DD has been stuck on the M5 for 6 hours

[GinForBreakfast]

I know there's been a serious incident but you can't leave people stuck on a motorway for 6 hours. That will include elderly people and tiny children. In other countries they manage to clear the roads far quicker.

No sign of anything moving and even once she does she's still 4 hours from home.

They do not do it better on the continent. We've been stuck on Italian motorways for hours. No accidents. Just solid traffic. Thousands of cars on their way to their holidays on the Adriatic. Everyone getting out of their cars, having pees in the fields, smoking, chatting. All in 40c heat. Lovely.

Not everyone is going on a road trip though. I use the motorway to go a junction or two where I live all the time.

I feel sorry for people stuck in their cars but given the seriousness of the delay there may well have been a fatality which needs investigation. Or the motorway has been damaged and requires resurfacing. I'm sure everyone is doing their best and things get moving soon.

The UK is far more densely populated with busier roads than much of France.

I bet @JohnMcClanesVest is 100% right in what they said though.. that you very likely never gave a second thought about vulnerable people being stuck in traffic jams - until your daughter got stuck in one.

I don't think there's anything wrong with OP complaining about the delay. It's a very long time! She didn't complain about the emergency services. I do think the UK could do alot more to improve traffic management and road conditions (in line with European counterparts) which would reduce the number of accidents.
I was in switzerland this year and drove over a bridge they had put up on the motorway so that they could carry out roadworks underneath, without causing traffic jams. Never seen that before.

I think people are allowed to be horrified by the thought of a teenager feeling desperate enough to do this AND at the thought of being stuck on a motorway for 8 hours with no food, drink, or access to a toilet.

It's an awful situation.

@Alwaystired23 I always carry a bottle of water and a snack with me. If I was on prescription medication I'd have a day's worth of that with me. I learned my lesson when at uni (commuter) and all the trains were cancelled because someone tragically jumped. Instead of making it about me I got myself to a hotel and purchased a toothbrush.

I'd likely need more than just a wee, I'd feel very uncomfortable and exposed squatting in the road to do that.

The thing is op doesn't know the alleged teenage girl who jumped. She's thinking of her own daughter. It's only natural.

Yeah this. ^ Why let this get in the way of a good bashing of the British and the UK though eh?!

So sorry for your loss I completely agree with you

When I was stuck in my car on M25 when I was 7 months pregnant, I had to wee several times at the side of the road. I ran out of food and water. My phone ran out of battery. It was the hottest day of the year. No welfare checks were made to people stuck in the their cars. Elderly person collapsed. I was in hysterics as I couldn't get home to my toddler. The worst bit was not knowing how long I'd be stuck for and feeling very unwell in the heat without water. 8 hours!!!! It was very upsetting as I felt vulnerable and scared.

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/live-m5-traffic-stopped-serious-9803414

Why would she?

You can have compassion for people without preemptively contemplating every human inconvenience and tragedy.

Yeah this. ^ DH and I have a little medibox in the boot with a week's worth of meds and supplies in there. Also blankets, snacks, breakfast biscuits, several bottles of water, little warning sign to put behind our car, all sorts. Never go anywhere without them, because you never know if you're going to break down (or get stuck in traffic!)

Many years of driving teaches you this. Basic survival skills! Not that hard,

Same, I have a chronic bowel condition. Maybe I need to keep toilet roll in my car at all times...

And you still had a better time than the person that was either seriously injured or killed.

People need to have some perspective. These sorts of closures cost millions. They dont close the motorways easily.

We got stuck on the M5 a few years ago for 10hours in 35 degree heat. Luckily we were towing a caravan so had access to shade and quite a lot of food as we had 3DC under 6 with us.
After a few hours the army turned up, handing out water and checking that people were ok. My car is stocked like an emergency vehicle ever since!

Your DD will make it home safely at some point - by the length of the delay I'm guessing that someone a little further along the M5 won't be.

Your DDs inconvenience is someone else's heartbreak and loss.

And I'm sorry, but anything over an hour, drinks, snacks etc are a must.
Did she not receive the lesson about the lifesaver pack in the boot in case of emergencies?

What an absolute hero you are

Yeah this. ^ Basic knowledge I thought.

I asked that of a poster who seemed to suggest that the only way to free the traffic was for it to drive forwards in the direction it was heading.

I don't know how you got that I was suggesting the OPs daughter unilaterally turned around

Do you not believe that the police are now turning the trapped traffic round? Do you not accept it's a thing?

Bloody hell, I've been driving for 40+ years and have neither had nor needed such a kit!

I don't know anyone who does either!

I always wonder what happens in these situations, people must run out of fuel, need medication, babies without milk. Not to mention toilets. Awful situation to end up in.

We use motorways frequently for very short journeys, 1 junction to the next. I have blankets in the car but not food and water and I don't always have a full tank of fuel because I don't always have the money for that.

It's terrible for anyone involved in the accident of course my sympathy is with them.