Oxford Tube overturns on M40-J7

[jamesontheroad]

Seventeen hospitalised, including the driver, five have undergone surgery. Happened around 23:00 last night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-11978007

The report suggests that the bus would not normally have exited the M40 at junction 7 (it normally exits at 8 for Oxford). It left the sliproad and overturned onto the embankment.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Seventeen hospitalised, including the driver, five have undergone surgery. Happened around 23:00 last night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-11978007

The report suggests that the bus would not normally have exited the M40 at junction 7 (it normally exits at 8 for Oxford). It left the sliproad and overturned onto the embankment.

To add to this, I passed the scene this morning as it is on my way to work. Junction 8, the normal exit for the Oxford Tube, is a fast free-flowing slip road which becomes the A40. It can be taken at normal cruising speed. J8 is around 3/4 mile beyond J7.

The sliproad at junction 7 curves left then right with a T junction at the top, with left or right turns onto the A329. The give way signs can only be sighted about half way up the slip due to vegetation and the curve itself. The mess left indicates that the bus has sighted the Give Way too late and tried to turn right or just lost control under braking, and overturned almost at the T junction.

The bus has been removed but one lane remains coned off and the barriers and vegetation are a complete mess.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The OT has a booked stop at Jct 6; I wonder if there is a possibility the driver confused the junctions? It's easily done on that road.

 

[Royston Vasey]

The OT has a booked stop at Jct 6; I wonder if there is a possibility the driver confused the junctions? It's easily done on that road.

I don't think that's the case; I heard on the radio that it had stopped at J6 (Lewknor, near Chinnor) as normal.

It would be harder to confuse J6 and J8 than J7 and J8 because the sliproad at J6 is a descent - both J7 and J8 are ascents. Also J6 and J7 lead to T junctions so wouldn't normally be taken at speed.

You are right though, one or two of the junctions on the M40 are easily confused and quite close together.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Ah, if he had made the Jct 6 stop, then yes that would rule that out - unless he thought it was 8?

Should point out I'm cloth eared so don't bother with the radio...

 

[Royston Vasey]

Ah, if he had made the Jct 6 stop, then yes that would rule that out - unless he thought it was 8?

Should point out I'm cloth eared so don't bother with the radio...

Not to speculate but it looks that way. He could of course have been diverted for some other reason and was unfamiliar with the road.

I usually don't bother with BBC Oxford because it's drivel (!) but was fishing for traffic news having been stuck in an unrelated traffic jam between J6 and J7 of the M40, coincidentally!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
This is the corner in question, it is quite severe for a motorway junction:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?gl=uk&ie=UTF8&ll=51.723519,-1.057606&spn=0.079434,0.264187&z=13&layer=c&cbll=51.723578,-1.05736&panoid=pb25E_lZ6QRQ34Rj0Ed81g&cbp=12,271.7,,0,5

The end of this crash barrier was flattened:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?gl=uk&ie=UTF8&ll=51.723519,-1.057777&spn=0.079434,0.264187&z=13&layer=c&cbll=51.723563,-1.058004&panoid=oPBMVOuoHP96FBE8f2RbQg&cbp=12,301.7,,0,5

 

[tripleseis]

Maybe the driver got confused and thought this junction was 8! That's the only other reason I can think of for coming off here. There are two ways to get to Oxford from that junction - turn left on to the A329 and follow to the B480 (lots of windy country roads) and enter Oxford by Blackbird Leys (used to do that religiously when the Green Road Roundabout was buggered), or turn right, over the bridge and then left again onto the A40 - this road joins the normal route into Oxford after junction 8 anyway! If 8's slip was closed then surely it would be easier to come off the M40 at 8A/Oxford Services and join the A40 at Wheatley.