Episode 3 A1: Britain's Longest Road


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The A1, Britain's longest road.

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Stretching almost 400 miles from the City of London

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to the heart of the Scottish capital.

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Connecting two nations and passing through 18 counties,

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it's an unrivalled highway

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used by hundreds of thousands of vehicles every day.

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We're going southbound down the A1 on the northbound carriageway.

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But not all journeys go to plan.

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I thought, "I'm going to lose my life."

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Cars are coming close. It is the dangerous place to be.

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Lives can hang in the balance.

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The rear end of that vehicle, it's unrecognisable.

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This is actually the bodywork of the car.

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24 hours a day...

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It's not a safe place here.

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..there's a team of people who keep us safe from harm.

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The police...

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..response teams...

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We don't know whether they've got the road closed or we don't know what's happened.

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..and traffic officers...

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Keep going.

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-..keeping Britain's most iconic road...

-Get out!

-..on the move.

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Substantially damaged flatbed truck in lane two.

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The A1, the monster that it is, will start to return to normal.

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Coming up...

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SIRENS WAIL

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..a countryside crash leaves a biker fighting for his life...

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You're always thinking the worst with a motorcycle accident.

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..traffic officers come face-to-face

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with a lorry driver flouting the law...

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You can't stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway.

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I'm going to break the law, then.

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..and for one motorist, a blowout sparks a culinary crisis.

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My tea's in the oven!

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Tea's in the dog!

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From busy city routes to urban motorway, and even countryside road,

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the A1 is an ever-changing landscape

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which can bring unique challenges for the people

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that work the length and breadth of this historic highway.

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A1 patrol officer PC Darren Lant's patch

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in his native Northumbria

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covers more than 70 diverse miles of the road.

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He's heading to one of its most troublesome sections

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just north of Newcastle.

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Here, the A1 becomes a single lane road with no central reservation.

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The dynamics of accidents change.

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You get more serious accidents up here with motorcycles and cars.

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We do get quite a lot of head-on collisions on this road,

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simply because people want to do the overtake on the single carriageway

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and they don't appreciate how fast the other car, the inbound car,

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is coming towards them.

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And not long after, a call comes in

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confirming just how treacherous this section of the A1 can be.

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As one of the closest patrols...

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-Sirens on.

-..Darren responds immediately.

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SIRENS WAIL

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We've now got reports of a motorcycle and a car collision

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just south of Morpeth.

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But still 15 miles from the scene, it's crucial he gets there quickly,

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which involves high-speed driving

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and overtaking along this single-lane section.

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Stay where you are.

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We've got very little details at the minute,

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but we believe the motorcyclist is injured.

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You're always thinking the worst with a motorcycle accident.

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As he approaches the accident,

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there's already a mile-long tailback...

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..forcing Darren to squeeze perilously

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between queueing traffic and oncoming vehicles.

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Arriving on the scene, the situation looks extremely serious.

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The rider is being treated on the road

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after colliding with the back of a car at high speed.

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-Can I give you a hand?

-No, you're all right.

-Are you sure?

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With paramedics taking care of the rider,

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Darren starts to piece together exactly what happened.

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-How are we doing? Are you all right?

-I'm a bit shaken.

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-OK. Don't worry about it.

-I think he's breathing now.

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-What happened?

-I'm an architect on the site of Hebron Hill Farm.

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-OK.

-It's a bad right-hand turn here.

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-Yeah.

-I've slowed down, I've indicated to turn right,

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I've come into here,

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and as I was driving in, there was an almighty whack.

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All I would assume is that he's tried overtaking.

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The full force of the impact has flung the rider

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almost 20 metres down the road.

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The driver of the silver car here, the BMW, he appears to be OK.

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A little bit shocked and shaken.

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We're going to get him away, get him off the site, give him a cup of tea,

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get him warmed up. And then we'll keep the road closed

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until we make sure HE'S all right.

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As other officers control passing traffic,

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Darren learns the full extent of the biker's injuries from paramedics.

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Left forearm's broke?

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His thigh is broke, is it?

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-Multiple, is it?

-Yeah, yeah.

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Multiple fractures and possible internal injuries

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could be life-changing for the motorcyclist.

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Darren's going to be pushed to the limit

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dealing with this serious incident.

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More than 110 miles south of the rural landscape of Northumbria

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is one of the busiest intersections on the whole of the A1,

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where it meets the M62.

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Traffic officers Paul Day and Rob Larkin

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are tasked with keeping this area safe.

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A common danger is lorry drivers taking a break on the hard shoulder.

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When the traffic officers turn up, they don't usually stick around.

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It looks like we've scared him off.

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He's left scene. Over.

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By law, lorry drivers need to rest for 45 minutes

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every four and a half hours.

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They should find a safe place to pull over,

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but some of them think it's OK

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to take their break on the hard shoulder.

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But that's against the law.

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Foreign LGV parked on the hard shoulder, Rob.

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Paul wants to catch this trucker before he gives him the slip.

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Because it's quite wide, LGVs just think it's OK to stop,

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especially foreign LGVs.

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They don't realise they cannot stop on a British motorway

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except for an emergency.

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The driver's keen to let Paul know

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-he's abiding by the rest break rules.

-Hi.

-Good day.

-You all right?

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Yes, yes, yes. 45 minutes.

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Can't stop on a British hard shoulder, boss,

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you have to come off at the next junction.

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It's not my problem, mate,

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you'll have to come off at 37 and turn right.

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-When you turn right, there's a parking space off there.

-OK.

-OK?

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-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-All right.

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It may seem like a minor issue,

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but these illegal pit stops put lives in danger.

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Being parked on the hard shoulder

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is one of the most dangerous parts of the motorway.

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The longer you are on the hard shoulder,

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the greater the chances are you're going to get hit.

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More than 50 people are killed or seriously injured

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in hard shoulder accidents on Britain's roads each year.

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Yet, despite the danger,

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drivers continue to put themselves and others at risk.

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But with thousands of lorry drivers using the A1 every day,

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it's a battle to which Rob and Paul will return.

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More than two hours' drive north near Morpeth,

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PC Darren Lant is still dealing with the aftermath of a serious collision,

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where a 57-year-old biker's life is on the line.

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Less than an hour ago,

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his motorbike collided with the back of a stationary BMW,

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which resulted in the rider suffering life-threatening injuries.

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After stabilising him,

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the paramedics can now get the motorcyclist off the road

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and into the ambulance.

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Yeah, he's not very well, bless him.

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He's conscious and breathing,

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but he's got multiple fractures, both arms and, possibly, both legs.

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Certainly, one of his legs, but possibly both of his legs.

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With the paramedics taking care of the biker,

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Darren's attention now turns to the traffic,

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which is tailing back several miles in both directions.

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It's the main road, isn't it?

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There's only one way in and out of Scotland up this way,

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so we've got to get this open because of the delaying traffic.

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People are getting frustrated.

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But before the road can be fully cleared,

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Darren needs to document the scene...

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..and gather any evidence which could be used in a prosecution.

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While the wrecked bike waits for its roadside rescue...

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..its owner is on the way to the last place

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any driver wants to end up when they set out on a journey.

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The motorcyclist, he's going to be blue-lighted down

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to Newcastle's Royal Victoria, the hospital, the trauma hospital,

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where he's going to go into specialist care.

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An hour after the accident,

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this vital section of the A1 is cleared of debris

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and ready to be reopened.

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Motorcyclists accounted for

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one in every seven people killed on the A1 in 2015.

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And Darren is well used to dealing

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with the aftermath of these accidents.

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I don't know, I've got mixed feelings about motorbikes.

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I like watching motor superbikes and all that sort of stuff, but...

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You just get no protection,

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very, very little protection on a motorbike.

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You kind of become desensitised to it.

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I've seen it that many times now,

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and I've dealt with that many accidents,

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it's just part and parcel of a motor patroller's job.

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It's our role.

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With the motorcyclist heading to hospital for emergency treatment,

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back at base, Darren has the difficult task

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of informing his family.

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What's happened is your dad's been involved

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in an accident on his motorcycle.

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He's all right.

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He's got some quite nasty injuries,

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and he's been taken to the RVI.

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He's in a critical, but stable, condition,

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and, obviously, he's going to be in there for a while.

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It's a call no-one wants to receive or make.

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But with over 180,000 casualties on Britain's roads each year,

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it's a hard reality of every patrol officer's role.

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130 miles south,

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on one of the busiest motorway stretches of the A1 near Doncaster,

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two Highways England traffic officers

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are on a mission to prevent accidents.

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Rob and Paul are on the lookout for lorry drivers

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illegally blocking the hard shoulder,

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putting themselves and other drivers at risk.

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Now, they've got another lorry in their sights.

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It looks like he's broken down, but I'm not sure.

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Drivers can only stop on the hard shoulder of the A1 in emergencies.

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But some truckers use it as a parking spot

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when trying to follow an EU law

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saying they must rest for 45 minutes every four and a half hours.

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Hiya, mate.

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-What's up?

-I just realised I'm on my four and a half.

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I knew you were going to tell me that.

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You can't stop on the hard shoulder of the motorway.

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I know, that's why I used this bit instead of a slip road.

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This is not allowed. You're actually on a motorway.

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You can't stop here, either.

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Lorry driver Paul Coote is on his way to Norwich

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with a wagon full of kitchen units and broom handles,

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and it's looking like he's trying to give Paul the brush off.

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I'm going to break the law, then. You've just told me to.

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That's up to yourself. You've got to find your own place to park.

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I stick to the law and I'm going to be reported for it.

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Well, you're not sticking to the law

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because you're not allowed to stop on the hard shoulder

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of the motorway, but that's not my choice. It's up to you, that.

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I'm sticking to the EU tacho laws.

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A tacho, or tachograph, is a digital device

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fitted to vehicles which records speed and distance.

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It will register if the driver fails to stop his truck

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for the required 45 minutes, which is a serious breach of EU law.

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So, lorry driver Paul is desperate to stick around.

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Am I good for four minutes?

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I can't tell you you're good for four minutes.

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What I have to do is pass your details on. If you're saying

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-"four minutes", then four minutes is four minutes.

-Yeah.

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Paul doesn't have the power to move the driver on,

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but he can inform him of the rules.

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If you'd have come off at 37,

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there's a lay-by off the left-hand side there.

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-I didn't know that.

-I appreciate that,

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but you've just got to do the job.

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Your responsibility, you're the man.

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-Yeah.

-All right? No worries, I'll pass your details on.

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-Right, have you got any recovery?

-Yeah, it's coming! It's coming!

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You're not going to win.

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You're not going to win.

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Right, it's safer out of the vehicle than in the vehicle,

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cos you're going to stay for your four minutes.

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But you're safer out of the vehicle than in the vehicle.

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-And keep your eye on traffic, all right?

-I will.

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-All right, then.

-Thank you.

-Look after yoursen, yeah?

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Paul radios an update to the control room.

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He's on a tacho break, very, very close to the end of his break.

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Obviously, we've given him safety advice, said he shouldn't do it.

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We've had a bit of a debate about it,

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and the upshot is he's staying here till he's finished his break. Over.

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Paul Coote has been driving lorries for more than 40 years.

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But today, he admits he's learned a valuable lesson.

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He's come out and he's pointed something out

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which I didn't know of. I knew I'm not allowed on the hard shoulder

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on a motorway, but being on a slip road,

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I thought I might have been all right on a works unit.

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I'm not. It's something I've learned.

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And that's the way it goes.

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It's practically impossible to know every area,

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every place you could stop.

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If you're on a regular route,

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you have a regular stopping point.

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Once I realised I was three miles from the M18,

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I had to stop.

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I've got to adhere to the law, but it makes you break another law.

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So, where do you stand?

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It's just a nonsense, I'm afraid.

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The tacho laws were brought in to protect truckers

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from being asked to drive while tired.

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And fatigue is still a factor

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in about one in five serious motorway crashes.

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But to avoid breaking the law by stopping on the hard shoulder,

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drivers need to plan ahead.

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All we can do is explain and say, "Look, you're not allowed to stop,

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"you know you're not allowed to stop."

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You get a bit of backwards and forwards with them,

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saying, "I've no time left, I've no time left".

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Well, that's fine. You might not have any time left,

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but it's their responsibility

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-to find a place of safety...

-Before the time runs out.

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..before the time runs out.

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As an ex-bus driver himself,

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Paul understands the lorry driver's dilemma.

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My mates who are truckers are going to go mad with me.

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Is that because you're the nasty guy from Highways England?

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-All I keep doing is moving trucks on.

-Get off my motorway!

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As Britain's longest road, the A1 sees its fair share of broken down

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vehicles and, as this footage shows,

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being stranded next to fast-moving motorway traffic...

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..is an extremely perilous place to be.

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On the Western bypass near Newcastle,

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there's no hard shoulder for stricken vehicles to pull into,

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so they're especially vulnerable.

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Fortunately, there is help at hand.

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Motorbike rider, Peter Dodds.

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Breaking down is a traumatic experience for everybody.

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It has a knock-on effect for everybody,

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kids going to school and so on,

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so you need to get those people out of there as quick as possible

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to let everybody else do their thing through life.

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When vehicles break down,

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it's Peter's mission to get them off the road fast.

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-I'm going to put you on the back of the bike.

-Right.

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We'll pick your car up, you in the car,

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take you off to a place of safety.

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But how does one man and his motorbike move a car

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weighing just over a tonne?

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This is no ordinary bike.

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It's been specially adapted with a hydraulic trailer.

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It unfolds, allowing Peter to carry cars and small vans off the A1

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all in a matter of minutes.

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Which is why round these parts he's known as the minute man.

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Just driving up the road and the car just came up with a fault

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on my dashboard.

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It totally cut out. Just wouldn't restart.

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In next to no time, the Polo is hitched up on Peter's trailer.

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It's awesome technology.

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Gets us off the road and safe quick.

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In just ten minutes, Peter and his incredible bike are back on the road

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with driver and car in tow...

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..leaving the traffic on the A1 to flow freely again.

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Peter's one of a small band of minute-men patrolling the A1.

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They deal with more than 900 incidents every year,

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and their powers really come into their own

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when dealing with emergencies.

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There's been a three-car pile-up outside Newcastle at rush-hour.

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With traffic mounting, it looks like there's no way through.

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This is clearly a job for the minute man.

0:19:480:19:50

Peter makes short work of cutting through the cars.

0:19:550:19:58

He's one of the first recovery services on the scene.

0:20:000:20:02

Where a three-vehicle shunt on the outside lane

0:20:040:20:07

has led to traffic chaos.

0:20:070:20:09

We've got a Mondeo estate and then a Skoda Yeti four-wheel drive.

0:20:110:20:14

The lightest one there is going to be the Astra at the front, actually.

0:20:140:20:18

Let's have a look.

0:20:180:20:20

Fortunately, no-one is hurt,

0:20:200:20:21

but Peter knows the longer the cars stay in the lane,

0:20:210:20:24

the greater the chance of another collision and there are vulnerable

0:20:240:20:28

drivers stranded in the central reservation.

0:20:280:20:32

The lad on the back just didn't stop.

0:20:320:20:34

He ploughed into the back of him and then he hit the back of me

0:20:340:20:37

and I hit a lass that was in front of me,

0:20:370:20:39

but obviously her car was not that much damaged.

0:20:390:20:41

Mine's mostly superficial.

0:20:410:20:44

Popped my radiator, as well.

0:20:440:20:46

But his luck is about to change.

0:20:480:20:51

His car is a perfect fit for Peter's bike

0:20:530:20:56

and he'll be off the road in no time.

0:20:560:20:58

Ready?

0:20:580:20:59

Are you ready to go?

0:21:080:21:10

We'll take you around to the Angel Of The North out the way.

0:21:100:21:12

-Jump in your driver's seat, there. Don't touch anything.

-Yeah.

0:21:120:21:15

-Put your seat belt on.

-Yeah.

0:21:150:21:17

This lad will put you on the front seat of the car.

0:21:170:21:19

Put him in the passenger seat, please.

0:21:190:21:22

Peter's ready to roll just as the recovery truck turns up

0:21:240:21:28

to deal with the other two vehicles.

0:21:280:21:30

For this hi-vis hero, it's just another day on the job,

0:21:320:21:37

and for the drivers desperate to get on their way,

0:21:370:21:39

Peter and his hi-tech bike have saved the day.

0:21:390:21:43

Obviously when the bike turned up, I was wondering what it was.

0:21:470:21:51

When I seen it getting put into its positions and stuff,

0:21:510:21:54

it's a good bit of kit.

0:21:540:21:56

Love the bikes, absolutely love them,

0:21:590:22:03

and, most of all, I love helping people.

0:22:030:22:05

With more than 60% of us commuting by car,

0:22:130:22:16

it's no surprise Britain's major roads feel the strain.

0:22:160:22:20

It's Friday night rush-hour,

0:22:230:22:25

the A1's busiest time of the week.

0:22:250:22:28

PC Alan Keenlyside is battling through traffic to another incident

0:22:300:22:35

near Newcastle.

0:22:350:22:37

So we're travelling to a report of a live lane breakdown on the A1,

0:22:400:22:45

so we're in rush-hour traffic now.

0:22:450:22:47

It's dark.

0:22:470:22:49

It's potentially going to be on an unlit or poorly lit section of

0:22:490:22:52

the A1, so we've got a real risk here of a stationary car

0:22:520:22:56

in the slow lane of the A1, and it's vulnerable

0:22:560:22:59

and we need to get there really quickly.

0:22:590:23:02

Worst case scenario is a car travelling at 70mph

0:23:040:23:08

crashes into that vehicle.

0:23:080:23:10

There's always injuries and it's quite often loss of life, so,

0:23:100:23:14

yeah, we treat it really, really seriously.

0:23:140:23:17

The vehicle is going to be around this bend.

0:23:170:23:20

There it is.

0:23:200:23:22

It's actually sticking well out into lane one.

0:23:220:23:25

Alan has called in help from colleagues

0:23:250:23:27

in an unmarked police car.

0:23:270:23:29

Do you want to come ahead of me in the unmarked?

0:23:290:23:31

What I've done, then, is that's an unmarked motor patrol vehicle.

0:23:310:23:35

It's safer to have a fully marked vehicle at the back

0:23:350:23:38

using all our reflective equipment.

0:23:380:23:41

With traffic building fast,

0:23:410:23:43

Alan needs to make sure the driver is out of harm's way.

0:23:430:23:47

It's backed up as far as you can see backwards in lane two.

0:23:500:23:54

I would normally go down but they've actually just pushed it.

0:23:540:23:58

They've been able to push the vehicle downhill.

0:23:580:24:00

That will get the two police vehicles off the road

0:24:000:24:03

and now we can deal with this broken down with all lanes open.

0:24:030:24:07

-You all right?

-I'm all right.

0:24:090:24:12

Aye, all right.

0:24:130:24:15

Driver Alistair's had a blow out on the main carriageway and Alan's

0:24:180:24:22

not prepared to let him change the tyre in such a dangerous spot.

0:24:220:24:26

We could temporarily stop the slip road.

0:24:260:24:29

-Do you want me to put closure on just before the junction?

-Yes, mate.

0:24:290:24:33

Alan has no choice but to shepherd the car back onto the A1.

0:24:330:24:38

While the other team closes the slip road,

0:24:420:24:44

driver Alistair reverses the car the wrong way up it...

0:24:440:24:47

..and he finally finds a place of safety.

0:24:490:24:52

I was going home for my tea, so my tea's in the oven!

0:24:580:25:02

-Tea's in the dog.

-No, no, tea's in the oven.

0:25:020:25:04

I phoned the wife. "I'll be a bit late."

0:25:040:25:07

"Why?" "I've had a blow out."

0:25:070:25:09

"Oh, right, I'll put your tea in the oven."

0:25:090:25:12

She didn't even ask if I was OK!

0:25:120:25:14

Blown there, right the way round.

0:25:180:25:21

There you are, try that.

0:25:240:25:26

But changing the wheel is proving a much tougher job

0:25:260:25:30

than they both expected.

0:25:300:25:32

Is it going in at all, is it?

0:25:320:25:34

-It seems to be a fair bit still to go on that.

-Yeah, there is.

0:25:370:25:40

On all four of them.

0:25:400:25:41

The only thing I can think of is you're putting a steel wheel on

0:25:410:25:44

and it's an alloy wheel nut.

0:25:440:25:46

The pair are baffled as to why the bolts are failing to fully tighten.

0:25:480:25:52

Alan's determined to get Alistair on his way and hopes someone at the

0:25:520:25:57

local services can shed some light.

0:25:570:26:00

The gentleman has got the best part of 35 miles to go,

0:26:010:26:04

so I'd be happy if he went to the service station,

0:26:040:26:07

got into the garage and see if they've got anything in there.

0:26:070:26:10

Kind of hoping, if I've got to be honest,

0:26:130:26:16

that this service station that we're heading to

0:26:160:26:18

might have some repair parts.

0:26:180:26:20

It's always nice to be able to help someone to a resolution

0:26:200:26:23

whereby they're on their way and they're on their way home.

0:26:230:26:26

At the service station, it looks like help might be at hand.

0:26:260:26:30

Sometimes in these places you get people from the AA and the RAC

0:26:300:26:33

who might be taking a break and cue the right....

0:26:330:26:38

It's the RAC!

0:26:380:26:41

Seen who it is?

0:26:410:26:43

It's the fourth emergency service!

0:26:430:26:45

Or is that the AA? It's the fifth emergency service.

0:26:450:26:48

-I'll ask them, anyway.

-But the driver doesn't have the parts...

0:26:480:26:52

This lad is just a recovery lad so unfortunately he can't help me.

0:26:520:26:56

..so Alistair finally calls his own recovery provider,

0:26:560:26:59

hoping they can get to grips with the tricky wheel bolts.

0:26:590:27:03

We've got a canny gap and that's as tight as we can get them.

0:27:030:27:07

-But, that's right.

-Is it?

-Aye, there's a sticker there, tells you.

0:27:080:27:12

-It's telling you that's all right.

-Who reads instruction manuals?

0:27:120:27:16

Why didn't we see that?

0:27:160:27:19

So pointing to that there, which clearly shows that there's a gap

0:27:190:27:22

between the nut and the casing of the wheel, which we've got...

0:27:220:27:26

If there was something wrong, at least he's going to check it

0:27:260:27:29

and you're going to get the professional looking at it.

0:27:290:27:31

You've already looked at it!

0:27:310:27:33

If you lads haven't been there and I'd done that myself,

0:27:350:27:38

I'd have been like, "No way."

0:27:380:27:39

-It's not very obvious, is it?

-It's only yellow and black.

0:27:390:27:41

They could have made it stand out a bit more, couldn't they?

0:27:410:27:44

The motorcyclist left badly injured after crashing on the A1

0:27:490:27:53

has undergone multiple operations, but is now on the road to recovery.

0:27:530:27:58

And, after fixing his tyre, Alistair finally managed to make it home for his tea.

0:27:580:28:04

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