Motorway Shoulder, Smoke and a Casualty
It is 23:40 on a dark motorway. You are driving a 19-tonne rigid lorry at 90 km/h in the right lane when a car ahead swerves and hits the barrier. The car stops sideways across the right lane, facing you, with its lights out. You brake hard and stop about 40 m short. You can see one person slumped in the driver's seat and smell fuel. There is light traffic behind you. Your mobile phone has 20% battery. Your hi-vis vest is in the cab door pocket, and your warning triangle is in the side locker.
1. Set out your immediate actions in order of priority.
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- Protect the scene first. Switch on hazard lights, put on the hi-vis vest before leaving the cab, and place the warning triangle behind your vehicle if it is safe to do so, at a distance that gives traffic time to react on a motorway (well beyond 40 m if visibility allows). Do not walk into live lanes. If traffic is heavy, stay in the cab with belts on and call emergency services rather than standing on the carriageway.
- Call the emergency number and give the location (marker posts), direction, number of vehicles, injuries, and the fuel smell. Keep the line open if asked.
- Do not create a second collision. Keep your vehicle as a barrier where possible, and warn approaching drivers with hazards and, if safe, a torch or triangle.
- Only then approach the casualty, and only if it is safe: fuel smell means fire risk, so no smoking, no naked flames, and do not move the casualty unless there is immediate danger such as fire.
2. How do you deal with the casualty and the fuel smell while waiting for help?
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The casualty is slumped and may be unconscious but breathing, or not breathing. Approach from a safe angle, check responsiveness and breathing, and if they are not breathing and it is safe to do so, start CPR and ask the emergency operator to guide you. Do not move the casualty unless there is fire or another immediate threat, because of possible spinal injury. If they are breathing but unconscious, keep the airway open and monitor.
The fuel smell means a fire risk: keep bystanders back, do not use a phone close to the spill if there is a strong vapour, and keep your engine off. If fire starts, withdraw to a safe distance and let the emergency services handle it. Give the operator a clear handover when they arrive: what you saw, what you did, and the casualty's condition.
3. What must you report afterwards, and to whom?
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Report the incident to your employer without delay, including time, location, vehicles involved, injuries, damage, and the actions you took. Complete the company accident or incident form and any insurer documentation. If the emergency services attended, note the reference. Preserve evidence: photographs, tachograph data, and contact details of witnesses. Do not admit liability at the scene or in the report; state facts. If you witnessed the car's behaviour before the impact, record it accurately, as this may matter for the investigation. Finally, assess your own fitness to continue driving; after a serious incident, a rest before the return journey is appropriate.