Ashley's Analysis | Insane Near Miss on a Driving Lesson 

If that Mercedes stopped just to get a bag out the boot, they should be banned from driving. What an idiotic move. Such a danger to everyone on the road

Police should speak to the Merc driver. Driving without due care.

How selfish can you be to stop in a dual carriageway for no emergency whatsoever? She was just ridiculous. I just feel bad for the learner, luckily he wasn't hit by that lorry coming from behind. It would have been a huge shock for him.

I don't have enough expletives in vocabulary to describe that sort of driving. Insanity!

This clip needs to be forwarding to the Police.

They literally stopped just before an exit slip. No thought whatsoever.

My first thought? The instructor should get a rear-facing camera, too!

That was even uncomfortable to watch with the perspective from the car. Extremely lethal behaviour from the silver car. Even dumber that someone took something out of the back. Just imagine being hit from behind just then and crushing her without being able to do anything.

That silver car needs reporting the police, such a dangerous thing didn't look like a mechanical, or medical emergency.

Instructor was great, kept the pupil calm and did very well of recovering the situation

It's worth reporting to the police. That was extremely stupid, and a dangerous place to stop. And, there was an exit just up the road that they could have gone up and pulled in somewhere then. But, on a 50 MPH dual carriageway? Come on! That could have been nasty, if the van had ploughed into the driving school car, which would have gone into the back of the Merc, just as the passenger opened the door. So yes, I'm sure the police would be interested in that.

I hope that instructor reported this mercedes to the police. there's a online RU-vid cyclist who's reported dozens of bad drivers. Maybe we should all do the same, even I've started thinking about it

You would be amazed at the stuff I see, I live next to the M1, practically runs through my back garden.. Last year I watched a woman, in fast flowing traffic at around 12pm mid day stop her car on the inside lane (no hard shoulder) she also had 2 children sat in the back not strapped into child seats, she proceeded to get out of her car walk to the boot take out a bag and throw it over the crash barrier,.. She stopped on the smart motorway to throw some rubbish away, saw somebody else do it once late at night to have a piss too.. If they had seen what I've seen here before, a van and car having a small bump in slow moving traffic getting out to investigate the damage, traffic picks up speed again, truck ploughs into both of them killing them instantly (truck driver was arrested).. They wouldn't stop for such stupid things 😡

Used to live in Oxford, I know the road well. Given that the Merc could have taken the next turning, which is a big roundabout leading to several minor roads, they should have pulled off there and done whatever they needed to and rejoined. The behaviour is disgraceful. I think I would have given them at least a toot on the horn. If I had an actual emergency there at that spot on the A4142, I would have pulled off onto the grass to stop, I certainly would have pulled in as far as I could, unlike the Merc. What would I do if I got stuck in the same situation as the instructor's car? I don't know, that road is practically motorway standard with HGVs in both lanes, I would be considering my safety, that of my family, that nice grassy verge and perhaps not the letter of the law.

You can feel the risk and impending rear end collision in this so much.... Scary

Unbelievable what goes through the mind of some drivers.

please report to dvla could have caused a pile up crash i seen it happen before many times

I think definitely being able to look at this from a learning perspective, instead of focusing on the potential flop of the silver mercedes, is priceless. Cars can break down anywhere and the drivers aren't always able to pull over to the shoulder, so this was an important lesson for the learner in the car, and everyone who watches this. I once encountered an accident that fully blocked one lane, so I pulled over on the shoulder and, after ensuring that no one involved was harmed, went on to direct the traffic to the other lanes prematurely, so that such a scenario wouldn't happen. Luckily, a man in a high-visibility vest waving a warning triangle around gets people's attention pretty well

Certainly a good experience for the learner, who handled it well considering their presumed lack of experience. It took me about 2 1/2 years to pass, but I'm sort of glad for it because I had to negotiate quite a few tricky situations with my instructor and feel in the long run I'm a better driver for it. 🙂

When I passed my test, my mom said to me.. well done. Now you learn how to drive. I was confused thinking, ive just passed my test, almost 2 years later I understand what she ment. You can learn how to be safe while passing your test, but then the real learning begins, as in there's so many situations you don't practice or encounter, you learn how to read situations better and how YOUR car drives and reacts. Edit - the first time I tried to park in a packed car park was the first situation I hadn't practiced as on lessons you generally park in a empty section of car park.

Well done Ben and the pupil for dealing with the issue. As for the other driver stupidity comes in many forms! They were lucky to survive.

Even if the merc had broken down you can still coast to a halt while steering as hard left as is possible, putting your near side wheels into the soft shoulder if need be. I had my Bonny nip up in the fast lane of the M1 , clutch in instantly rear check and coast across to the hard shoulder. Scary but I let it cool off, kicked it over a bit then rode on a bit more slowly than hitherto

Police need to be involved with this one. Needs banning

Counted 27 not my problem drivers there. Not until the other learner vehicle approached did they get let into lane 2. Scary situation well handled by the instructor.

Child was probably being sick but that's why you have the bag IN the car!

Absolute madness to stop in the live lane of fast road (dual carriage way) to get something out of the boot! Just shows no matter how good a driver you are, it's always good to be prepared for anything on the road ahead!😯🤔 In this situation leaving more space between you and the car in front often helps to give a bit reaction time to avoid situations like this. Also keep constant attention of not just whats in front but what is directly behind or to the side of you, how close they are and how fast they're going!😎👍

Came to comments to say they need their licence taking off them, looks like you guys have that well covered :)

Thanks for this very eye opening and informative video. Recently passed my test so still gaining vital experience on every journey and this is a really useful situation to be aware of.

My god, this is the most enraging thing I've ever seen on this channel. I'm impressed the instructor and learner both kept so calm.

Fantastic channel. You're saving lives here bud.

I know that road well, and there is very often vehicles well above the speed limit keeping minimal distance so when I started viewing this clip, I was amazed no one went into the learner. Additionally the road bends to the left and overgrown vegetation hinders the view ahead from lane 1 which can be seen on street view. There is a Tesco’s, Shopping complex, Premier Inn hotel, restaurant and a petrol station just off the exit. Total madness to stop in lane.

Ashley, thanks indeed for sharing this one - it should help us all to drive safer in the future. Earlier this week I only just stopped short of rear ending the car in front of me, which had not emerged onto a roundabout when thought it could have done. We were both in lane 1, but the driver in front of me then performed a U-turn around the roundabout. So I guess the other driver was lost and trying to correct their route. I think I was also lucky not to be hit by the car that had been following very close behind me in the preceeding 40mph limit.

You might have heard some choice words if I were behind that Mercedes, and the horn may have been used a significant number of times. Well done to the learner and instructor for dealing with this so well 👍.

My driving instructor (in the Netherlands) did have a gas pedal on his side, which he used just once in my entire lessons, but i think it's useful to have. The one time he used it was when I shifted into first gear when going still 15km/h or so which resulted in me slowing down a bit and a person on a speed pedelec (fast e bike) was cathing quite quickly so he gave quite a bit of gas to get of the way.

Crazy Merc driver they didn't even pull right to the left!

Well done to both pupil and instructor, who must both have been stressed out. Congrats to the instructor who, in spite of his own stressful situation, did not apply any pressure on the pupil. I ask myself whether the van behind could have helped the learner. By remaining behind it presented a bigger target, and bigger crumple zone, for any approaching traffic in L1. But it was big and blocked the learner's view behind, and applied pressure to the learner. But an exposed rear would be even more stressful for the learner. A difficult decision for the van driver.

Good analysis of this situation Ashley. The Mercedes driver put herself, passenger(s) in her car and potentially other people (including the learner) in danger. Your analysis vids are very helpful.👌🏾

I can tell you a story similar to this except it was on a 70mph dual carriageway. My mum was driving and we were on the slip road to join, this woman actually stops to let us on. My mum was like go go go.

This is around 25 miles (maybe less) from where a family was wiped out by a truck driver that was messing with his phone thus distracted and failed to notice stationary traffic ahead, similar thing could so easily have happened here because some idiot stopped on a busy dual carriageway just to get a bag out of the boot, worse still the people in the Merc didn't seem to be in any hurry given the dangerous situation they had created.

I have always wondered why UK driving instructors have only two pedals in a manual. When I was learning where I live, the instructor had all three.

If you do break down on a fast road, better to get two wheels on the verge if you can too.

There’s a turn of in less than 1/2 mile. Couldn’t it have waited?

Hi Ashley I live in Somerset I have my test on 8th of June have been watching your videos through lockdown and you are always very clear and precise I have had 20 hours with my instructor and prob 50 hours with my partner hoping I pass, as I have said have taken a lot of what you say on board. People really do have little respect when you have a L plate on your car, people beep overtake when they shouldn’t and I feel I’m a fairly confident drive....👍🏻 everyone was a learner once, Should be a law that you have to relate a test every 3 years as things change all the time, Keep up the good work Ashley! 😁

Stopping on a clearway, the stupidity

Incredible. Words fail me

I used to travel along that road when i visited friends in Barton, and although it's a 50 limit, people forget as it is just a long sweeping left hander and tend to go too fast (my self included, in my rowdy younger years). So it's very lucky that every other person on the road at that time was paying attention and driving safely, otherwise it could have ended horribly.

Well done Ben and your learner for how you managed this situation. Some people are just stupid

Goodness that's scary - well done Ben and pupil for managing to stay calm and deal with a very uncomfortable situation. Silver Mercedes driver? Goodness knows what motivated them to stop there. I've got two young kids myself as I'm sure have many others - they can be quite challenging in the back of the car but that's clearly no place to stop - and puts them and other road users in massive danger. The solid white line on the left is there for a reason. They could do with being spoken to and offered some fairly strong advice if not actually reported for careless driving. I had to deal with similar when I used to commute from N London to Bedfordshire years ago - traffic queuing to exit the A1(M) at Hatfield and got stuck behind a lone car in lane 2 that had stopped and was trying to negotiate their way into the queue. I got past without incident in the end but I was not a happy camper. Learnt to look out for similar and change lanes early if there was even the faintest hint of it happening!

Ashley, your comment about what would happen if there was a vehicle behind the lorry resonated with me. Many years ago, I pulled up at a red left-filter light - the straight on light was green. The large van behind me accelerated to move into a gap in the straight ahead lane, and the car behind him did not appreciate or anticipate what was happening and accelerated to match his speed - without any intention of pulling right. A stationary Mini being hit by a Honda Accord doing 50 is not fun.

And there’s a junction exit signposted in about 1/2 mile. Pull off there and find a more Suitable place on a slower road. Moronic

A few months ago, on the A34 south of Oxford, which is a similar dual carriageway, I was hit when an undertaking van misjudged his manoeuvre. At the time all I knew was that my nearside wing mirror had been knocked out of position, not whether there had been any other damage. The road was extremely busy, partly because there was a long and slow moving convoy in lane one, made up of police and military vehicles. My car did not feel as if it had been significantly damaged, and I made the judgement that it would be safer to continue driving, and not stop. Stopped Chieveley Services where I discovered a noticeable amount of white paint on the side of my car, removable with spit and a paper handkerchief, but no other damage apart from a slight chip on the wing mirror. Since then I've wondered about whether I contributed to this incident. Traffic in lane two was moving significantly faster than the convoy, but at varying speed, and I was maintaining a comfortable following distance. As traffic ahead accelerated I think I may have accelerated also, just as the van driver attempted his undertake. The scenario in the clip explains. I think, why many people choose to ignore lane one on smart (or is it dumb) motorways.

Both the learner and the instructor did really well. Also it looked as though, the other road users slowed down too whilst passing... (I might be wrong) but if so that's pretty great!

That woman has a deathwish. She is utterly insane and should never drive again! You don't stop on such a road unless an emergency and even then you try to stop at the safest place for you and everyone around you!

I'm glad you do the counter on following distance. From the camera looks like they have a much bigger gap than 2 seconds. Instructor was great in the situation. No panic until the situation was over. Kept calm and guided the learner out easily.

The level of danger that the person in the silver car put even themselves in is utter insanity. If someone had crashed into the back of the learner at the wrong time, the driving school car would have been hit which would have obviously been bad for the occupants of the cam car. However, what terrifies me, is what would have happened to the person getting a bag out the boot if they got stuck in between the cam vehicle and the silver car. A truly terrifying clip in so many ways!

I agree you shouldn’t stop under normal circumstances to get a bag on a road such as that. Doing so poses a risk to everyone. However there is the potential the bag contained medical equipment/medications needed for a medical emergency. Though, you would think there would be more urgency in getting it out of the bag and it would usually be easy to find and he driver if at all possible under those circumstances should find as safe a place as possible to park, come off the main road or pull as close in to the left as safely possible

I've been in a similar situation on that exact road, with the vehicle already stopped. It's scary because the trees and the gentle left curve reduces your view distance. It's a 50mph road but many people do 70, which makes moving to the right lane hard.

I've been on the road for 7 years now, and never have I had to stop in Lane one of an active motorway/dual carriageway, so a rare situation indeed.

Had similar situ, a came up to a car going 30mph on a duel carriageway, 2 old ladies in an open top convertible. Taught to signal after the outer car has passed but it just car after car in the other lane, one even followed me right up to me having to slow down near the back of the convertible, eventually just had to cave and keep signal on until a could find a safe time to change lane.

I honestly got a shiver down my spine and cringed thinking there was going to be an immediate impact from a lorry or something behind. We have all seen many accidents resulting in deaths when vehicles travelling along faster roads collide with stationary traffic. Tough situation for the instructor and I have had similar, both as an instructor and out on the roads. I am sure we all have . So happy it passed without major incident. I really good video to show and hope we can all learn something from.

Just follow the advice on your t shirt, Ashley and be kind to other road users. We can all make a difference on these mad roads.

Scariest thing is the merc driver doesn’t think they have done anything wrong

What the actual hell? Why would you even stop for just bags in the boot? Go to a safe spot first. I feel like that Mercedes driver shouldn't even be on the road.

Report this driver!!!!!

Unadulterated madness ! What were they thinking !

You were talking about how someone like the truck pulling out quickly from behind a stationary vehicle can cause the car behind that one to crash into the back of another vehicle. By the unmistakable sound of ABS @ 1:24, that was nearly almost the exact what you described.

I do hope Oxford Police are investigating ....

One other thought... a situation on dual carriageways where similar could happen is where there is a very tight exit to a minor road, with little or no exit slip road to use as a deceleration lane. We saw Jon's recent clip of a short entry slip, funnily enough near Oxford; this is the same in reverse. Although you would at least get warning from signs and the slow moving vehicle would clear rather than remaining stationary in front, it still has the potential to disrupt the flow of traffic especially if drivers aren't planning or are following too close. If you are that vehicle that needs to make that exit then planning, positioning, clear and well timed signals including brake lights are essential to manage whatever adjustment in speed is needed as safely as possible.

I’d have reported the driver of the Mercedes to the police for dangerous driving. I like your analysis of the situation, any situation you can carry on driving away from has had the best outcome. Top work from Ben.

i seen the same thing near near but it was when they testing the new defender. they would speed past way over 80mph, a mile later they be in lane one stopped, then they would speed past and the same again, no shoulder so they caused so many people to slam on, could caused huge crash.

This must be reported to the police. The ‘woman’ and her driver seemed to have absolutely no concern for the danger they put other drivers. As this is a reshuffling of bags and nothing else, one has to wonder if there is motive behind the wanton bad decision.

A40 around Oxford, probably not the best of roads to stop on. A perfect storm waiting to happen there - a parent concentrating on the child, a not so switched on student driver and other drivers not paying attention to what was going on. Good job the instructor kept his whits and prevented the pile up.

OMG!!!! What a scary situation. I would hope the Merc driver actually stopped for a valid safety or breakdown reason. I would have offered to help push the car onto the verge to clear the carriageway, but I realise that wasn't an option here for the learner. If they genuinely stopped just to get the bag out of the boot, they really need to think about their road condition awareness. Thank goodness nothing bad happened. Thanks for sharing. I learnt something important today.

Bloody hell, I read the description and figured something happened to them and they had to make an emergency stop. I didn't realise it was to get something out of the boot. What's worse is that there's probably a kid in the back of that car, being put at great risk here.

The learner car was clearly in a very vulnerable position, stationary behind the silver car. The longer they remained there, the more vulnerable they became, so I’m quite surprised the instructor didn’t wind down his window and firmly tell the occupants of the silver car that their actions were totally unnecessary and very dangerous. If they’d moved on quickly at his request, the learner wouldn’t have had to make the challenging manoeuvre into lane 2.

I'm genuinely staggered as to WHY to add any meaningful thoughts 😱

Similar experience with a van driver over the Severn Bridge. Starts breaking down and gradually slows to 20 mph in the left lane. Giant HGVs skid stopping. I see why people stay in the middle lane now. Some times 0 mph is the most dangerous speed.

Great new intro 👌

Interested that the instructor said get full lock on while stationary. If hit from behind now rather than being punted into the car in front, they are potentially in for a 2nd high speed hit from a vehicle the 2nd lane. Possibly less of a risk here (?) than a single carriageway where you might have been pushed into the oncoming lane.

I got into a crash for a similar reason recently. Some guy pulled over on an A-road, that was very close to coming on to the M5, because his kid was putting up a fuss so his wife went to get something from the boot but didnt close the boot properly, so when they started joining the traffic their boot flew open and a coat and a few pieces of Tupperware flew onto the road. The driver got out onto the road out of his car and told people to stop. A learner and another woman started to swerve and came to a complete stop. My friend in another car had to quickly put on his brakes to stop hitting the woman in front, and the car I was in was so confused by the situation, didn't brake in time and we hit my friend in the back and tipped over onto the roof. There are plenty of things that each driver, including the one I was with, could have done differently to avoid this, but it's crazy that it all started from some idiot in a BMW (no offence Ashley) decided to stand in the middle of an A-road and caused our car to tip over all for some Tupperware rather than calling Police or Highway Maintenance. After that accident I was really shaken up but decided to buy my first car so that I could be in control over what happens. Was a very scary moment, and the drive home was terrifying as well since a lorry nearly hit us since we were in his blind spot. I felt like everyone on the road was out to kill me on the way home. Weirdly enough watching these videos makes me feel slightly better because I am learning how I can completely avoid these situations. Thanks Ashley.

Fully agree with your comments, Ashley. If I'm right, that's the A34, which throughout its length from Winchester to the M40 has been the scene of many really, really nasty fatal collisions. It's busy, it's fast (a lot of drivers don't slow for the 50 limit until they absolutely have to and even then, they'll tailgate anyone doing 50), it has plenty of HGVs, and it's peopled by some of the most arrogant, impatient drivers I've ever come across, especially M40-M4. I do hope that clip went to the police, that could have gone so wrong.

I hope that you put the warning blinkers on

Perfectly acceptable and legal the Mercedes used the park anywhere lights.

I would be the first to say an impact from the rear at speed can be life changing. though i was parked at red with handbrake applied, the impact from behind was fast enough to cause me to badly damage the car in front of me, he maintained he didn't see us, or the red light. well it ended my heavy licence for sure though i did keep my ordinary car licence, situation not the same but the end result is similar in any case

This would be a scary situation for experienced drivers too! Been driving for a year now and if this happened to me I’d be dumbfounded and stressed out too 🙄 I’d possibly also put my hazards on straight away to warn people behind me also if unable to change lanes - stupid drivers out there, stay safe :)

More than anything this shows the importance of situational awareness - mirrors all the time not just when making a planned manoeuvre. An early position is by far the best way to deal with this situation but that option is only available if you already know what is happening behind you and can be decisive. Once you are forced to slow down you're in trouble. Nightmare!

It is likely the lorry driver had a good view and being a professional, anticipated events, pulling out, taking the learner drivers opportunity. The learner and instructor did well to wait for the time they did. Bloody frightening situation. I understood the continuous white line at the side of the road indicated ‘no stopping, except in emergency’. The driver of the Merc appeared quite relaxed about sending the woman to get the bags out of the boot. She was quite relaxed. No medical or mechanical emergency seemed to be happening so any witnesses or participants in the event could report the Merc to the police under section 3 of the road traffic act.

A few thoughts I have: I think the car is stopped because there is a child in the back who has become car sick and empty plastic bags in the boot might be useful. The driver has thought this is an emergency and stopped without weighing up the clear likelihood that a vehicle may smash into the back of them at high speed. The driver stops very wide of the kerb and there are safety kerbs, so if it were a genuine emergency such as a total loss of power, he could have driven up onto the grass at least partially using momentum. The stopping place chosen is just 500 yds short of a turn off. The people in lane 2 are of the "I'm all right Jack" type and blast past full throttle. If you are a parent and your children are prone to car sickness it is easier to sit in the back with them with your coping strategies, such as plastic bags etc. Driving school cars used to be permitted to have a dual accelerator, not sure if this is still the case but the problem with this is that the regulations stated that "Any dual accelerator must be disconnected for the duration of the Driving Test". They were never popular and rarely fitted. I think this was because the examiner may attempt an emergency stop by using it. The learner could have overtaken if they were following further back but this is always going to be a skilled move with faster traffic in lane 2. It is always safer, in my opinion to be driving in lane 1 at a speed which is reasonably similar to the traffic in the other lane when it is very busy because you can change lanes using smaller gaps safely. If you are in lane 2 when this happens, slowing down is sensible because the person in the learner cars situation will often pull out.

The "Jeep " that just went past before the lorry also had a commanding view of the road ahead and failed to act and react to the situation, the jeep wasn't directly behind the Merc and consequently had an earlier warning by its position in the road that it was obviously slowing too fast for the traffic behind.

I totally agree with your points, Ashley. I was watching the Mercedes driver and it looked as though she was attending to someone on the back seat. It's not clear exactly what she was doing. What came to my mind was many years ago, a fellow parent of a special needs child who was dependent on oxygen, had to stop and hold up traffic to swap his oxygen tanks over. I can't recall where it was she stopped, whether it was at traffic lights so I can't comment any further on that. This Mercedes driver though, if she was doing something similar, I'd be wondering why she had such stuff in the boot of the car but then I don't know where you'd need to carry oxygen tanks in a car. Nevertheless, unless it was an emergency of some kind, and even then it's risky, it's such a lousy place to stop!

! It's a great reminder to be always thinking about potential scenarios and exit strategies ,,,, even on what seems like a nice relaxed drive ! That two seconds of stopping\thinking\manoevering time disappears ever so quickly :( If a move to lane two was unachievable would I be braking hard then getting two wheels onto the verge ? idk I wouldn't want to be sitting in the car in a live lane all that time unless a few cars had already stopped behind me.

This may be controversial, but I think in this situation rather than braking, accelerating would have been better. From the Merc putting on its hazard lights and the silver 4X4 passing in lane two there are about nine seconds. The camera car is well below the speed limit, and so has the freedom to accelerate legally. In this case, my first action upon seeing the hazard lights would be to check for a space in lane two before slowing, and seeing a large gap I would accelerate into it. trying to get up to a speed which wouldn't cause the cars already in lane two to have to slow down. No criticism of the learner or instructor is intended by this. It's definitely not something you could expect someone with limited experience to think of in that situation, nor would the instructor have been able to direct the pupil to do so in such a short time.

Looked like a passenger was going to be car sick, so they stopped about 400 yards from an off slip. I had a car stop on the A2 single carriageway before the drop down into Dover port once. The only reason I could come up with was that it happened to be 11am on 11 November. Luckily I was a way behind and traffic was light at the time, so I got past easily.

That’s a shocking piece of driving by the Mercedes!!

Even though we were told there was no collision I was cringing watching that!!!!!

I agree with everyone else in that this footage should be sent to the police as this could have been lethal. There is an exit literally just around the corner. I don't know the road, but I thought that it probably would have been better either stopping on the exit sliproad if there was room to do so or pulling off the road altogether and finding somewhere to pull in.

That's insane! Agree that this clip should be sent to the police.

The best thing I can say about the Merc driver is that he was a very silly sausage I'd also say to the driving instructor they should be praising the learner because it sounds like she didn't panic and did a pretty good job

A similar scenario happed to me a car broke down just like that and a car behind the broken down car had to brake like the learner did I was like the van my brakes locked up on my van then there was a 7.5 ton lorry behind me that stoped just short of a foot from my rear bumper It was very scary thank god the lorry broke in time behind me that was the scariest thing that could happen to you while driving this is why I always leave more than just a 2 second gap even if the roads are dry and it's a warm summers day because you never know what will happen

So many questions all begin with Why...