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Dangerous freeway filter caught on video

LONDON, England - A new SmartWitness video captured shocking freeway filtering as a car is clipped by a truck on a busy freeway.

VIDEO: Dangerous freeway filtering
VIDEO: Shocking freeway filtering

This should be giving you chills down your spine because many South Africans are guilty of it.

At 15 seconds into the video a Ford Focus collides with the left side of a truck as it ran out of filtering space while trying tried to join the M6 motorway near Birmingham in England.

CAR DRIVER IN THE WRONG?

The driver of the Focus should've braked and waited for a space behind the truck but the driver kept going and the crash was unavoidable.

Thousands of incidents such as this happen on Britain's roads each year with drivers blaming each other for the incident.The difference in this case was that the truck was fitted with a SmartWitness vehicle journey recorder.

Viewing the video posted by owners of the truck shows that the car driver was apparently to blame and his insurers settled the claim.

The SmartWitness video was provided by the Malcolm Group, a logistics company, which has a video camera in of its 500 vehicles.

Who's at fault?




The group's  technical engineer, Allan Campbell, said: "The cameras have significantly improved road safety. They are one of a number of measures we have introduced to improve safety - it has been money well spent. In this instance, the claim was settled very quickly at no cost to us.

"The fact that drivers are aware that their driving is being monitored makes them extra vigilant - also ensuring improved road safety."

Insurers found that two percent of incidents recorded on SmartWitness cameras result in disputed claims - against an industry norm of 40% and the Road Haulage Association in England has found that in-cab cameras are becoming the norm rather the exception; 54% of its members have cameras.

  Do you think the driver was to blame or should the truck driver have braked to prevent the incident? Email us your thoughts or comments in the Readers' Views below.
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