Lorry driver trapped on M5 describes 11.5 hour traffic ordeal

A lorry driver spent 11.5 hours on the road after getting caught between two crashes on the M5 overnight. He was travelling from Bristol to Plymouth[1] but was one of scores of drivers who got stuck for hours after two major crashes closed the M5 overnight[2]. He then had to turn around and head back to Bristol when he realised he would exceed his maximum driving hours if he continued.

The HGV driver, from Bristol, described what he encountered on the night of Thursday, September 19. "About a mile from junction 28 for Cullompton[3] things started to slow down," he said. A fellow articulated lorry driver then told him there had been a crash up ahead.

Accustomed to crashes, he was fairly relaxed about the initial standstill but 45 minutes, nothing had moved and more police started to show up. "Police were on the side of the road telling people to stop," he said. Another lorry driver then told him that there had been another crash just behind them.

He explained: "It was around five cars back. Another RTC behind us, in the space of a mile. "The air ambulance came out.

It was surreal." He added that he was "literally trapped in the middle" of the two collisions. "It was carnage. From 11.30pm to just gone 6am, there were three lanes of trapped traffic."

One woman told DevonLive how she was also stuck in the middle of two collisions for around seven hours[4]. She explained how she "heard the air ambulance" but noted it "landed behind us which we thought was a bit odd". "After speaking to some other road users we where made aware of another serious accident behind us just after junction 27."

Devon and Cornwall Police said three vehicles were involved in the first crash[5], which took place at around 9.50pm. At around 11.10pm, a second crash occurred, involving four vehicles. A man from Plymouth was pronounced dead at the scene of the second crash.[6] A man in his 40s from Cullompton was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Later into the night, National Highways removed the central reservation to allow the trapped vehicles to start moving again and, slowly, they were all released. But the lorry driver said he couldn't continue onto Plymouth and traffic delays persisted throughout the day.[7][8] "I'd reached my hours," he said.

HGV drivers are permitted a maximum of 15 hours of driving per day, according to the RAC. He explained that, if he had carried on driving to Plymouth, he would have exceeded the legal hourly limit, so he returned back up the M5[9] to Bristol. All in all, his journey from Bristol, to Cullompton, back to Bristol took approximately 11.5 hours, he estimated.

The motorway was closed until around 1pm on Friday, September 19, when it was finally fully reopened, although heavy traffic persisted.

References

1. ^ Plymouth (www.devonlive.com)
2. ^ after two major crashes closed the M5 overnight (www.devonlive.com)
3. ^ Cullompton (www.devonlive.com)
4. ^ stuck in the middle of two collisions for around seven hours (www.devonlive.com)
5. ^ three vehicles were involved in the first crash (www.devonlive.com)
6. ^ A man from Plymouth was pronounced dead at the scene of the second crash. (www.devonlive.com)
7. ^ the trapped vehicles to start moving again and, slowly, they were all released (www.devonlive.com)
8. ^ traffic delays persisted throughout the day. (www.devonlive.com)
9. ^ the M5 (www.devonlive.com)