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Viola Beach |
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#101 |
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 5,444
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Quote:
From one of the newspaper reports it said the 1st barrier is 130m from the raised section and the 2nd barrier 30m so it's 100m between the barriers.
That's why I think that going through the first barrier has happened by accident for some reason and then the driver has mistakenly thought they are already on the section which is about to raise so has carried on thinking the 2nd barrier is the opposite side and safety. Remember this was 2am in the morning. The raised section doesn't look like it has any lights on that would be seen in the dark, probably because they think the 2 barriers before it should stop cars getting that far. Unfortunately I doubt we'll ever know for sure and the driver will be labelled by a lot of people as having done it deliberately. |
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#102 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,159
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Quote:
It’s actually a ‘Table Bridge’ as opposed to a ‘Vertical Lift Bridge’; i.e. it’s pushed upwards from beneath with hydraulic pillars as opposed to being pulled upwards from above. Not that this technicality has much bearing on the tragic incident though.
The bridge was still on its way up when they went through the 4 or 5 foot gap and sliced the roof off the car. A few minutes later, when the bridge was at its full height, they would have probably just hurtled out into space and either landed straight in the canal or possibly hit the deck of transiting oil tanker;….either scenario would no doubt have proved fatal from that height. The red & yellow safety barriers look 'reasonably' substantial;…the 1st barrier is approx 130m from the bridge,…the 2nd barrier is approx 30m from the bridge. I guess it’s not inconceivable that the driver was stunned/incapacitated by the first barrier impact and the cars’ momentum carried them through the second barrier and thence into the canal. The eye-witness lorry driver said the first barrier was cracked in two by the impact and the car simply carried on, unabated. Maybe the car driver, believing the queue to be very much longer than it actually was, had accelerated quickly along the narrow inside lane in a severely misguided attempt to ‘jump the queue’ but was unaware of the close proximity of the first barrier which took him completely by surprise; …who knows. ![]() The barriers do not look that substantial either. |
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#103 |
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London
Posts: 35,635
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Quote:
Those Google images are interesting. It reminds me of something I read on the Swedish forum, where a driver mentioned it's not even that obvious you are heading towards a bridge. It is one of a series of bridges side by side, so there is no steep drop to the side until you get very close to the point where the road crosses over the water. In poor visibility, it could be easy to assume there is not much danger (apart from all the warning lights and barriers, of course).
The barriers do not look that substantial either. |
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#104 |
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Troll hunting
Posts: 733
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Quote:
The barriers do not look that substantial either.
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#105 |
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Made it Ma, Top of the World!
Posts: 3,999
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True. I think as has been mentioned before, the barriers aren't meant to physically stop a vehicle, but are rather a visual barrier (if that makes sense). In fact, they are probably designed to break easily. The last thing you want when a vehicle crashes through the barrier is for it to be damaged in such a way that the driver is incapacitated or a mechanical failure prevents it from stopping. I would be surprised if the car had more than a few scratches.
I guess calling them ‘safety’ barriers is probably a misnomer. As you say they aren’t designed as a ‘stop at all costs’ barrier but more as the demarcation of a ‘no go’ danger area. If you study the Google image of the ‘1st barrier zone’ you will note that there is a large’ish black box attached to each of the two (right and left) barriers that is presumably a warning light of some description. It’s difficult to judge the perspective of the Google images correctly but maybe that large ‘warning light’ attached to the (otherwise lightweight) barrier could inflict some significant damage to a windscreen/driver if struck at speed by a car travelling in that narrow outside lane; …all complete conjecture of course. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the police were forensically studying the damaged barrier/debris to see if it offered any clues;…. I haven’t seen anything more on that aspect though. The theory that the driver, having unexpectedly crashed through the 1st barrier (for whatever reason) , panicked as he believed the vehicle was actually on the bridge itself and simply sped onward in a vain attempt to reach the safety of the other side sounds plausible. However, would that be the instant reaction of most drivers?... he presumably had no idea how long the bridge actually was, and, having collided with an unexpected obstacle most drivers would (I guess ???) have braked sharply and stopped,…or at least slowed down before making the panicked decision to carry on regardless. According to the eye witness the car simply sped onward, completely unabated. A car travelling at 40mph would impact the bridge approx 8 seconds after crashing through the 1st barrier. I don’t much subscribe to the theory that there was any deliberate malicious intent on the part of the driver, but anything else is seemingly up for grabs and will probably remain so until the police/forensics’ come up with something tangible. I’m just tossing things in the air really,… but once again,…who knows what happened…..
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#106 |
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 12,779
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Quote:
However, would that be the instant reaction of most drivers?... he presumably had no idea how long the bridge actually was, and, having collided with an unexpected obstacle most drivers would (I guess ???) have braked sharply and stopped,…or at least slowed down before making the panicked decision to carry on regardless.
According to the eye witness the car simply sped onward, completely unabated. A car travelling at 40mph would impact the bridge approx 8 seconds after crashing through the 1st barrier. I don’t much subscribe to the theory that there was any deliberate malicious intent on the part of the driver, but anything else is seemingly up for grabs and will probably remain so until the police/forensics’ come up with something tangible. Unfortunately we will never know what was going on inside the car but, as far as I can see, the driver acting deliberately is the only thing that makes any sense at the moment, and even then, it doesn't make much sense. Given the unusualness of this style of bridge in the UK, I don't think anyone in the car could have perceived how it was going to play out, even with an eight second warning from barrier to bridge. |
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#107 |
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 3,889
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Did he even know he was on a bridge? Maybe he thought it was a level crossing train track, with the two barriers either side? He couldn't see a train coming and in a moment of lunacy he decided to just plough through the first barrier, over the train track and through the second barrier and on his way before the train came.
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#108 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 4,159
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Quote:
Did he even know he was on a bridge? Maybe he thought it was a level crossing train track, with the two barriers either side? He couldn't see a train coming and in a moment of lunacy he decided to just plough through the first barrier, over the train track and through the second barrier and on his way before the train came.
Probably just thinking about getting to the hotel or plane to relax after a successful evening, oblivious to the fact there was a raised bridge and lethal gap in the road coming up ahead. I am getting to quite like their track played on Radio 1 now. Such a shame they were lost. |
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#109 |
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London
Posts: 35,635
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Quote:
Maybe so, in any case I think the second barrier is what confused him. In the dark and snow the though they had passed unscathed through whatever the warnings were for.
Probably just thinking about getting to the hotel or plane to relax after a successful evening, oblivious to the fact there was a raised bridge and lethal gap in the road coming up ahead. I am getting to quite like their track played on Radio 1 now. Such a shame they were lost. Anybody with a brain cell at that moment stops and does not carry on towards death. Also there would of been signs , and they would of presumably passed by it on the way to the gig so it's not like this bridge magically appeared to kill them. Everybody else managed to pass though unscathed. Also it was just before 2am so no flights would take off at that time of the morning so would of not been I'm any rush either. |
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#110 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 6,516
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Do we know what their destination was? I thought I'd read somewhere that they were going to their hotel, but having looked at the map it seems likely that they were heading for the airport.
The gig was in Nörrkoping, which is about a 2 hour motorway drive from Stockholm Arlanda airport, and the Sodertalje bridge is just over halfway. The accident happened around 2 am, so I guess they either had an early flight, or had a hotel booked at the airport. Or did they have another gig in Sweden? |
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#111 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,326
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As another poster pointed out it could be that they were racing to catch their plane, which would explain the supposed hurry. Having passed over the bridge en route to the gig, earlier in the day, I'd have thought the driver would have been well aware of that particular road system.
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#112 |
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 3,889
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Why the need to explain the hurry? Perhaps he was just one of those people who seem to want to drive at 110mph all the time regardless of the speed limits, with no consideration for other road users and no respect for "please slow down now" signs.
You know, the sort of person who's on your tail flashing their lights at you because you're "only" doing 55mph in a 50mph roadwork zone on the M6. |
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#113 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 6,516
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Quote:
As another poster pointed out it could be that they were racing to catch their plane, which would explain the supposed hurry. Having passed over the bridge en route to the gig, earlier in the day, I'd have thought the driver would have been well aware of that particular road system.
As someone said above, there wouldn't have been a plane scheduled at that hour of the night, so there would have been plenty of time to get to the airport, if that was their destination. |
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#114 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,326
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Quote:
I doubt they'd notice unless a ship was about to come through. I've regularly travelled routes with many moveable bridges, and most of them look just like normal roads when not in action.
As someone said above, there wouldn't have been a plane scheduled at that hour of the night, so there would have been plenty of time to get to the airport, if that was their destination. Yes, I did think the same about the bridge. I guess unless familiar with or seen in action you'd be none the wiser. |
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#115 |
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London
Posts: 35,635
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Quote:
As another poster pointed out it could be that they were racing to catch their plane, which would explain the supposed hurry. Having passed over the bridge en route to the gig, earlier in the day, I'd have thought the driver would have been well aware of that particular road system.
Earliest flight would not of been until 6ish and the crash happened before 2am |
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#116 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,326
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What plane takes off at 2am ?
Earliest flight would not of been until 6ish and the crash happened before 2am
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#117 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,106
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Inquest has begun
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...manager-drove/ Hard to see any explanation other than a murder-suicide by the manager while the band slept. He might have been unfamiliar with raised bridges/Swedish roads but not to the extent of crashing through two separate barriers. |
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#118 |
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Made it Ma, Top of the World!
Posts: 3,999
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Inquest has begun
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...manager-drove/ Hard to see any explanation other than a murder-suicide by the manager while the band slept. He might have been unfamiliar with raised bridges/Swedish roads but not to the extent of crashing through two separate barriers. …very perplexing.
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#119 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 10,236
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Bit tired of them being lauded as "the next big thing". It's sad that they all died but their music isn't all that. Bit derivative, in my opinion. Shoe-horning them to the number one spot seems rather pointless.
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#120 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,783
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Bit tired of them being lauded as "the next big thing". It's sad that they all died but their music isn't all that. Bit derivative, in my opinion. Shoe-horning them to the number one spot seems rather pointless.
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#121 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 10,236
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Obviously a lot of people don't share your opinion.
Well, thank you for stating the obvious.
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#122 |
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,777
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Heard about the inquest on the news at tea-time and they described the manager's actions but said they can't be explained. Surely he deliberately committed suicide and murder or am I missing something? Are we not allowed to think or say that?
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#123 |
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,106
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Quote:
Heard about the inquest on the news at tea-time and they described the manager's actions but said they can't be explained. Surely he deliberately committed suicide and murder or am I missing something? Are we not allowed to think or say that?
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#124 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 17,332
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They literally hit the edge of the bridge as it was rising according to the news, I'm erring towards an accident or recklessness rather than the Manager committing suicide.
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#125 |
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Leicester!!!
Posts: 13,034
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Quote:
Heard about the inquest on the news at tea-time and they described the manager's actions but said they can't be explained. Surely he deliberately committed suicide and murder or am I missing something? Are we not allowed to think or say that?
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