Multi-vehicle crash on the M62

There was a multi-vehicle crash on the M62, near junction 21, near where the young lady was killed by a driver going the wrong way down the motorway.

That stretch of motorway near Rochdale seems to have quite a few accidents and incidents the last year or two. Once you come off the motorway, Junction 21 is a whirly roundabouty madhouse road design dreamed up by a team of highly qualified nutters, but, the problems seem to happen on the M62 itself, why is the motorway so dangerous just there?

The sad truth is that theres hardly a week goes by with out an incident between J20 - J22 on the M62. There are many reasons for these incidents as you can image. Over on the now ceased RO forum I was a vocal critic of the J21 junction and Sir Issac Newton Way road and roundabouts. The M62 is one of the busiest motoways is it not? I have seen breathe takingly bad driving at this junction. Just the other day I was joining the M62 motorway going towards Manchester where a car behind me got on the M62 and proceeded to drive straight across all the lanes to the fast lane causing a HGV to hit the brakes.

It is a total nightmare with cars racing at break neck speeds on all sections undercutting and over taking to jump in the right lane at the last minute just to save a few seconds to get to Elizabethan Way or Shaw Road. I have wrote to numerous Cllrs and RMBC Highways voicing my concerns that it is a total nightmare and it will be a matter of time before there is a tragic accident over above the very near misses that happen every other day by idiotic drivers.

But the question begs what can be done?

From what you say there, Chill, it seems driver behavior is the main problem, rather than anything wrong with the road itself? Why should there be more bad driving just there ?

There is also an element of bad road design. For example the exit slip road from J21 towards Milnrow. The traffic is streaming off the exit onto Sir Issac Newton casues a huge tail back on traffic waiting to carry onto Milnrow from Kingsway. Maybe some sort of traffic light system may have helped.

Although I am led to believe that there is some road improvements on the cards to be done at Elizabethan Road. I was surprised that when all the work was going on at J21 for Kingsway Business Park that more wasnt done to re modelled that junction considering the major works that were done such as the building of a new bridge and demoltion of another one etc.

Again in regards to driving standards in Rochdale, I was vocal on RO about drivers in Rochdale and how a great majority were colour blind or cant read when it came to restrictions in force on the Esplanade.

But then again I suspect that there are many many other Towns with accident black spots. Again, not an excuse, but weather is very inclement around that area at any time of year and maybe that can cause many issues.

I wonder if it is possible to get details of accidents and incidents around Junction 21 of the M62. With those, it might be possible to start working out what the problems are.

Well you could start with a Freedom Of Information request.
As for problems well I have given you a list.

Badly designed roads with a fixation on roundabouts. The exit slip road layout at J21 is an example where three lanes merge into two then one in a short distance.

Bad drivers who speed and cant read.

Good luck with your findings and project.

There should be no need to go through the process of a freedom of information request to find out about traffic accidents on a road you have to use, why should such information be secret? But yes, apparently it is ?

I only know the part of junction 21 that I use, and that is as previously stated a loopy looney totally comical design which people would laugh out loud at, if they weren't concentrating on the immediate problem of surviving it.

It would take more than one or two people enquiring to get anything done to improve safety there, 'they' will have spent millions in getting it wrong. However, the accidents seem to be actually on the M62 itself, so is it really to do with the junction? Perhaps chevrons saying 'keep two chevrons apart' might make the traffic flow safer, like they have elsewhere? That would be cheap and cheerful.

I only mentioned the F.O.I route as it may a quick and easy method to get the info from one location. Or you could just look through local news papers or websites to find the information. I dont think accident figures are private nor did I want to come across as implying it was secret.

I too use all the area, the M62. Elizabethen Way and Sir Issac Newton Way.

I am constantly emailing RMBC and Cllrs about the safety of the roads and activties all around . Although I can say I have had some degree of sucess on certain activities. So as I said hope you get all the information you are looking for. But I cant see the powers that be ripping up all the roads for a redesign.

As for the M62, yes cheverons may be a good idea like on the M6. But I have noticed drivers ignore them on my trips down the M6, not many, but the odd hand ful still ignore the rules of the road.

I know where you are coming from chill37. I use that part of the motorway quite often and some of the driving round there is pathetic. The accidents happen due to drivers behaviour.

All wanting to just to save a few seconds but a lot of people have been injured and killed.

I cannot understand why these people want to go out and kill or injure themselves or others due to the bad driving or what their problem is wanting to out do one another or out speed one another.

Some of the drivers think they are a law to themselves like those idiots using mobile phones and speeding and driving at the same time and think they are safe drivers.

It can get a bit scary.

Im sorry to say that on some days when I leave my house and i noticed the traffic is heavier than normal I do think has there been an accident, and 9/10 I am proven correct when I see the M62 backed up. Such as the tragic incident last Sunday.

I know that was a tragic event but as I said before it will only be a matter of time before someone else is killed.

Junction 21 is a bad design, and as you say, we are stuck with it. I would think a proper expert on road design might come up with some safety modifications. Because of the design, some drivers make 'unofficial' or uncertain maneuvers to cope with it. With high speed and heavy traffic, predicting exactly what other drivers are about to do is a crucial aspect of survival driving.

There seems to be more to it though, something about the actual stretch of motorway there. It may be that, because of the situation within the motorway system, long distance drivers are fatigued by the time they get there, and that, combined with surges of local traffic, driving in an agitated way makes a bad combination.

If some of the bad drivers drive in a safe manner and less speeding might just prevent a lot of the accidents, but alas you cannot stop those people who think they are good drivers but in reality are very bad drivers.

I am not a perfect driver and can make mistakes like most people on the road, but I would not pull the stunts some of the drivers that you see in the area. I may have annoyed some drivers at trying to be safe as possible but my long no claims bonus on my insurance does support this I hope. Most drivers are careful and try their best but it is the dangerous drivers who are causing most of the accidents and pushing up our insurance payments.

What do you do stop the dangerous drivers? The Police cannot be around to stop them all the time, but do try and stop them where they can.

Indeed the police do stop them. As you know over on RO I was always posting about traffic in Newhey/Milnrow. I was always saying when operations by the Police on car drivers should be carried out on Sir Issac Newton Way as the costs of said operation would be paid for in a day with the number of offenders that could be caught based on the bad driving seen by me day in day out. As for punishment - in the case of the driver that is accused of killing that young girl last Sunday he should be jailed for life. Anyone caught speeding should get hit with penalty points and made to do an extended driving test before getting their licence back and made to pay for all the courses out of their own pocket. As for drink drivers, anyone proven to be clearly over the limit in a court- lose their license for life. End of.

Of course the aforementioned examples are extreme ends of the spectrum, yes I too make simple erros/mistakes whilst driving but nothing to the scale I see. HGVs are no different. I know of at least two HGs jack kniving and going over since the introduction of all the roundabouts as they have come off the J21 coming in from Yorkshire direction

Maybe a few unmarked Police cars making regular trips around hotspots will soon start spreading the message. Well I like to think so, but reality is different.

I don't find J21 that bad. Isaac Newton Way could be better but they have put the access roundabouts in first. You would like traffic lights much less.

I use Junction 21 from time to time and have never found it a particular problem. However I don't use it at rush hour in the morning or evening.

Today, a lorry full of chickens on fire on the M62, near junction 21.

About 5.15pm on Wednesday 30 May 2012, five cars and a large goods vehicle crashed at junction 20 of the M62 westbound. A driver was killed. A man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

and, today a lorry tipped it's load of 'animal products' on the westbound carriageway close to junction 21 in a collision with a van, which overturned, just after 5pm.