Changing a car tyre on the hard shoulder.

[Slick]

I was driving myself and Mrs Slick to my BIL birthday bash in Pitlochry last night, when it became obvious I had picked up a puncture just north of Stirling on the M9. I did what I thought was prudent, and slowed down without braking, pulling into the hard shoulder but making sure I was well clear of a long slow left hand bend coming to a stop right in the middle of a good straight making sure I was visible putting on my hazards and leaving my side lights on as it was getting dark. I was disgusted with the sheer amount of cars that held their line and just couldn't bring themselves to adjust their course to give me some space to allow me to change the wheel on the offside. I was even more surprised and disappointed to notice this behaviour extended to the heavies and coaches when I could finally take it no more, and let one coach driver know exactly what I thought about him/her as he lined up his bus to pass within inches of me despite their being no other traffic in the other lane.

As a cyclist, I probably shouldn't have been so surprised by this type of behaviour, as I've seen it and experienced it lots of times on the bike, but I never though for a moment the same entitled behaviour was repeated on our motorways.

 

[screenman]

Did you lay out a warning triangle? I agree with you though there is plenty of poor quality driving about, people only focusing a few feet past their bonnet is very common.

Is it legal to do that now, something in my head says not, I could be wrong.

 

[Slick]

Did you lay out a warning triangle? I agree with you though there is plenty of poor quality driving about, people only focusing a few feet past their bonnet is very common.

I don't have a warning triangle aboard but could have picked one up a few miles along the road as someone had obviously driven off leaving theirs behind. Mrs Slick did find a handy road cone to lay out which didn't really help but I appreciated the effort. She guesstimated that no more than 10% changed course.

 

[Levo-Lon]

People dont care.
They just see an obstruction that's stopping them from getting home or wherever.

The Police usually stop behind any car on the duel parkway system in Peterborough and block one lane.
This causes a long tailback but its so dangerous changing a wheel its a good policy.


Also your not supposed to stay in or by the car on a motorway duel carridgway.
So your supposed to call someone? If possible as they will have bright flashing lights and block the lane while repairs are carried out.

 

[rualexander]

If i see a car on the hard shoulder with hazards on I always pull out into the second lane to pass, I see very few other drivers doing the same.
I think in your situation I would call the AA or whoever you have breakdown insurance with, if you have it.

 

[NorthernDave]

Long ago I used to cover the odd shift on recovery when I worked in a garage. I used to hate call outs to the motorway.
Even with a 7.5 tonne recovery truck, covered in yards of super reflective tape, with a light bar with 4 rotating amber beacons and 2 alternating red lights, work lights, hazard lights and me in top to toe high viz, the numpties still wouldn't move over. You very quickly learn to work at least half facing traffic so you can see what's approaching.

I'd think long and hard about changing an offside tyre on the hard shoulder now and would certainly get everyone out of the car and behind the barrier. I'm not surprised that plod (or the wombles) often close lane one when they arrive.

 

[Drago]

It's unsafe to change an O/S tyre unaided on the hard shoulder. Use the emergency phone (or you mobile and quote the number on the nearest marker, they're 100 metres apart) and the Wombles will come out and set up a fend-off to make it a bit safer.

Youre right about other motorists though - they should be looking well ahead, see your predicament and give you some space, but we all know what the Great British car driver can be like.

Glad you survived unscathed though.

 

[Slick]

It's unsafe to change an O/S tyre unaided on the hard shoulder. Use the emergency phone (or you mobile and quote the number on the nearest marker, they're 100 metres apart) and the Wombles will come out and set up a fend-off to make it a bit safer.

Youre right about other motorists though - they should be looking well ahead, see your predicament and give you some space, but we all know what the Great British car driver can be like.

Glad you survived unscathed though.

Have we got wombles in Scotland, if we have it's the ninja variety as I thought they were just for south of the border.

 

[raleighnut]

Only ever happened to me once (the ex's 205) I told her to drive slowly along the hard shoulder til the next exit, OK it wrecked the tyre but I always was very wary of tyres that had been repaired by a 'plug' so I'd have scrapped that tyre anyway.

 

[BoldonLad]

I have had the miss-fortune to change flat tyres on hard shoulder of both French and Germany Motorway. The behaviour of French and German drivers is, in my experience, no better than their British counterparts. The German experience in particular was very scary. We were in a Campervan, to retrieve the spare meant lying on the ground and shuffling under the van, all this with cars etc hurting past at 120kph plus just a metre away.

Too old for all that now, call the breakdown service.

 

[User33236]

Only ever had to change a tyre once, many years ago, on the motorway. It was on the M6 just south of Carlisle.

Despite it being three lanes, and road works starting 200 metres up the road which closed the inside lane, drivers were still cutting it close to the hard shoulder. It was at that point I decided to slowly drive up to the roadworks and behind the cones so I could change it in relative safety.

If I ever need to do it again it’ll be with the help of recovery service or police!

 

[Levo-Lon]

On a lighter note ive known the trail to be blocked by a mountain biker with a flat..nobbers

 

[Slick]

Only ever happened to me once (the ex's 205) I told her to drive slowly along the hard shoulder til the next exit, OK it wrecked the tyre but I always was very wary of tyres that had been repaired by a 'plug' so I'd have scrapped that tyre anyway.

My tyre is shredded, a mechanic once told me due to the modern suspension, it is possible to drive for some distance without even noticing you have a puncture.

 

[Slick]

On a lighter note ive known the trail to be blocked by a mountain biker with a flat..nobbers

Did they have a warning triangle deployed?

 

[Tim Hall]

The Highway Code says for motorway breakdowns:
Leave the vehicle.
Don't attempt to fix it yourself.
Don't place a warning triangle.