We need an emergency exit scheme on the M25 junction 5 to 6?

[Haley21]

People were stuck in traffic for up to 8 hours on Wednesday after a serious crash between junctions 5 and 6 of the M25. People suffered with heat and with not having access to facilities, particularly those with youg children and the elderly. I was stuck on the same stretch last Friday for 3 hours.
When you join the M26 from the M20 you can't exit till junction 6, a distance of around 18 miles, it forms the longest unbroken distance between motorway exits in Britain where drivers cannot leave the road.
Operation Brock allows the other carriageway to be used and apparently some European countries have a similar scheme to evacuate vehicles in the event of collisions.

It needs the emergency services to think about other road users and get one lane open as quickly as possible. They seem to close all three lanes and the hard shoulder without making any effort to keep one lane open.

Oh god that’s one of my worst nightmares, poor people, you’d think there must be something they could do to get people off well before 8 hours.

J5 is horrible anyway, because it exits on the wrong side of the road. Normally, all exits sre on the left, but J5 is the two right lanes. I suppose more accurately, the motorways split, but I still found it confusing the first time I drove it.

The last time I was stuck because the road was fully closed, was because the seriousness of the injuries meant the scene had to be preserved until the foresic investigators had finished. Would you really want the investigation of the death of a loved one comprimised so they could get the road open?

Another time I was stck because someone was theatening to jump from a bridge. On that occasion, eventually, police turned us roubd and we went the wrong way down the slip road behind us to get off the motorway. I do think they could take decisons to do that sooner in some circumstances.

I guess ine issue is if you "release" the traffic onto minor roads you're just moving the problem elsewhere.

Thanks for your comments. I totally agree that the health and safety of all those involved, including the emergency services, is a priority. I have contacted my MP as we live locally and I'm sure many others in our area have been affected. Will update with any reponse.

That’s awful. In that heat that could case serious medical events