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A local news story:
A Pedestrian died in an accident which closed the M1 yesterday and caused traffic chaos throughout Derbyshire.
A man, in his 20s, was hit by a lorry on the northbound carriageway of the motorway, near junction 28, the Alfreton turn-off, at about 12.30pm.
He had been driving a silver Vauxhall car which police said he had stopped on the hard shoulder.
Both carriageways were shut for more than five hours from junctions 26, Ripley, to junction 28, causing tailbacks of up to 12 miles.
Drivers leaving the motorway hit tailbacks on most alternative routes through Derby and Derbyshire, including the A38 and A52.
Motorists queued in both directions on the A61 between the Pentagon and Little Eaton roundabouts and on the A38 between Mickleover and Little Eaton island.
Drivers were also caught in congestion on the A52 at Sandiacre and on the A610 at Ripley.
A spokesman for AA Roadwatch said: "Slip roads were closed to prevent drivers getting on to the motorway."
The motorway reopened at 5.45pm.
On the local news website you can post comments to every story and this is what "annonymous" posted:
The finger of blame clearly lies with the Police in this. Our finely balanced road network simply cannot cope with closing motorways in todays climes. This is not the first time Police go completely over the top in accident scnarios and are the route cause of complete chaos. Everyone accepts the sensitivity of a fatal accident but regardless of this through access should ALWAYS be maintained on motorways. The Police need to rethink their dracaconian strategy in dealing with such incidents. Are they not aware that families and children are sitting in standstill traffic for hours on end on a multiple unacceptable scale. Shame on our Police force for this unacceptable chaos. They should hold their head in shame. More importantly lets see some reactive action to make sure this mess does not happen again.
Do you think he's right or not? I think he's wrong, any loss of life should be treated with respect and dignity and a full investigation if it happens like this. So what if a few people got held up, I'm sure if it was someone you knew you'd want it investigated thorougly.
By the way this is the reply from the Deputy Chief Constable:
am heartened to read the compassionate and understanding comments of those responding to "anonymous, anonymous". The decision to close a major road like the M1 is not taken lightly - I understand the massive impact of doing so and the inconvenience it causes to many people, including the added poloicing problems associated with it. However, it would be a very sad day indeed if ever society regarded the tragic loss of a human life as secondary to the continuous free flow of traffic. A good indication of any society's values is the manner in which it respects its citizens in death. Every person who loses their life deserves the same respect, irrespective of the nature of their death, and I offer no apology for the Derbyshire Constabulary's commitment to affording that respect, not only to the deceased but also to the loved ones they leave behind. If "anonymous" feels able to contact me then I will ensure that he/she fully understands what police officers do on behalf of our society and what is involved in dealing with a fatal traffic collision, from dealing with the scene to making that lonely walk down the garden path to knock on the door and shatter someone's world. Perhaps then "anonymous" will rethink whose head needs to be held in shame.
Alan Goodwin, Deputy Chief Constable, Derbyshire Police HQ
A Pedestrian died in an accident which closed the M1 yesterday and caused traffic chaos throughout Derbyshire.
A man, in his 20s, was hit by a lorry on the northbound carriageway of the motorway, near junction 28, the Alfreton turn-off, at about 12.30pm.
He had been driving a silver Vauxhall car which police said he had stopped on the hard shoulder.
Both carriageways were shut for more than five hours from junctions 26, Ripley, to junction 28, causing tailbacks of up to 12 miles.
Drivers leaving the motorway hit tailbacks on most alternative routes through Derby and Derbyshire, including the A38 and A52.
Motorists queued in both directions on the A61 between the Pentagon and Little Eaton roundabouts and on the A38 between Mickleover and Little Eaton island.
Drivers were also caught in congestion on the A52 at Sandiacre and on the A610 at Ripley.
A spokesman for AA Roadwatch said: "Slip roads were closed to prevent drivers getting on to the motorway."
The motorway reopened at 5.45pm.
On the local news website you can post comments to every story and this is what "annonymous" posted:
The finger of blame clearly lies with the Police in this. Our finely balanced road network simply cannot cope with closing motorways in todays climes. This is not the first time Police go completely over the top in accident scnarios and are the route cause of complete chaos. Everyone accepts the sensitivity of a fatal accident but regardless of this through access should ALWAYS be maintained on motorways. The Police need to rethink their dracaconian strategy in dealing with such incidents. Are they not aware that families and children are sitting in standstill traffic for hours on end on a multiple unacceptable scale. Shame on our Police force for this unacceptable chaos. They should hold their head in shame. More importantly lets see some reactive action to make sure this mess does not happen again.
Do you think he's right or not? I think he's wrong, any loss of life should be treated with respect and dignity and a full investigation if it happens like this. So what if a few people got held up, I'm sure if it was someone you knew you'd want it investigated thorougly.
By the way this is the reply from the Deputy Chief Constable:
am heartened to read the compassionate and understanding comments of those responding to "anonymous, anonymous". The decision to close a major road like the M1 is not taken lightly - I understand the massive impact of doing so and the inconvenience it causes to many people, including the added poloicing problems associated with it. However, it would be a very sad day indeed if ever society regarded the tragic loss of a human life as secondary to the continuous free flow of traffic. A good indication of any society's values is the manner in which it respects its citizens in death. Every person who loses their life deserves the same respect, irrespective of the nature of their death, and I offer no apology for the Derbyshire Constabulary's commitment to affording that respect, not only to the deceased but also to the loved ones they leave behind. If "anonymous" feels able to contact me then I will ensure that he/she fully understands what police officers do on behalf of our society and what is involved in dealing with a fatal traffic collision, from dealing with the scene to making that lonely walk down the garden path to knock on the door and shatter someone's world. Perhaps then "anonymous" will rethink whose head needs to be held in shame.
Alan Goodwin, Deputy Chief Constable, Derbyshire Police HQ
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You must live near to me as well
This happened not far from where I live. I go to little eaton regularly and live in derbyshire! WOA =D
I don't really know about the situation, how necessary it would have been to close it all down, or what police procedures would have been if it had been 'tidier'.
But a lorry ploughing into a car on the hard shoulder would probably kick up a lot of debris, and nobody would even be thinking about clearing up until the body had been attended to.
Left on the road the shrapnel would have screwed everyones' tyres.
Then there's evidence collection - depending on the circumstances, thorough documentation of the scene may or may not have been necessary. What happened to the lorry would be important too. It probably finished up across at least a couple of lanes, and would have been low priority to move it.
But from a practical viewpoint, we have absolutely no idea what work was necessary before reopening.
The value of a human life? Instinctively you place it as pretty freaking important. But how many people die on the roads each year? We're all willing to jeaopardise our own lives and other peoples' lives when we drive. It's a sacrifice - potential on the individual scale, actual on the structure of society at large - that we're willing to make.
And what is life worth without a good quality of life? If we're willing to make those sacrifices, and perhaps we're not wrong to, is it really consistent to get sensitive about it when someone does die?
I don't know.
But a lorry ploughing into a car on the hard shoulder would probably kick up a lot of debris, and nobody would even be thinking about clearing up until the body had been attended to.
Left on the road the shrapnel would have screwed everyones' tyres.
Then there's evidence collection - depending on the circumstances, thorough documentation of the scene may or may not have been necessary. What happened to the lorry would be important too. It probably finished up across at least a couple of lanes, and would have been low priority to move it.
But from a practical viewpoint, we have absolutely no idea what work was necessary before reopening.
The value of a human life? Instinctively you place it as pretty freaking important. But how many people die on the roads each year? We're all willing to jeaopardise our own lives and other peoples' lives when we drive. It's a sacrifice - potential on the individual scale, actual on the structure of society at large - that we're willing to make.
And what is life worth without a good quality of life? If we're willing to make those sacrifices, and perhaps we're not wrong to, is it really consistent to get sensitive about it when someone does die?
I don't know.
Hedfix wrote:
> Revolver Ocelot wrote:
> Bull. Human life is much more important then losing a few hours
> in traffic.
>
> Other human life? Maybe not if, say, you're rushing your injured
> child to the hospital so she doesn't bleed to death.
In response to Revolver Ocelot:
But that human life is gone, all very well in respecting its passing, but I do understand where you are coming from.
And to Hedfix, my point exactly - EVERYTHINg will get slowed in this kind of action. Fire crews, ambulances, police cars, coastguards etc. If they are late to say a fire, how many people could die, just because they are worried about offending the families of somebody who has just died.
Unless the accident actually blocks the entire road/motorway, there is no need for the whole road to be blocked. In other words, the greater good should prevail.
> Revolver Ocelot wrote:
> Bull. Human life is much more important then losing a few hours
> in traffic.
>
> Other human life? Maybe not if, say, you're rushing your injured
> child to the hospital so she doesn't bleed to death.
In response to Revolver Ocelot:
But that human life is gone, all very well in respecting its passing, but I do understand where you are coming from.
And to Hedfix, my point exactly - EVERYTHINg will get slowed in this kind of action. Fire crews, ambulances, police cars, coastguards etc. If they are late to say a fire, how many people could die, just because they are worried about offending the families of somebody who has just died.
Unless the accident actually blocks the entire road/motorway, there is no need for the whole road to be blocked. In other words, the greater good should prevail.
.........thats why I rarely come in here.
Revolver Ocelot wrote:
> Bull. Human life is much more important then losing a few hours
> in traffic.
Other human life? Maybe not if, say, you're rushing your injured child to the hospital so she doesn't bleed to death.
> Bull. Human life is much more important then losing a few hours
> in traffic.
Other human life? Maybe not if, say, you're rushing your injured child to the hospital so she doesn't bleed to death.
Bull. Human life is much more important then losing a few hours in traffic.
If it occured on multiple lanes then yes, those lanes should be closed or at the very least cordoned off for investigation. Being blunt is never a bad idea, just not very polite and in some situations a stern but sensitive remark is prefered.
Take for example your not so-chummy-friend friend dies of a drug over dose and you're told to comfort his mother. You can't go "He deserved to die, was messing with things he shouldn't have" or "There was help but he chose to ignore it, he died because of ignorance". I think by being insensitive might be a slight form of emotional response of hatred or cruel humour in some cases.
Take for example your not so-chummy-friend friend dies of a drug over dose and you're told to comfort his mother. You can't go "He deserved to die, was messing with things he shouldn't have" or "There was help but he chose to ignore it, he died because of ignorance". I think by being insensitive might be a slight form of emotional response of hatred or cruel humour in some cases.
We're in a global war on terror. Everywhere's a warzone!
*Dustbin explodes*
"Poor Dustbin, it had just one more day to retirement".
*Dustbin explodes*
"Poor Dustbin, it had just one more day to retirement".
Just because people get treated badly in war zones doesnt mean we should right off all kinds of respect for the dead. People in war zones often don't get the respect they deserve, which is what I think you are implying. We should pay respects to all dead people no matter where or why they died.
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