1903 Knox Runabout Old Porcupine in serious collision

[falkor]

"The collision, involving a car (1903 Knox Runabout Old Porcupine) and an HGV, took place around 10am.

"The driver of the car, an 80-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the collision, and a female passenger has been taken to hospital by ambulance with serious injuries. Police have notified the man's next of kin.

"The road has been closed in both directions and will remain so while we investigate the incident and enable the motorway to reopen. Please find alternative routes at this time."

 

[cobraboy]

Just the sort of headline the classic car world does not need.
Very sad indeed.

 

[The Rovering Member]

Well, if he was actually driving the car on the motorway then l think it was an exceptionally unwise thing to have done.

Ah, looks like he made a wrong turn but should surely have realised his mistake quite quickly & stopped & I'm really thinking on the entry road before the motorway proper.

 

[colnerov]

Hi, It's a bit of a dodgy junction. The M23 sweeps round to the left and the A23 goes round to the right. If, as he was , in a slow moving vehicle and was keeping to the left out of the way he would end up going round onto the M23. To go forward on the A23 he would need to be in the right hand lane and would have faster moving traffic going both sides of him. It's far from ideal trying to get across to the right on a busy road.

Colin

 

[The Rovering Member]

Yes, l think on balance it sounds like a failure of the organisation of keeping the cars on the designated route, considering the age of both cars & some drivers.
Being a lorry driver l know that despite the 56mph speed limitations on modern lorries, it is all too easy to catch up to slower-moving vehicles on the motorway VERY quickly, especially on cruise-control. And slower-moving vehicles are mostly cars capable of much higher speeds, either being driven on cruise trying to beat their previous MPG record or being driven by people simply not confident enough to exceed 48mph (& normally the inside lane does not feature in the mentality of these people).
Personally, l'd have a minimum speed limit on motorways & that would be the European speed limit for lorries, not allowing the the lower limits that companies (mainly supermarkets) put their vehicles on & 60mph for cars (l do realise the issues in enforcement but setting the limits officially may go some way to solving the problem).
I know that if the lorry rear-ended the veteran, which sounds likely, then forward observation was a key factor in the accident but this is an exceptional case as the top speed of the Porcupine was apparently 35mph & I offer my opinion based on personal experience of forty plus years of driving in general U.K. motorway conditions (not to mention towns & cities).
Here's hoping the dead man's wife recovers.