Last night at 5.45pm just past Mill Hill on the A1, left a roundabout accelerating no brisker than usual. It was too late by the time I hit the diesel spill. Lost control, spun out and left the road skipping up the kerb (sideways) and into a lamppost.

My 7 week old WRX has a knackered rear drive, the subframe has been torn from the body, the drivers' door is mangled. Glass everywhere. Nearly killed a biker, but luckily just missed him.

I call the police from the scene to ask them to come and confirm the cause of my mishap - they never turned up.

To top it all off, I've got to live with a feckin' diesel Vectra hire car while I wait to hear from the insurance company :(

It's a BAD week.

Bryn

Commiserations Bryn - any camera at the scene to find who to blame for the spill? And dont bloody blame ME - I was nowhere near!

unlucky

police won't come - not a requirement - will come if someone is injured or if two vehicles collide - but not always even then.

still poor to hear that they weren't interested in cleaning up the diesel!

hope you get it sorted soon

Commiserations mate, that's the sort of day you can do without.

Really p1ssed at the Police's attitude to it. There's a genuine safety issue there yet they will not attend to either direct traffic away from the spill or to clear it away.

A couple of years ago I was in my 205 Gti, went into a roundabout over a motorway bridge late at night and the car just slid sidewards. I immediately thought 'diesel', and managed to get it back under control just as I noticed a woman in a sierra had also had a similar experience but with less fortunate results. Her car was lodged on some armco lining the roundabout. A couple of other cars turned up and we helped to get her car back on the road, after which she limped off home.

I phoned the police to inform them of the spill and they immediately asked 'has there been any damage to the barriers', to which I said 'f*&k yeah!', then they asked if I had the registration plate of the car that had caused the damage. What the hell is all that about then. No interest in clearing the spill or preventing a possible accident whatsoever. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Whip ;)

Yeah diesel is bad stuff when it spills out onto roads,I went into a grass verge last summer,it only takes a small amount.
I think the stuff should be banned.;)

we have a lot of building work and site devlopement going on in hertford and surrounding towns at the moment, which obviously means lots of poorly maintained lorries and the worst kind of vehicle (diggers!) driving about....
my point is... i was following a digger through town yesterday and could not believe the ammount of fluid that was coming from underneath it, so i pulled along side the driver of the digger (i know i'm stupid!) and told him that the digger had a leak..
to which he replied " dont worry that aint diesel mate!! its hydraulic fluid" i laughed and said "thats alright then!!!!"

its not just diesel that you gotta worry about!!

think iv'e had 5p's worth
Rob

I know it wont help but anybody who lives North of Winchester may remember a few years ago when an Oil Tanker left the local drill site & forgot to turn off the valve, hence thick deposits of oil around the roundabout & down the A34. This caught a few out but the site of a Police BMW which had come to investigate well ironed on the Armco at the exit of the roundabout brought a smile to my face.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Just had the estimate. £6500 worth of damage. Need two doors, fuel tank, two wheels, new suspension, new rear subframe, plus loads of other stuff that's over my head. Apparently it'll take about 3 weeks (long weeks).

I experienced diesel a few years ago on a mini roundabout, the car went straight on towards the kerb :eek: fortunately it was a rear wheel drive sierra so I floored it to get the tail round and oversteered off the roundabout :cool: lucky I knew what I was doing because it wasn't my car I had just finished valeting it for a friend :D Can be even more dodgey if you are on a bike though :eek:

Hit diesel comming out of a bend last year. Bent wishbone, damper, wheel and anti-roll bar. Cost me a grand in total...my sympathies..it shoulden't happen but unfortuantely it does. Its far more of a problem for bikers though.

Someone at my office said they just missed an accident with a Scooby last night (we're in Borehamwood). They didnt see how it happened though, they were a bit far behind.

Unlucky though mate.

Bri