There but for the grace...

One of the things I see a lot of on the A12 is bumps and shunts. Normally they aren't anything too major - just someone not looking where they are going and running into the back end of the car in front.

So tonight when I hit the road after work and promptly joined a crawling queue of traffic, I just assumed it was another one of these that had maybe closed a lane.

Boy oh boy, was I wrong.

Up in the distance at the next junction I could see some blue flashies on the other side of the carriageway. This usually provokes some kind of Pavlovian response in me where I am immediately thankful that it's on the other side of the road, swear at the obvious rubberneckers who are slowing down my side, and I open a window.

Perhaps I should digress for a moment to explain why I open a window... It's quite simple really, when there's any kind of major incident on the road, there is normally some kind of emergency vehicle needed. In this example I could see the blue flashies to tell me that something was on site already, however one of the mantras that I've learned to live with is that where there is one blue light special, another could quite possibly follow. Now on a normal road, this isn't a problem - the Ambulance (for example) will just batter down the road to wherever they need to be, then stop. On a dual carriageway however, this can be a bit different, sometimes they will come onto the road on the opposite side and cross over at the next junction to approach an accident. Opening the window (and for that matter turning down the stereo) means I can hear such a vehicle approaching a bit quicker and try and get out of the way.

Anyhow, I spotted the flashies, and we crawled on regardless. As I approached however, I could see this was more than just a little shunt. There were what looked like 3 fire engines in attendance, as well as a fast response paramedic and a lot of police. Ensconced in the middle of this was a Luton type van. As I approached, I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about - that was until I noticed the large pile of crumpled silver metal wedged behind the van. I'm still not sure whether it was a car or a van, it was completely indistinguishable - all I can tell you is there were a lot of active firemen and a big set of Jaws of life.

I always find it sobering to drive past accidents like these. In another time or place, it could have been me who was involved - so I say thanks to whoever's listening and drive on for the time being.

I like to hope that maybe, just maybe, it makes the others on the road stop and think about their driving just a bit more, then people like the afore mentioned Tom Reynolds can have an easier life of it.