[ellisr]

The bonfire wasn't lit and the wind was blowing the opposite direction to the motorway. What did happen about 8ish is the fog fell and was really really thick.
I think the police are looking to blame someone as it is more plausible than dubious driving and bad weather conditions, the M5 around Taunton is lethal in bad weather without fog and people drive so fast on that bit of road there are always accidents

[doganjo]

There will no doubt be plenty of witnesses to the bonfire not being lit till after 8pm so the Police will not pursue that line if it is true.

[ellisr]

There will no doubt be plenty of witnesses to the bonfire not being lit till after 8pm so the Police will not pursue that line if it is true.

Apparently the bonfire was not lit at all (as stated in a statement from the rugby club), as the accident happened at 8.25pm and the firework display finished at 8.15pm and the wind was blowing away from the motorway and towards the rugby club it looks like they are just trying to find blame.

[doganjo]

It wasn't lit at all?  Wonder why not?

[ellisr]

Most probably because the awful fog fell and it had rained cats and dogs all day. I drove down there an hour earlier and there was a good inch of water just lying on the road. The only bonfires that were lit in the area were the ones that had been covered as it has rained all week (except saturday and sunday)

[robert waddell]

my idea of what has happened       from the pics there is a clear bend in the road just before the accident spot with the standing water and poor visibility someone has has either lost control or panicked and everyone tailgating has no where to go or room to maneuver           the standard of driving is very poor all over the country joining or exiting motorways calls  for more policing (where does it state that the driver on the motorway has to give way to those coming on to the motorway)   middle lane hoggers the arsehole of drivers cant undertake and cant overtake (with trailer on)     you overtake some slower vehicles and they speed up pass you and slow down and sit there like the dick they are   overtaking if you leave space enough betwean the car you are following some twat will cut out in front of you there is not enough space to parallel park and come out        lorries pacing another lorry trying to overtake that may be acceptable on a 3 lane road but not on a 2 lane road i have seen these Russian lorry drivers pacing for up to 5 miles (dickoffs)

[ellisr]

Robert you would love the M5 then, I get sick of being cut up and stupid people flashing lights at me because I'm only doing 68 in the slow lane. On friday because of the horris weather I was only going between 55-60 because of the weather (windscreen wipers couldn't go fast enough) and the spray from the wagons the road was like a swimming pool and you still got the idiot doing a ton in the fast lane goodness knows how they were supposed to stop in a hurry

[robert waddell]

i have been on part of it the worst case of Russian drivers ever and it was heavy rain as well 

[ellisr]

I think the worst thing was the carnival was on in Bridgewater and a lot of families were on the road and ultimately got caught up in the mayhem, I spent an hour or so texting friends I knew were venturing out to make sure they were ok.

[deepinthewoods]

i left morton hampstead at 630 to go to bristol that evening up the m5 and the driving conditions were awful. lots of traffic and poor visibility because of the rain, no fog at that time luckily. what annoyed me most were the amount of drivers with defective lights i must have ranted at a dozen for not having working headlights or proper brake lights. i missed that crash by about an hour, thank god.

[Cinderhills]

Robert, you hit the nail on the head.  All those things DRIVE ME MAD.  I just cannot believe how little space people leave between cars in the outside lane, I am so surprised there are not more terrible accidents. 

[little blue]

I've never understood the attraction of loud noises myself - they just irritate me - even when I was younger I couldn't understand why friends would want to spend their friday nights having their eardrums pounded in a nightclub. Or maybe I'm just weird
mab

Nope ... I'm exactly the same!
  My o/h turns the telly volume up to about 30... and I turn it down to 8
And I hate the rammel they play at most clubs & pubs. 

[robert waddell]

i see fireworks as a waste of money and for what purpose to celebrate that the houses of parliament did not get blown up

[bazzais]

I agree with robert

Fireworks should not be sold to the public, they should have huge restrictions on purchase and be treated as explosives and only to be let off in licensed areas.

I dont agree with a ban, they are fun to watch, I love them (not allowed to have any though !!)

If it caused the crash or not - if I was driving and saw a light out the corner of my eye - I know where my brain would involuntarily place my eyes. Just saying.

Baz

[bazzais]

I didnt see any fireworks till I left the house and went out to a rally - I would not be happy with a neighbour letting off fireworks near my animals.

Some of them seem to cope, some dont, some have never seen them - and there are too many to watch to see if they anrt effected.

I can totally see why anything would be frightened by them, these days some of these fireworks are all about the noise - they kick your kidneys like a base bin in a hardcore club.

Baz