Horrific experience on the M6

As I sat in the tailbacks while highways engineers worked around the clock to repair a damaged central barrier of the M6 last week, I witnessed something truly terrifying.

The southbound carriageway had been reduced to two lanes, to create a safe zone for National Highways to repair the damage caused by a 10-vehicle crash which sadly saw someone lose their life, and the congestion and slow-moving traffic was as expected.

But, as I wrote last week, I was also impressed with the dedication of the workers to be annoyed by the delays, as they braved the cold, dark night in a bid to fix the central barrier as quickly as possible.

So I bit my tongue. That is, I did, until I saw something that shocked me to my core.

A white Range Rover – complete with private number plate no less – raced past us all in the hard shoulder. Not wanting to jump to conclusions as to their motive, I craned my neck to see what happened further down the motorway, and was horrified to see said Range Rover nipping in and out of lane one whenever it came across a roadworks sign blocking its path.

What made this even more shocking is that this particular section of the M6 southbound, just before Junction 33, only has an intermittent hard shoulder. So the driver would only make it a few metres before having to cut in front of someone waiting patiently (and legally) to make their way past the roadworks.

This isn’t the first time I’ve witnessed such callous disregard for safety on the motorway. Not so long ago I had to force myself to keep watching as a similar incident took place further down the M6. It was only through sheer luck that a family stranded (correctly) in the hard shoulder didn’t end up with a vehicle in the back of theirs.

Hard shoulders are there for a reason. And while I have, in the past, doubted the safety of the ‘rule’ which tells us to wait on the verge, it is vital that they are kept free for those who are genuinely in need of refuge.

Last week’s incident could have resulted in more tragedy. A three-tonne Range Rover is the last thing you want to see slamming in the back of you.