Breakdown/Recovery driver's pic dump

[AnthonyG]

On 22/01/2025 at 10:36, Barry Cade said:

Suspected neck injuries so they cut the roof off regardless of how severe the accident is. Famous story a while ago about a little fender bender. Woman got out and Police asked her to sit in the back of their car whilst they got things sorted out as it was cold and wet. They don't know if she'd been on the phone to someone and got "advice" but started complaining of severe back and neck pain.. Fire brigade cut the roof off the cop car to get her on a stretcher thing and out of the car.. 

On a Traffic cops type programme the fire brigade took the roof off someone’s new company car - he had seen the old lady have an single vehicle accident and stopped to help, she got out of her vehicle on her own, he let her sit in the back of his car to wait for emergency services as she didn’t want to sit in the crashed car. 

FB and ambulance arrive, old dear complaining of neck pains, so one brand new Kia Proceed loses its roof. He had literally been driving it back home from picking it up…

[big_al_granvia]

mind the one with a legend (spaceframe that looks like a 30's american hot rod), driver lost it, rolled, into tyres but ended up on its floor. I was 1st there and the boy is conscious but on planet reebok. Rescue crew arrive and get to work as we talk about football, roof off (cutting cages are fun), boy decides to rejoin planet earth and goes nuts at now convertible  car, doctor not wanting him moving gives him a wee jag to sedate and off in ambulance. 

next meeting boy looks me up to say thanks and asks what we talked about, well according to you mate we were at ibrox for rangers v aberdeen.. 

[CreepingJesus]

I also knew a guy who had been in Fife Council's 'Special Cleaning Team', on call to clear up after accidents. Some of his tales were truly minging, and I believed him when he said he was sparing us quite a lot of detail. What really sticks in my mind, was him saying "You can't believe how far brain matter will fly..." when he was describing how they'd had to get the ladders out, to thoroughly clean about 7' up a road sign...

Saying that, I've seen teeth embedded in a steering wheel, hair and flesh embedded in an A-pillar, and a barrier truck that was pretty much W shaped along its' length. That was at a traffic management company, who needed another driver to temp for the one who'd been killed when a truck shortened it, and it's driver's life, on the M8. It was after that, that barrier trucks got race seats, and a helmet + Hans device for the crew. I assumed they'd had it dragged back to the yard, post fatality investigation, as a warning. Or to salvage what specialised bits they could - it was that sort of operation.

[Barry Cade]

I attended a Ford Focus, which went completely over the top of this sign, without touching it, before going into the trees. The complete engine and gearbox was lying in the middle of the road, the front end in the trees, and the passenger's compartment on the grass.. wheels, hubs and struts still complete thrown left and right. The driver got out and legged it

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pmtfb6hJJoP12WX4A

 

 

[mat_the_cat]

7 hours ago, Sunny Jim said:

Fair play, that's some really skilled work there. Placing objects the size and weight of modern cars where you want them using winches and blocks is no mean feat.

As is often the case, those who are good at something make it appear easy to those who don't grasp the difficulty.

[Vantman]

I got a call one late afternoon to recover a 'broken down' Lotus, only to discover this-- 

[mk2_craig]

1 hour ago, Vantman said:

I got a call one late afternoon to recover a 'broken down' Lotus, only to discover this-- 

Lotus survived!

Doubt the Range Rover does. 

[Jerzy Woking]

18 hours ago, Pieman said:

I attended a wedding in March a couple of years ago and drove back on some of those roads at night, that was a squeaky-bum experience as the roads aren't well surfaced and are narrow...one false move and you're in the drink!

I used to do surveillance training in that area. Some proper fast driving was executed along those roads, but never lost one of our cars or bikes along them.

[Jerzy Woking]

I cant find it now, but recently I saw a video of someone driving along a road that passed a  compound that had a couple of dozen of the motorway trucks (like the above one) all with completely smashed rear ends. I think the compound was in Germany, but if not definately in Europe.

Made me think that there was no way I'd want to do that job.

 

[comfortablynumb]

That takes some doing to break a front wheel off a range rover classic @mk2_craig😱 

Yeah I saw that video @Jerzy Woking, was looking for it too, don't know if it's been removed,  a lot of the damage looked pretty serious 

Edited January 24 by comfortablynumb
Additional

[sheffcortinacentre]

If it was across the front of artic being pushed by 30 odd tonne would probably do it ( popped upper ball joint at a guess.

[comfortablynumb]

1 hour ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

If it was across the front of artic being pushed by 30 odd tonne would probably do it ( popped upper ball joint at a guess.

They don't really have upper ballpoints, there's pins in bearing races top and bottom of the swivel housing. They're not like the later stuff, disco 2 etc, much more agricultural.

We've tried to smash them off-road with some pretty violent manoeuvres and never succeeded, and MK1 son took the front axle off a tractor with one, and it still didn't break!

Usually the diffs or half shafts give up first.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Hmmmm??

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

I can't see any front axle there at all.

Perhaps @Vantman could tell us what he found when he got there "to recover a 'broken down' Lotus"

[sheffcortinacentre]

Isn't the front wheel laying flat on the floor ( as though it's gone 90*)

[Cavcraft]

Mate's Skoda getting well and truly stuck near the top of Moel Famau, I think earlier last year. The ML towed it out easily, once someone told us where to put the towing strap, as the eye was mssing...

 

Not a break down as such, just moving Mark's Cortina to a different place in Manchester

...and collecting Shaun's Escort Mk2 from a Peugeot breakers in (or near) Knighton in Powys...

 

[andy18s]

On 23/01/2025 at 23:56, Barry Cade said:

I attended a Ford Focus, which went completely over the top of this sign, without touching it, before going into the trees. The complete engine and gearbox was lying in the middle of the road, the front end in the trees, and the passenger's compartment on the grass.. wheels, hubs and struts still complete thrown left and right. The driver got out and legged it

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pmtfb6hJJoP12WX4A

 

 

I wa 1st on the scene of an Escort that had gone straight on at a right hand corner. 

It dug into the verge and flipped it roof first into a big old tree,and I only spotted it because the headlights were shining up.

The driver was still in it,trapped by the roof which had been bent down to the door handles.

He was hanging out the sunroof but pinned at the waist by the drivers seat back being pushed forward by the curved roof from the tree.

Obviously pissed all he could rant about was needing to get to work the next morning..

Apart from a decent cut to his head which was pissing blood everywhere,and luckily an actual paramedic driving home being the next car along,  he was lucky to be alive.

[M'coli]

Interesting stuff. 

Re: Queensferry Crossing and turning it into a smart motorway, there may be a few issues one of which being that it would probably exceed its maximum design weight, and would muck up the structural monitoring system  (I don't recall there being much in the way of strain gauges and frost sensors being installed in the hard shoulders, for example).

[sheffcortinacentre]

Not a problem the person who thought it up won't be using it & if your lucky will have had the playmat & dinky toys out & found it'll be perfectly ok.

[Vantman]

On 24/01/2025 at 21:11, Momentary Lapse Of Reason said:

I can't see any front axle there at all.

Perhaps @Vantman could tell us what he found when he got there "to recover a 'broken down' Lotus"

Sorry,my memory is not that good as that must have happened about 40 years ago!

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

1 hour ago, Vantman said:

Sorry,my memory is not that good as that must have happened about 40 years ago!

Furry Nuff!

 

(I'll settle for it was a right mess).