Beefy's Corner - The Off-Topic Chat Thread

Nothing new, we already know they do **** all research.

 

Ah fair play

 

so did you just finish college then?

 

If you guys can't find a job you could work for me.

 

Go on...

 

Could get you a temp job with not much hassle. Only problem it would be based in Soton.

 

That would certainly be a big jump for a temp job, but what kind of job is it?

 

If the pay's good enough to tie me over, I'm there.

 

GBS, if you need any contact names for automotive related companies linked to plastics, I could help. Let me know nearer the time.

 

Up to 100 cars involved in a pile up in Kent due to mist... ouch.

here

 

One chap said he just got out ahead of it, tried to warn people, but just heard cars crashing into each other for 5-10 min. Over familiarity with the road leading to excessive speed probably the cause, with people braking as they hit the fog bank. The fog bank had been there since early in the morning so not something that suddenly happened. There but for the grace of God....

 

I don't like that bridge at the best of times.

 

Blimey o'reilly

The number of hurt has gone down from 200 to "dozens"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23971322

 

The original figure would have included people with minor cuts and bruises who would just want to go home. There will be a few cases of whiplash (real and imagined) appearing over the next few days. I bet the insurance companies will just look after their own customers...no point in trying to apportion blame in that lot. There will be some very serious injuries as there were shots of cars whose roofs had been removed with cutting equipment.

 

******s.

 

Well, before we go into the judgement of those people caught in a major pileup, perhaps it's best to examine how these things happen..?

Personally, I have never been involved in a major accident where weather has played a large part. However, I have twice been caught in weather conditions on a motorway where the odds of a major accident happening grew enormously, instantly. The one time I remember very, very clearly was when I was in my SAAB 900, back in the 1990's, doing motorway speeds up the M11 around Saffron Waldon, and storms clouds in the area suddenly dropped their load. This wasn't just any amount of rain, it was truly enormous. If someone had described it as biblical, I wouldn't have argued the point. I had the highest speed selected on the wipers, which were in excellent condition, and they were doing absolutely nothing to sweep the rain away. Around me, cars drivers turned on their headlights and I did the same. I also put on my hazard warning lights, and others did the same, as cars began to slow down dramatically around me. I finally looked at the speedo and we were all doing about 15 mph, and that was still too fast because the visibility was nothing. I turned off my wipers to see if the curtain of water would do the job alone, and it was a tiny bit better. You just couldn't see.

The underlying thing I am getting at is, there was nothing I could do. I couldn't stop and warn people, I couldn't accelerate, nor change lanes, nothing. I couldn't see well enough, but I had to keep going, otherwise there would have been an accident, probably a major one. There must have been a few hundred of us caught in that storm and all of us behaved as one driver and got through it to the other side. I think it lasted for a proper 5 minutes, though it seemed much longer. I don't know if there were any accidents behind us, but I never heard reports of any.

 

"One witness said visibility had been very poor at the time of the crash but drivers were approaching the crossing with no lights."

******s.

 

Ever tried lights in dense fog..? They do nothing except light the gloom.

You may be right. They may have been unthinking idiots unfit to be behind the wheel. But don't just sign them off with one derogatory word. It is never that simple. Personal experience tells me that.

 

And, if we assume they meant to include both Sunderland and Southampton, they can't count either, because I make that 10.

On a similar note, I had to buy a Daily Express for my ageing Mum, the other day. Every fibre of my mind and body said NO, as I passed the money over.

 

So many good stories fall short of being GREAT stories, through lack of information regarding speed and condition of windscreen wipers...bravo for dodging that bullet