Awful news

[TPO]

No idea what happened at this accident and if the other driver was on his phone nothing would have helped.

There was a post on here recently looking for stuff to carry in a lorry. Traffic cones & warning triangle(s)

 

[teddypops]

That’s absolutely heartbreaking .

 

[Pinkvboots]

Thats is so terrible I just can't imagine how you ever get over that thoughts to everyone involved.

 

[luckyoldme]

Good god I saw that the A9 was closed and assumed it must be an accident .
It's too sad to think about...I hope it was over quick for the horses.

 

[hoofprints1994]

So shocked to hear this. I also saw the post of them looking for help earlier today and am so shocked this is how things ended up. Can't imagine what trauma they must have all experienced today, it is beyond devastating. Those poor horses. Party Trick was such a lovely stallion.

 

[Bernster]

No idea what happened at this accident and if the other driver was on his phone nothing would have helped.

There was a post on here recently looking for stuff to carry in a lorry. Traffic cones & warning triangle(s)

I was thinking this too, might not have made a difference if it was a big lorry going at speed (still might not have registered those) but it’s possible they could attract attention or give an earlier warning. I’m going to get something like this! And now I realise why people who have broken down go so far away from the vehicle even when its on the hard shoulder.

 

[Double_choc_lab]

This is an absolute living nightmare. Nick's report says he believes driver may have been on the phone. My anger would know no boundaries if that was the case.

 

[teapot]

I was thinking this too, might not have made a difference if it was a big lorry going at speed (still might not have registered those) but it’s possible they could attract attention or give an earlier warning. I’m going to get something like this! And now I realise why people who have broken down go so far away from the vehicle even when its on the hard shoulder.

What’s worse is this happened on the A9 which is dual carriageway and just a grass verge to helplessly stand on…

Does not bear thinking about - to take four horses out… Would hazard a guess and say the air ambulance was for the driver.

 

[Bradsmum]

Heartbreaking and such a terrible thing to witness, sympathies to the owners, grooms and riders. I don't understand why lorry drivers don't invest in a hands-free kit. You see them on their phones so often on the motorway - perhaps it should be standard kit for commercial trucks. ETA I realise we do not know for sure this driver was on their phone.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

That road is absolutely lethal. There is a fatal crash on it at least once a month.

There were 2 lorries and the horsebox involved.

Such a tragedy for all involved.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

How bloody awful for them all 😪

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Heartbreaking and such a terrible thing to witness, sympathies to the owners, grooms and riders. I don't understand why lorry drivers don't invest in a hands-free kit. You see them on their phones so often on the motorway - perhaps it should be standard kit for commercial trucks. ETA I realise we do not know for sure this driver was on their phone.

It's 2021, so I don't understand why/how these lorry drivers don't have a Bluetooth system installed. Not having hands-free in this day and age, when you're a lorry driver, seems a bit...odd. If you don't have hands free, then you have to just not use your phone. The end.


As for warning triangles and cones, we are mandated to have a first aid kit (not expired), hi-vis vests, and warning triangles in all of our vehicles here in Germany. I don't know why this isn't the case in the UK? I would certainly have a triangle and cones in my lorry.

 

[Red-1]

Gosh, that has actually brought me to tears. I did the same trip one time, all hopes and dreams and excitement. What a horrible, cruel end for the horses. I hope the humans who are involved go easy with themselves.

No idea what happened at this accident and if the other driver was on his phone nothing would have helped.

There was a post on here recently looking for stuff to carry in a lorry. Traffic cones & warning triangle(s)

As for warning triangles and cones, we are mandated to have a first aid kit (not expired), hi-vis vests, and warning triangles in all of our vehicles here in Germany. I don't know why this isn't the case in the UK? I would certainly have a triangle and cones in my lorry.

For many years, I have had cones, flashing lights and a triangle in my lorry. The trouble is, most people don't put them far enough back. They would need to be started at least 100yds, or preferably more, back, and tapering to cover the area of the lorry by about 50 yds, so the driver would hear the thunk as they hit the triangle. From the ground, that set up looks ridiculous, and many people put the triangle just 20m from the vehicle, too late for people to take action.

There would, of course, still be no guarantee that this wold have saved the horses. You can have 200yds of heavyweight cones and signage and someone can still plough through the lot of them.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Gosh, that has actually brought me to tears. I did the same trip one time, all hopes and dreams and excitement. What a horrible, cruel end for the horses. I hope the humans who are involved go easy with themselves.




For many years, I have had cones, flashing lights and a triangle in my lorry. The trouble is, most people don't put them far enough back. They would need to be started at least 100yds, or preferably more, back, and tapering to cover the area of the lorry by about 50 yds, so the driver would hear the thunk as they hit the triangle. From the ground, that set up looks ridiculous, and many people put the triangle just 20m from the vehicle, too late for people to take action.

There would, of course, still be no guarantee that this wold have saved the horses.

Ah yeah, we have to place the triangle a certain distance from the vehicle, by law. Some people underestimate this distance here too.

Of course there is no guarantee that this would have saved the horses, but it would've at least increased their odds of not being hit, I would think. So it's worth it.

 

[ihatework]

Utterly shocked. Feel quite nauseous.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Utterly shocked. Feel quite nauseous.

Me too. Actually quite tearful now.

Transporting horses is always slightly nerve wracking because of the possibility of encountering idiot or inattentive drivers.

So shocked for all those who were there and had to witness this except for the ***** lorry driver.

 

[Reacher]

How absolutely horrific. Poor horses.
I can see the point of everyone carrying cones / triangles.

A different scenario I know , but recently a friend (driving a big 4WD) was pushed into the ditch by a speeding oncoming car on a stretch of road I regularly use on the way to a competition. (He was fine but car was a write off). It scared me as to what would have happened if that had been me towing my horse.

 

[holeymoley]

Its just awful. I trailered up there a fortnight ago. Just doesn’t bare thinking about. A lot of the a9 doesn’t have any sort of hard shoulder or anywhere to pull in to and that hill is always a bit scary. I just hope the lorry driver wasn’t on his phone or it could’ve all been avoided.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Daughter sent me post last night..completely devastating news I’m so sorry for everyone involved.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

To answer the bluetooth question, hands free doesn't make it safer to use a phone. It will never be safe to use a phone while driving.

All those people who 'think' they can talk and drive are wrong and will only see it when they have an accident.

Just please, if you dont have the will power to ignore your phone while driving, switch it off.

 

[GinaGeo]

Gosh, that has actually brought me to tears. I did the same trip one time, all hopes and dreams and excitement. What a horrible, cruel end for the horses. I hope the humans who are involved go easy with themselves.

For many years, I have had cones, flashing lights and a triangle in my lorry. The trouble is, most people don't put them far enough back. They would need to be started at least 100yds, or preferably more, back, and tapering to cover the area of the lorry by about 50 yds, so the driver would hear the thunk as they hit the triangle. From the ground, that set up looks ridiculous, and many people put the triangle just 20m from the vehicle, too late for people to take action.

There would, of course, still be no guarantee that this wold have saved the horses. You can have 200yds of heavyweight cones and signage and someone can still plough through the lot of them.

It is absolutely devastating.

I've just bought a pack of five foldable cones to accompany the warning triangle we carry. Breaking down with horses on board is my worst nightmare. Anything we can do, to give us every chance to be seen has to be worth it.

 

[Michen]

It is absolutely devastating.

I've just bought a pack of five foldable cones to accompany the warning triangle we carry. Breaking down with horses on board is my worst nightmare. Anything we can do, to give us every chance to be seen has to be worth it.

Just did the exact same thing.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I read this this morning, just awful. I hope the people involved are going easy on themselves, there's nothing they could have done.

I have never been on the A9, does it have a hard shoulder type area or would they have been waiting on the inside lane? I fear that things like this may become more 'normal' with the emergence of smart motorways, which imo has been an absolutely awful idea since day 1.

 

[SEL]

I've just read it - shocking. Desperately sad for everyone and i can't imagine that's a picture they'll put out of their mind for a long time.

Cones and warning triangles help but a lorry driver not paying attention is a disaster waiting to happen. I worked for one of the construction firms who has a highways contract many years ago and we lost a worker to a driver in his phone. There was the usual tonne of cones, signs, high viz but he ploughed through the lot. In the same firm we banned even hands free kits because we were able to show they distracted drivers. Unfortunately without hands free people would just use them anyway. People always think it won't happen to me 😢

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

There's no hard shoulder at all on the A9. Some bits of it are dual carriageway some bits are single lane each side. It's a horrible road to drive on at the best of times.

There were 2 lorries and the horse box involved. One lorry hit the horse box the other went into the back of that lorry. Lorry drivers drive too close behind each other too. You quite often see them trucking along the motorways with less than 3 meters between them.

 

[Goldenstar]

I feel ill thinking about this .

 

[Chappie]

Just heard of this this morning, absolutely devastated, in tears for them.

I'm not a big social media user but I just happened to be on FB yesterday and saw their post for assistance had been up for 8 minutes, so quickly shared it, as we're fairly nearby. How awful to think what later happened.

 

[luckyoldme]

It's 2021, so I don't understand why/how these lorry drivers don't have a Bluetooth system installed. Not having hands-free in this day and age, when you're a lorry driver, seems a bit...odd. If you don't have hands free, then you have to just not use your phone. The end.


As for warning triangles and cones, we are mandated to have a first aid kit (not expired), hi-vis vests, and warning triangles in all of our vehicles here in Germany. I don't know why this isn't the case in the UK? I would certainly have a triangle and cones in my lorry.

To be fair there is nothing to say that the driver was on his/her phone.
I always think the lessons from a accident can only be learnt once the investigation is complete and the facts have been established.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

To be fair there is nothing to say that the driver was on his/her phone.
I always think the lessons from a accident can only be learnt once the investigation is complete and the facts have been established.

Yes, I am not saying that this driver was or wasn't on his/her phone. However, people continously report seeing lorry drivers on their phones, so I just wonder why hands free/Bluetooth set ups aren't used.

No where did I directly accuse this lorry driver, and I am sorry if it came odd that way. I meant "these lorry drivers" as in the ones people see on the phone or have proven (in previous accidents) to have been on the phone.

You're right that we don't have the facts or results of an investigation from this particular accident yet. So we really cannot say what is to be learned and/or taken away from this.

 

[DianaF]

Desperately sad to think of those poor horses. My daughter and I were stuck in the tailback on the A9 on the other side of the road from the accident so we drove past at around 5.30 yesterday. I saw a lorry with a big dent in the cab, a horse box and a screen screening off the area. Loads of police and emergency services. Seeing the horse box we were worried that horses were involved and have only this morning discovered what happened. We are not horse owners but we are animal lovers and would like to offer our deepest condolences to the owners and trainers of those beautiful animals who have so tragically lost their lives.
I agree with the comments about that dreadful road. Driving along we saw cars crossing it via side roads - traffic bombs along there at way over the national speed limit. And lorry drivers tailgate each other which is mad. The authorities need to do something about that road. If the lorry driver responsible was on his phone and has survived I hope they lock him up and throw away the key. Traumatic and totally heartbreaking for all. So sad.