike Bristow May 5th 10 09:25 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
In article ,
Ian Jackson wrote:
In roadworks, I've never really understood why there should be a greater
risk of accidents. In 50 years of driving, I've never seen one happen
there. [In fact, I've hardly ever seen a 'live' accident - except those
involving myself!]


I have: on the M11 a lorry lost a tyre about a mile ahead of me.
Quite entertaining.

--
Please help Imogen May keep talking - www.imogenmay.com


David Cantrell May 5th 10 10:52 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Tue, May 04, 2010 at 10:46:22AM +0100, Brimstone wrote:

Saaarf Lunnon morons innit?

They ain't got used to traffic moving at more than 15 mph through their
congested streets an' that.


Whenever I'm foolish enough to drive through London instead of going out
and around, it's always the bits north of the Thames that are slow and
make me arrive at my destination late.

--
David Cantrell | A machine for turning tea into grumpiness

What profiteth a man, if he win a flame war, yet lose his cool?

David Cantrell May 5th 10 10:55 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Tue, May 04, 2010 at 02:43:19PM +0100, Batman55 wrote:

Is it just because you know the name well, that whenever anything happens,
it stands out? "Accident near/between Junction X/Y" isn't so memorable.


Traffic reports and signs that blather on about junction numbers annoy
me. I have no idea what junction number is where. I don't even know
what junction number I use to come off the M25 to get home. What the
****'s wrong with using place names?

--
David Cantrell | London Perl Mongers Deputy Chief Heretic

In this episode, R2 and Luke weld the doors shut on their X-Wing,
and Chewbacca discovers that his Ewok girlfriend is really just a
Womble with its nose chopped off.

Bruce[_2_] May 5th 10 01:17 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Wed, 05 May 2010 11:55:23 +0100, David Cantrell
wrote:

Traffic reports and signs that blather on about junction numbers annoy
me. I have no idea what junction number is where. I don't even know
what junction number I use to come off the M25 to get home. What the
****'s wrong with using place names?



I couldn't agree more. I'm fed up of advanced warning signs and radio
reports that refer only to junction numbers. Even using the A road
number(s) at each motorway intersection would be better than using
junction numbers.


phil May 5th 10 10:27 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms of
speed and capacity).


HGV's are limited to 56 mph mate


and?

How else do to two lorries crash into each other on a deserted motorway at
3 am?


Er, Driver fatigue? Mechanical failure? Tyre blowout?

phil



JNugent[_4_] May 5th 10 11:28 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
phil wrote:
The cause is, at a minimum, reckless and inconsiderate driving by HGV
drivers (trying to get more out of the road than it can give in terms of
speed and capacity).
HGV's are limited to 56 mph mate

and?

How else do to two lorries crash into each other on a deserted motorway at
3 am?


Er, Driver fatigue? Mechanical failure? Tyre blowout?

phil


It's too frequent at that spot to be a coincidence. Honestly.

David Cantrell May 6th 10 11:25 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Wed, May 05, 2010 at 10:25:51AM +0100, Mike Bristow wrote:
Ian Jackson wrote:
In roadworks, I've never really understood why there should be a greater
risk of accidents. In 50 years of driving, I've never seen one happen
there. [In fact, I've hardly ever seen a 'live' accident - except those
involving myself!]

I have: on the M11 a lorry lost a tyre about a mile ahead of me.
Quite entertaining.


I have too. On some northern motorway, someone coming the other way was
drifting all over the place. I thought "bah 'eck" (I'd been in the
north for a week, it was rubbing off on me) "that looks like trouble",
and then they hit the central barrier and the car bounced up in the air
and disintegrated. Seconds later I went through the cloud of debris,
thankfully suffering nothing worse than a chipped windscreen and a
dented roof.

I didn't see what else happened, or what happened to cause the initial
loss of control, and didn't hang around either, working on the
assumption that the accident was going to stop the traffic on the
northbound carriageway anyway and someone else would call for an
ambulance.

I did phone the Oop North Police when I got home to try and give a
statement but they weren't interested.

I wouldn't call it entertaining, but it was at least exciting. I expect
that having an HIV test after your SO admits to sleeping with tramps is
similar.

--
David Cantrell | Cake Smuggler Extraordinaire

THIS IS THE LANGUAGE POLICE
PUT DOWN YOUR THESAURUS
STEP AWAY FROM THE CLICHE

[email protected] May 6th 10 11:31 AM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
On Thu, 06 May 2010 12:25:00 +0100
David Cantrell wrote:
north for a week, it was rubbing off on me) "that looks like trouble",
and then they hit the central barrier and the car bounced up in the air
and disintegrated. Seconds later I went through the cloud of debris,


Motorway barriers are far too thin and low IMO. Occasionally they don't stop
cars and almost never stop trucks going through them. The yanks have the
right idea in some states - a 5 foot high solid concrete wall between the
carraigeways which even a tank can't get over as they found out in LA a few
years back. Plus it makes it harder for rubber neckers to get a look.

B2003



[email protected] April 3rd 15 11:15 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
Before the M25 was completed around 1979 A man protesting against that stretch being completed gave a warning of impending doom to all that travelled along that section and he was seen as a nutter, He said it was sacred ground. Apparently there was a village there that disappeared off the maps in Tudor Times . When the motorway was completed within weeks there was the most horrendous accident with cars catching fire and people getting burned to death, and nearly everyday there is an accident or an incident. This is a dead straight length of road with no hazards and no obvious danger

Robin9 April 4th 15 09:20 AM

Thirty years ago I had a tyre blow-out on the southbound M11 carriageway about
a mile before the M25 junction. It was interesting but not entertaining. At
that point the southbound carriageway is downhill for about a mile, which of
course did not help me to slow down. I didn't dare touch my brakes so I
changed gears and drifted downhill. I thought I was going to get away with it
but when I was down to about 20 mph the car spun round and crashed into
the central reservation.

Offramp April 4th 15 12:14 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
One problem is that an incident occurs every 24 hours. But it takes the police 25 hours to investigate each incident... You can see the problem.

[email protected] April 4th 15 06:48 PM

Why is there always an accident at Clacket Lane on M25?
 
Is there another 120-mile stretch of road in the World that has so many accidents? My stretch is the god-awful car park that is the M40 to M23 stretch, that includes the M3-Wisley bit. That must be the most congested and snarled-up bit of the lot, especially anti-clockwise. The Berlin ring road is about the same length. I wonder if their accident rate is the same? (I doubt it, they're German).

Neill


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