A Son of the Rock

The multi-car pile up on Friday night on the M5 near Taunton in Somerset was a horrific occurence and must have been a nightmarish situation for all those involved, the witnesses, the rescue workers and those who cleaned up afterwards. Not to mention a continuing nightmare for the families of the deceased.

But the emphasis of the news coverage seems askew to me. The focus of attention is on whether smoke from a fireworks display (or perhaps fog) was a contributing factor.

In essence it doesn’t matter, either – or both – may have reduced visibility.

And I believe neither was the cause the accident.

It is more likely that drivers did not adjust their driving to the prevailing conditions. Fog, or reduced visibility, means that they should have slowed down; even if the fog was patchy or intermittent. In all probability some (most?) did not.

The accident – like the majority of road “accidents” – was probably the result of poor, perhaps even dangerous, driving. It is that, as a counter to the dangerous notion that drivers are somehow put upon by laws intended to restrict their speed, that should be hammered home time and again, whenever deaths occur on the roads.

Contrary to what some people seem to believe a car is not an expression of individual freedom, it is merely a means to get from A to B in the most efficient way – and it is also a lethal weapon, needing to be handled with care.

I hope that this incident gives pause to those who wish to raise the motorway speed limit. They say people ignore the limit. Is that a good reason to change the law? After all some people rob banks, so should laws against theft then be changed? In any case, the people who break the speed limit now will most likely break the new one too; they don’t care unless they’re caught. Motorways will be many times more dangerous than they are now.

If it doesn’t give them pause and the limit does end up being raised we can expect more Tauntons, or worse, in the future.