Motorway Hell on the Highway S02E04
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Motorways. Vast, fast, and teeming with traffic. But taking risks. Oh, that is such a near
00:15miss. Breaking laws. Oh, what are you doing? Or letting lunacy take over. That's somebody
00:23trying to be a stuntman. Can turn major roads into major disaster zones. That literally
00:29came out of nowhere. That is a ludicrous place to drive in. This series will uncover
00:39the unbelievable, incredible, and outright outrageous incidents filmed on dash cam by
00:46the public in the UK, and across the world, where incredibly no one was fatally injured.
00:56Rest of the lorry. Our panel of driving professionals will react to the unravelling, travelling
01:01disasters in real time. Whoa, dear, oh, dear. And reveal the causes behind the carriageway
01:08chaos. That is why you check your mirrors. What led to these dreadful driving disasters?
01:14Clearly, he wasn't concentrating on what was going on here. And why virtually all this
01:20motorway mayhem was almost entirely avoidable. Oh, my gosh, such carnage. It's a high-speed
01:27game of pinball, and ooh. Ah, that's nasty. Coming up, the dangers of driving while drowsy.
01:44They're just plummeting through all these vehicles, ripping up everything in its path.
01:50Why it pays to expect the unexpected. Bang, that smashed the windscreen to smithereens.
01:57And what can go wrong with rear-ending? Especially in the snow. It's a truck. This could end
02:03very badly. Hard shoulders are supposed to be a refuge from the madness of the motorway.
02:13A safe place to stop when you've broken down and can't come off at the next junction. But
02:18when other drivers aren't being careful, they can become one of the most terrifying places
02:23to be. Just ask these drivers, who are about to get the inside scoop on the outside lane.
02:32We start in Texas, southern USA, where things are also about to go south on this hard shoulder.
02:41Looking back on a freeway, nice clear blue skies, big muscle cars, big trucks, pure Americana
02:48right now. So presumably, and also by the direction of the traffic, they're pulled over
02:54onto the hard shoulder, something's going on. We've got this red Corvette coming to
03:01a stop, chap putting on his high-vis. I'm not sure if they've broken down or if they're
03:07stopping for a planned reason. But no amount of planning can prepare them for what happens
03:12next. Oh my goodness. What is that coming towards this guy? A Chevy spinning at the
03:23wheel lift. It's like jaws. It's like when the shark comes out of the water. And it's
03:30heading straight towards the man in front. Oh my God, you better get out of the way,
03:35mate. Quick. He's just about made that in time. I don't know what he does for a living,
03:46but he's definitely got reactions of a good goalkeeper there, the way he dives out of
03:50the way. Luckily, he was facing the direction of the oncoming traffic, a really smart thing
03:57to do because he saw the accident coming and just managed to get away. However, it's
04:04less good news for the car and the camera. I fear for the life of this dash cam. I've
04:13got a feeling after this, they might be invested in a new one. Next to sunny California on
04:25a San Diego highway. Clear road, not a lot going on. The weather looks absolutely glorious.
04:34Get me over there pronto. But this sunny day is about to turn very gloomy as our dash cam
04:41car approaches a fork in the road. We can see something sticking out on the right hand
04:46side of the screen there, like the nose of another vehicle. Darker coloured pickup truck
04:53and they don't want to take that exiting lane, but our point of view camera doesn't want
04:58to allow that vehicle to join. The dash cam driver is forced to move into the left lane,
05:04but the pickup isn't done yet. The pickup truck is now decided to swerve right in front
05:10of the dash cam car. Why? To avoid the brake check, he's going to veer off to the right.
05:24They've been forced into the hard shoulder and there's a trailer right in front of them.
05:28Wallop. Oh my gosh, look at that. There's a worker there. I think they've just had to
05:43jump out of the way. Luckily, jumping out of the way worked out well for the worker,
05:48and it's not hard to work out who's responsible for this hard impact on the hard shoulder.
05:54Fault on this, Liz, was that dark coloured 4x4. Bullying, road rage, brake checking,
05:59and now because they've missed the exit, shocking bit of driving there. Brake checking,
06:04slamming on the brakes, it's a horrible thing to do and incredibly dangerous as well. And
06:10the danger extends beyond just the occupants of the vehicles. The hard shoulder workers,
06:17some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and one of the most dangerous jobs. It's not a
06:23place I would want to be. It's certainly not a place I would like to work. We always need to
06:29be careful when there's people in the carriageway, especially road workers. They need to be safe.
06:35Thankfully, everyone involved escaped serious injury, although it's less good news for the
06:41port-a-loo, which couldn't escape if it wanted to. We're back in Texas again now,
06:50as we continue our tour of the hard shoulders of the USA. We're on a nice big broad motorway
06:57with our American cousins, I believe. In America, on big highways like this,
07:03we have hard shoulders on both sides for safety purposes. Bit of brake lights there from car in
07:10front. All vehicles are slowing. But it seems that one manic motorist on the left is determined to do
07:17exactly the opposite. Where did he come from? Oh, that black car's gone racing down the hard
07:28shoulder, presumably thinking, I'm gonna clear all this traffic. But the driver seems to have
07:33a sudden change of heart. They've moved in from the hard shoulder. Now they're moving into the
07:41middle. They're kind of snaking the way through the traffic. It's almost like they're hiding.
07:48And it's not long before the reason for their roaming is revealed. Hold on a second. There
07:57appears to be a police car in the hard shoulder. They were racing up the hard shoulder. They've
08:04obviously seen the police car and then decided to try and hide themselves within the normal traffic.
08:09They can run, but they can't hide. Well, I've heard of the long arm of the law. This is the
08:14hard shoulder of the law. And just a few seconds later, the car finds itself back on the hard
08:20shoulder and in a lot of trouble. Now, this is what our shoulder's for. Pulling somebody over,
08:26prosecuting them for dangerous driving and causing a nuisance to other road users. Yeah,
08:30well played, police officer. It's made me smile. All in all, pretty easy to see why this driver
08:36should shoulder the blame. Using the hard shoulder at speed is so dangerous. Nobody's
08:42expecting you to come from that direction. You do not want to be driving down the shoulder. It's
08:47very dangerous to do. And it just goes to show that you never know who's watching you when you
08:50do it. So how can we avoid hard times on the hard shoulder? In the UK, the only time you should stop
09:02on the hard shoulder is for medical emergencies, mechanical breakdown, or if you're told to stop
09:08by the police. And what should we do if we're forced to use the hard shoulder? Get the other
09:15side of the barrier. You can get your hazards on, put the high visibility on, put the triangle
09:19behind it if you've got one, and then get yourself away because vehicles are going past yours all the
09:26time. And your vehicle is just a target for a crash. Coming up, the dangers of drifting drivers.
09:37That's very worrying. And unexpected situations
09:41cause big complications. Big spin. They've lost it. They've absolutely lost it.
10:00We've all found ourselves drifting off. It usually happens when someone tries to tell me about their
10:06podcast or tries to explain the rules of poker to me for the 15th time. But when you're behind
10:12the wheel of a car, even drifting off for just a second can have devastating consequences,
10:18as these inattentive automobile drivers are about to find out.
10:25First up, we're heading over to Scandinavia for a scenic drive on the roads of Norway.
10:31So we've got a 70 kilometer hour road here. Quite a lot of traffic. Another beautiful part
10:37of the world by the looks of things. The sky is blue. There's a few white fluffy clouds.
10:43We've got some nice Norwegian wood. Lovely stuff. But would you mind keeping your eyes on the road?
10:49So right in front of us, we've got a Volvo. And then on the opposite side of the road,
10:54we can see a lorry heading towards us. That might be something to watch out for,
10:59particularly when you're on a single carriageway.
11:01Unfortunately, it seems the Volvo in front isn't following that advice.
11:09Why are you drifting off like that? There's a lorry coming.
11:15He's just heading a little bit too close.
11:20Move back over, move. That's very worrying.
11:24Wow. Dashcam car's going to hit them now. Tire lock coming in.
11:31Thankfully, our diligent driver with the dashcam deploys their brakes just in time.
11:37Very good reaction from the camera car there, who's managed to stop safely and in time,
11:42but only just. And the dashcam driver only has to look at the car carnage in front of them to
11:47see what could have happened to their car.
11:50That car has been totally totaled. It used to have a full bonnet. Now it's got half a bonnet.
11:56And whilst the car's body is damaged, thankfully, the driver is unhurt.
12:01Although he may have to carry the blame for what happened.
12:04The car has drifted out of its lane, only to be hit by a lorry.
12:09The lorry has been hit by a lorry, and the driver has been hit by a lorry.
12:14The lorry has been hit by a lorry, and the driver has been hit by a lorry.
12:17The car has drifted out of its lane only for a moment, and it's caused absolute havoc,
12:23which only goes to show that a momentary lapse of reason could end in a nightmare.
12:31The fact that he's actually moving and getting out really does show how well these vehicles
12:36are built, and the safety factors around these vehicles absolutely doing its job really, really
12:42well. Next, we're off to Asia, where we find ourselves in a car park in Thailand.
12:52It looks like a built-in CCTV camera covering a bit of a car park area,
12:57dual-lane carriageway in distance. Parked vehicles here, busy carriageway.
13:03A busy carriageway that a white car is currently reversing towards as they try to exit the car park.
13:08They're reversing the correct way. It's got good views, no obstructions. Yeah,
13:13it's fine. He's happy with that. They've done it. Fair play to you.
13:18Looks like good use of the rear-view mirror there, but they might want to check it again.
13:24Oh, my God. Where's this lorry going? That lorry is looking out of control.
13:31It's picked the sign up, hasn't it? It's bringing the sign with it. It's drifting
13:34out of the tarmac onto the dirt. Oh, my gosh. It's going to plow into the cars.
13:39Oh, God. Complete devastation. Look at that. Oh, my gosh. It's taken four vehicles to actually
13:55stop this lorry in its tracks and a building. Allegedly, the driver felt drowsy after taking
14:01medicine before taking the wheel of a tanker full of flammable liquid.
14:05If you're in control of a vehicle this size, you're driving a weapon. If it says on your
14:11medication box or your prescription, may cause drowsiness, it's down to you not to drive that
14:15vehicle and just don't do it. The driver was investigated but released without charge.
14:26Luckily, the drivers of the parked cars were away from their vehicles,
14:30although they probably got a bit of a shock when they returned to the scene.
14:35It's going to be safe and it's going to be free from harm and damage. You come back from the shops
14:42having picked your avocados up and your fruit and nut bar and you find you're far before it's
14:46wrote off. Not a good day. Next, we're heading to a five-lane freeway in Phoenix, Arizona.
14:56We're on a multi-lane carriageway. It's a beautiful day, great observations, no obstructions.
15:02Lovely clear day, lots of space, but not for long. Keep your eye on the white SUV, two lanes to the
15:11right. Seems to be having a bit of a meander and oh, no indicating from the SUV, but very tight
15:20lane change. What are you doing? It's wandered into the lane next door to it, that's lane number
15:28one. It's wandered into the next lane, that's lane number two.
15:32It looks like it's about to wander into lane number three.
15:37Yes, it is with a bang and sure enough, they have catapulted across the lane
15:44right into the side of that truck and starts quite a big pinball accident.
15:50They've rear-ended the back of the van, caused that truck to spin on its axis.
15:58Oh, what a mess.
16:12Now, everyone's going past trying to work out what has happened there.
16:16So, what do our experts think happened there then? So, it's a possibility that the driver's either
16:22tired or fallen asleep, nodded off behind the wheel because the vehicle is just going from one
16:26side completely to the other side without stopping, touching its brakes or on its steering.
16:33Luckily, everyone escaped this potentially dozy, dangerous driving without serious injury.
16:40I've got to say it's a lucky escape because what could have been a dream could also have
16:44been a nightmare. But how can we avoid drifting off into a highway horror of our own? Driving
16:54when you're tired in any circumstances but particularly on a motorway is really dangerous.
16:59If you realise you're tired, put your window down, stop and have a cup of coffee and a break.
17:05Or best of all, don't drive tired at all.
17:08Go and have a little sleep where you need to because driving tired is incredibly dangerous.
17:14I don't know about you, but I love it when something unexpected happens like running
17:19into an old friend, winning the lottery or looking out of the window and seeing it's not
17:23actually raining. But on a motorway, sudden surprising events can lead to serious problems
17:30and these clips are about to show why it pays to expect the unexpected.
17:44We begin in North Carolina, on board a vehicle with a driver dangerously filming on their mobile
17:50phone. Nice sunny day, wheel to wheel with a big old lorry somewhere, little towed trailer in front
17:57of that as well. Visibility is good, just a normal day on a carriageway really. But what happens next
18:06Oh my goodness, what was that? Wow, something's been clipped by the wheel of the trailer in front.
18:12Holy moly, it's going to head straight towards the vehicle.
18:21Oh wow, oh my word, how on earth? Bang, that smashed the windscreen to smithereens,
18:28like a giant piece of metal. Oh my goodness, what's going on?
18:33That smashed the windscreen to smithereens, like a German throne at the Olympics directly for the driver.
18:41It's like a spear straight through the windscreen of the car, glass everywhere.
18:48Dear, that's not good. That's about the most scary thing you can imagine happening in any car.
18:55Luckily, the driver escaped being speared and avoided serious injury.
19:03That's a narrow escape, just to the right of the driver's head. This is a great example of
19:09why debris on the road and poorly secured loads can cause so much danger. A little post like that,
19:15it looks like something fairly inconsequential laying on the road,
19:19but look at the damage it can do with just the tiniest little bit of impact.
19:24Now to Arizona, home of the Grand Canyon, and as we're about to see, a grand surprise for this unlucky driver.
19:34It's a beautiful day, nice bit of driving, nice flow, no obstructions, good visibility ahead.
19:41The driver is on an absolutely dead straight, dry, clear road, nothing too much in front of them.
19:49Dry, clear road, nothing too much in front of them, not really a care in the world, chilling out.
19:57But our dashcam driver is about to encounter some unexpected oncoming traffic.
20:07What was that? Wow. Something comes flying here.
20:14It's a big bird, is that? Is it taking some sort of owl or bird of prayer?
20:17Bird comes screaming over at low level, startles the driver.
20:27So basically they've seen the bird, haven't they? And tried to stay past it and just lost control of the vehicle.
20:33Out of panic, they oversteered, ended up sliding across the road.
20:39Vehicle dynamics have all gone. Big spin, they've lost it, they've absolutely lost it.
20:45It's all gone wrong, you're going backwards in the carriageway.
20:50Hold it, hold it, hold it. Pull off, pull off, pull off, pull off. Oh, he's going to get the barrier.
21:00Missed the central reservation just. Well done, well done to them.
21:04They were able to land themselves into a little bit of a safety zone.
21:09Wow, that was extraordinary.
21:14Thankfully, the driver wasn't injured in the incident,
21:17although it looks like their feathers were ruffled by the unexpected incoming bird.
21:24Just goes to show that one small panic, one small little reaction on your steering wheel can lead to a big issue
21:30in your car going backwards down the motorway at 60, 70 miles an hour.
21:35But is there anything we can do to prevent this from happening?
21:39This kind of reaction when the unexpected happens?
21:43If something does startle you, does take you by surprise,
21:46just try to keep it straight, to brake slowly and to compose yourself.
21:52It's overcoming human reaction and you're not always going to be able to do that.
21:59Now to Utah in the USA, where this cop car with a camera is on nighttime patrol.
22:06Clear, dark night, policeman's driving sensibly, safely,
22:09large gap in front of him, coming to a controlled stop.
22:13Everything's all calm and normal, just making a left turn,
22:16probably going to get a Burger King or something like that.
22:19But this copper's whopper might soon be the last thing on their mind
22:23as a car approaches on the other side of the road.
22:27This SUV coming in looks like it's taking a funny direction.
22:31Car coming up on the left hand side,
22:33looks just a little bit too close to that post to be honest with you.
22:37Looks like they're going to actually hit into that pole.
22:46Oh, bang, he's hit it.
22:47It's just catapulting towards us.
22:50You're stationary, you cannot get out of the way.
22:56Oh my goodness.
22:58Bang, what an impact.
23:00It shattered the windscreen.
23:04Not only has it shattered it, it's left a massive hole in it.
23:08That's scary, that is proper scary.
23:11This is the sort of accident you just dread
23:14because there's nothing you can do about it.
23:17Miraculously, the runaway road sign missed the police officer who escaped unharmed.
23:25There's no way when you're sat at a traffic light
23:27you're expecting anything like that to happen to you.
23:30Lucky this is a left-hand drive vehicle.
23:33The occupant got away with that.
23:38It certainly seems to be a sign
23:40that you really need to keep your wits about you on the roads.
23:44I've heard of the expression danger signs,
23:47but this brings a whole new meaning to it.
23:51Coming up, more motorway mayhem as one driver wrecks it as an exit.
23:57Art of it's it, it's it and gone over.
24:00And what goes wrong when cruising cars are too close for comfort?
24:05One after the other, one after the other, one after the other.
24:08None of them stand a chance.
24:22As a driver, you have to be alert to the dangers in front of you,
24:26but you also need to be aware of the hazards behind you
24:29and they can be a lot harder to spot.
24:31Let's meet the drivers who wish they literally had eyes in the back of their heads.
24:41We begin in South Dakota in the chilly north of the USA.
24:46We've got a nice scenic view of the flat plains of Dakota.
24:49All the snow and the ice you can see for miles.
24:53Road's relatively clear, plenty of space with everything ahead.
24:57And these clear, calm conditions mean our friends in the dash cam car
25:01can relax and ponder life's big questions.
25:05Does your phone always on silent or what?
25:08But we might have to wait to find out,
25:10because this Q&A is about to be rudely interrupted.
25:18Well, what was that?
25:19You can hear the bump.
25:21What's this then?
25:22It's a truck? No way!
25:26That lorry has now rear-ended the car
25:28and the car driver has no idea what's going on around him.
25:32They're spinning totally out of control now.
25:35And where they'll end up is anyone's guess.
25:38That car is now heading to the other carriageway.
25:44Snow everywhere, snow all over the windscreen.
25:46We can't see anything now.
25:47This could end very badly.
25:49It's OK, it's OK.
25:52We've come to a nice little stop on the grass.
25:56We didn't cross the reservation,
25:57but an extremely dangerous place to be.
26:06The person in the camera car seems to be incredibly upset
26:10with what's just happened.
26:11To be quite honest, I don't know what's going on.
26:14I don't know what's going on.
26:15I don't know what's going on.
26:17He's very upset with what's just happened.
26:19To be perfectly honest with you, I don't blame him.
26:23Did he intentionally do that?
26:26I don't know.
26:28They might be in the dark,
26:30but our experts have a pretty good idea
26:32of what they think went wrong.
26:35With a rear-end smash,
26:37that lorry driver was going too fast
26:40and not paying the right amount of attention.
26:41I always hate to blame the truck driver,
26:44but I'm really sorry to say in this case,
26:46I wasn't watching what was going on.
26:51Although I'm not sure that's much consolation
26:53for the driver who's now stuck in the snow.
26:56There's no way that lorry should have been driving so fast.
27:00I'd stick to the day job if I were you, Pete.
27:06To Eastern Europe next,
27:08where we're moseying down another motorway.
27:11Nice, dry, sunny day.
27:13Good visibility, good conditions,
27:16plenty of space,
27:17plenty of space to see what is coming up ahead.
27:20But all that space is about to be taken up
27:23in dramatic fashion.
27:29These two cars on the left-hand side
27:31seem a little bit close for comfort.
27:34It's almost like the first white car
27:36is towing the second white car there that close.
27:39So dangerous.
27:40It looks like he's got a rear-end in the white car.
27:42Not enough time to brake,
27:44not enough time to get out of the situation.
27:47The speed in which they're travelling,
27:48if that car hits that white car,
27:50it is going to spiral out of control.
27:57Oh, and look at that.
27:58Oh!
28:00Jeez.
28:01They've just momentarily lost concentration
28:04and veered into the middle lane,
28:05but there wasn't enough space.
28:10The car has been catapulted
28:12and is now pushing its way back across the carriageway.
28:15It's almost like a pinball on a pinball machine.
28:25Massive debris, dust everywhere,
28:27a little bit hard to see what's going on here,
28:29but the result is two very broken motorcars.
28:34And look at that car that was in the middle,
28:37just avoiding getting hit.
28:42It's disappeared into a lump of dust.
28:45But eventually, the dust and bits of car in the air settles.
28:50Look at the barrier there,
28:51completely bent out of shape.
28:55God, those two cars are absolute write-offs.
28:58And whose wrongs caused these write-offs?
29:02The driver of the white-swing car
29:03hasn't done this intentionally, as far as I can tell,
29:06but the rotational forces,
29:07the transfer of energy from the left to the right,
29:10transfer of energy from the faster-moving white saloon
29:13into the back of the white SUV
29:15meant that both cars were heading face-first
29:18into a crash barrier,
29:20a situation that nobody wants to find themselves in.
29:26Next, we're cutting through the countryside in Connecticut.
29:30Lovely day for a drive, nice dry roads.
29:34Quite a lot of traffic on the carriageway
29:37and traffic moving quite a haste
29:39as we look at it on the left-hand side.
29:42And that row of vehicles seems to be moving at haste
29:45with very little space.
29:48They're all far too close to be able to react
29:50if something goes wrong.
29:51There should be a two-second gap
29:53between you and the car in front
29:54and none of those four vehicles
29:57are paying attention to that rule at all.
30:00But they might be wishing they had been.
30:04Oh, my gosh, all the cars have slammed on the brakes.
30:07Hairy on the stop.
30:08Nowhere for anyone to go.
30:12It doesn't take a genius to work out
30:14what's going to happen here.
30:26Oh, my good gosh.
30:28Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
30:30One after the other, one after the other,
30:32one after the other.
30:32None of them stand a chance.
30:34And it seems the whole lane's been impacted by this smash.
30:39How many cars are involved in this?
30:41This goes on further than I thought.
30:44Six pile up in lane one.
30:47And by the looks of it,
30:48the repair costs are piling up too.
30:50That middle car is being pushed up in the air.
30:54Lots of vehicle damage.
30:56It's been rear-ended big time.
30:59But what caused this car caterpillar?
31:02The leader of the impact was just going a little bit slower
31:06and everyone else was just a little bit too fast
31:10with not the correct observation and forward planning.
31:12And it's all because people are just not focused
31:14on what's going on in front of them.
31:17And now they've caused everyone a massive pain in the rear.
31:25It's never easy to make a smooth exit.
31:27Do you say goodbye to everyone at the party?
31:30Kiss one cheek or two?
31:32Is it okay to ask the host to take home a slice of cake?
31:36Frankly, it's a minefield.
31:38And exiting a motorway is no easier.
31:41Enter these next drivers.
31:46First, we're on a motorway in Malta
31:48where our driver with the dashcam
31:50has already pulled into the exit lane.
31:54Nice sunny day.
31:56We're following this van.
31:59Fairly closely, in my opinion.
32:02But a much closer encounter is about to unfold.
32:08Someone's coming in from the right there.
32:09This car is approaching at such speed.
32:12They've left it too late to come off.
32:14They're going too quickly
32:16and they're crossing a solid white line.
32:18The ambitious automobile aims for the exit.
32:22That silver car is trying to get into that small gap there.
32:25Are they going to make it?
32:29There's a car that's not going to let him in.
32:31Two cars trying to fit into the same space.
32:37Silver car has got nowhere to go.
32:44And they've hit it.
32:45Hit it and gone over.
32:47Wow.
32:51They've hit it at such pace.
32:53Concrete's flying everywhere and he's ended up upside down.
32:58The flipped vehicle went nowhere fast
33:00and it was all down to the driver's last minute decision.
33:05They thought they'd stay on that motorway for as long as possible
33:08and then try and slip on at the last second.
33:10But you can see exactly how much time that's actually saved them.
33:16No time at all.
33:17If anything, it's cost them even more time.
33:22Back to Blighty and we're on board an HGV
33:25as the rain lashes down on the A59 in Lancashire.
33:29Typical English roads, these.
33:31They're always a bit soggy.
33:33Not too much traffic around us.
33:36So the driver of the dashcam vehicle here is going at a sensible speed.
33:40I'm assuming this could be a lorry,
33:42seeing as it's quite high up off the ground.
33:48You can see it's slowing the road,
33:49which basically means there's a feature coming up.
33:52You can see a sign which will indicate there's a turn off there.
33:56Meanwhile, danger is fast approaching in the outside lane.
34:03We've got a white car on the right-hand side here
34:05just absolutely whizzing up in the outside lane.
34:09The white car is indicated from lane two into lane one,
34:13hoping to take the left-hand turn.
34:15The white car has just decided to slam on the brake lights.
34:18What on earth are you doing?
34:20Oh, he's left it a little bit late.
34:27Oh, it's a big old shunt.
34:29It's straight up your back end and it's a contact.
34:35I don't think you needed a push, but you just got one.
34:38You've completely missed your turning now,
34:40all because you left it to last minute.
34:43Look at the state of that boot.
34:45But could this rear-end shunt have been avoided?
34:49It is completely the fault of the white car.
34:51It has pulled across in front of his path,
34:53giving him no reaction time at all.
34:55The key lesson in this footage is going to be forward planning,
34:58making sure you're in the correct position to carry out the manoeuvre
35:02and making sure you're doing the correct speed to do so.
35:06Do that and you won't end up like this.
35:10That was a highly dangerous manoeuvre to make, basically.
35:13That's what you get, mess around and find out.
35:19Over to Canada now, and we're queuing in Quebec as we exit a motorway.
35:25Looking at the wing mirrors, we're in what seems to be quite a large truck here.
35:28I'm guessing this is kind of one of those big rig Canadian vehicles.
35:34Leaving the interstate or the motorway in a bit of traffic.
35:39You can see the chevrons coming up to the driver's left hand.
35:42Solid white lines there, which, basically, with chevrons, you mustn't cross.
35:47The highway traffic continues to move at speed,
35:50while the exit lane is down to a crawl.
35:53The truck driver is driving very sensibly.
35:56Even though traffic is moving slowly, he's leaving what we call tarmac.
36:00So you leave a two-metre gap in front of the lorry.
36:03But someone's about to take advantage of that all-important safety gap.
36:07Oh, what are you doing?
36:09There's a black car coming from the left-hand side of the screen.
36:14Somebody's just cutting. There they go, crossing the chevrons.
36:17I wish someone else thinks they're a bit more entitled than everybody else.
36:22Losers!
36:25I can't disagree with that.
36:27And they're about to lose out on even more.
36:30I can't disagree with that.
36:32And they're about to lose out on even more.
36:37Oh, and they didn't notice there was a man in a black and white car, did they?
36:42Oh, dear. Oh, dear.
36:44Pull him over. Pull him over.
36:48I'm up with that.
36:51That serves them right.
36:54Oh, this is wonderfully satisfying to watch.
36:57And the officer is now probably pointing out the error of the driver's motorway exiting ways.
37:04Instant karma.
37:07So, how can we step up our exit strategies?
37:10First, have a plan.
37:13Don't leave it till last minute.
37:15You're going to cause dangerous trouble for road users.
37:20Also, obey the road safety markings.
37:23A sunny white line, you can't cross it.
37:26Chevrons, you can't cross them.
37:28They're there to stop people careering in at the last moment and possibly causing an accident.
37:34And last of all, try to relax.
37:37When everyone's waiting in a queue, it really annoys people when people cut in or jump into gaps.
37:42Everyone's got to wait, so you've got to wait like everyone else does.
37:47And if you do miss your junction...
37:49If you do happen to miss an exit, just carry on to the next exit,
37:53pull over where you can and plan an alternative route.
37:56It's no biggie.
37:57It's going to take a few extra minutes out of your day.
38:03Coming up, four-legged friends become two-wheelers' worst enemies.
38:08Who's going to use their horn first here?
38:10That's the question you've got to ask yourself.
38:15And a chaotic kitty causes something not so pretty.
38:18I just missed it by a whisker.
38:23So...
38:33Everyone knows our highways are home to a hodgepodge of hazards,
38:37pesky potholes,
38:38kaput cars.
38:40But when it comes to animals on the carriageway,
38:43well then, you really do need to keep your wits about you.
38:46We begin on a rural Romanian highway.
38:50Right, we're riding on board with motorcyclists,
38:52having a nice day out,
38:53going through some sweeping corners through the woods,
38:55out in the countrysides.
38:57Great riding conditions, beautiful blue skies.
39:01What could possibly go wrong on a beautiful day like this?
39:04Well then, funny you should ask.
39:08There's a lot of people on the motorway.
39:10There's a lot of people on the motorway.
39:11There's a lot of people on the motorway.
39:12There's a lot of people on the motorway.
39:13There's a lot of people on the motorway.
39:15But there's something now coming out onto this road.
39:22They are cows by the looks of it.
39:26And oh, moo.
39:29Now, there's no way on earth you'd expect four, five, six, seven cows to be coming out.
39:34But coming out they are,
39:36and they're heading directly into the biker's path.
39:39The cow on the left caught my eye.
39:41I didn't even see the herd on the right.
39:44Who's going to use their horn first here?
39:46That's the question you've got to ask yourself.
39:50This biker's got no option but to try and swerve around them.
39:54Being on a bike, you don't want to hit them.
39:57The biker will end up worse off here.
40:00He's literally run out of space here.
40:07Oh, look at that.
40:08And you are down.
40:10That is unlucky.
40:11You can't ride that, can you?
40:12Well, he got moved off his bike there, rather.
40:15The motorcyclist really didn't have an alternative
40:18than to try and avoid the cattle in front of him.
40:22Not just to saving his motorcycle and himself,
40:24but try to avoid any harm to the animals.
40:28Thankfully, the cows made a swift exit to safer ground.
40:32The rider appears OK, too.
40:34But the question is, who has beef with who?
40:38Blame here clearly doesn't lie with the motorcyclists
40:42or indeed the cows.
40:44The blame probably lays with a farmer
40:46who didn't do adequate fencing on his field
40:48or perhaps hikers who didn't follow the countryside code
40:52and didn't shut the gate after them.
40:57Next, we're heading to Eastern Europe,
40:59where things are about to get wild on this motorway.
41:03Cloudy day on a fairly dry but busy and quite fast motorway.
41:08Traffic's moving at speed, but we've got plenty of room around.
41:13But these ideal conditions are about to become far less ideal.
41:20Brake light's coming on from the cars up in front.
41:23Hard braking now. What are they stopping for?
41:26They've seen something.
41:29The car in front of the car on the left
41:31has decided to swerve a bit into the middle lane.
41:33Oh, big swerve there from that BMW.
41:37And it seems they're swerving to avoid a collision
41:39in the lane on the left.
41:43The driver of the vehicle on the central reservation's had a bit of a bang.
41:47Oh, those two have hit each other in the outside lane.
41:50And the culprit is about to flee the scene on four legs.
41:56What's that coming up? A bit of debris? No, it's moving.
41:59Hey, what's that?
42:01Oh, something's gone for a little bit of a wander.
42:05That's a cat.
42:07Coming towards us. No, things better if that.
42:10It's nearly got into the back of the Mini.
42:11Oh, it's just missed it by a whisker.
42:15Great cornering performance.
42:17Fantastic traction on the pause there.
42:20Back underneath the Mini.
42:22I don't know what it likes about that Mini.
42:24Maybe the cat's called Cooper.
42:26Fortunately, everybody seems to have clocked it.
42:28They're kind of being wary. Everything's come to a stop now.
42:31Luckily, no one was seriously injured, including the cat.
42:35Although it may have lost a couple of its nine lives.
42:38It wasn't a perfect outcome for the vehicle owners,
42:41but at least it wasn't a total catastrophe.
42:45When you see an animal come out in front of you,
42:46your first reaction is to get out of the way of the animal.
42:50You don't really have time to think about the consequences.
42:54In this case, everybody was trying to avoid hurting a little tiny cute animal,
42:59but caused some quite severe damage to their own vehicles.
43:03They'd saved the cat, but put themselves at real risk.
43:06But put themselves at real risk of injury.
43:12No one wants a beastly journey,
43:14but how can we safely share the roads with our furry friends?
43:18If you see any sort of wildlife on the highway,
43:21you bring your vehicle to a stop safely,
43:23and when you do stop, let the animal cross the road.
43:26Warn other drivers of impending danger.
43:30Flash a light, slow them down,
43:31give them the universal waving hand of slowing down sign.
43:34Try and warn other motorists of a hazard coming their way.
43:39And finally, report any AWOL animals.
43:44Give the police a quick ring and just report the incident.
43:46They can come out, assess the situation and safely contain the animal
43:50so as to not cause any harm to the animal or to any other road users.
43:57Next time, things get sloppy on slip roads.
44:01They'd better start getting on the gas
44:03because this gap is closing in and it's closing in quick.
44:09U-turns you would not believe.
44:11You can't do it, you'll be there.
44:15And running red lights leaves these drivers red-faced.
44:20Boom! Oh, where's he come from?