"I finally got around to watching ......"
Thanks for the link - I must get round to watching that.
On a chilly evening last November, my wife and I suffered the mind-straightening experience of a blow-out whilst driving the B-max on the M6. We were heading west somewhere in the stretch above Coventry i.e. in an area of extensive 50mph roadworks with no hard shoulder; it was just after 5pm and traffic was heavy. We couldn't work out what the banging noise was in the nearside rear quarter; at first, we thought it was a flapping seatbelt trapped in the door - then, perhaps, a bit of trim had worked loose. We slowed down and put the hazards on until we could pull in; hooting, impatient lorry drivers seemed to think we had slowed for fun.
As soon as we could, we pulled onto the hard-shoulder as the roadworks ended; the banging had been some sort of bolt(?) hammering its way into the tyre. We had coats in the car, a space-saver that had been checked the previous day, paperwork re insurance, and mobile phones. I knew about the number designations on each of the 100m markers along the motorway, so could define our precise location. Someone had built a convenient set of steps up the side of the embankment, so we could phone for breakdown help from up there. The first words from the breakdown people were concerned absolutely with our safety.
While we waited for the breakdown chap to arrive, we were able to survey the manic, nose-to-tail traffic below as drivers, frustrated by the roadworks, sped away. We quickly concluded that 'smart motorways' was a lunatic idea, and that anyone who wanted the speed limit raised above 70mph was, similarly, a lunatic.
With the protection of his truck with large flashing lights parked behind our injured, slipstream-swaying B-max, the mechanic was able to change the wheel for the space-saver. We built up speed on the hard-shoulder as he drove behind us, then he indicated and we both pulled out onto the motorway. We drove onto the hard shoulder at 5:15 and pulled away at 6:35 - not bad going, really, but not an experience I'd be in a hurry to repeat.
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