Forum Topic

North Circular traffic chaos

Seeing the reports about the problems at Hanger Lane and elsewhere today - we were very nearly fatalities in this incident.  Driving back to Ealing on A406 from a shopping trip, we saw a lorry wildly swerving about on the eastbound carriageway.  It was rocking from side to side, then started to sway ominously.  The lorry fell over onto it side on the central barrier just in front of us and ploughed across into the oncoming traffic on the westbound carriageway.  We were the last car to escape the impact - the lorry missed us by only 2 or 3 car lengths.  Huge dust cloud rose completely obscuring the A406 behind us - I think the lorry was full of building rubble.We called the police immediately after pulling to the side of the road (not that there was anything now behind us).  I do hope that there were no fatalities.

Robin Hall ● 4746d10 Comments

Thanks

Philippa Bond ● 4744d

No fatalities.Three injured.

Tony Colliver ● 4744d

BBC London is your one - traffic reports every 15 mins

Bud Richards ● 4745d

Queues of westbound cars were being turned back onto the eastbound carriageway in the direction they'd come from as the road ahead was closed. (They could go north and south as well.  Obviously we were lucky we missed it happening.  It took us 7 (yes seven) hours to do what would normally have been a 2 hr journey that day. The worst bit was trying to get around the HL gyratory chaos.Radio 5 Live used to be good but was only telling us about traffic problems in Manchester.  Which station should we be using now they've moved to keep us up to date about London traffic?

Philippa Bond ● 4745d

The accident happened about a third of a mile east of the Hanger Lane Gyratory in the direction of Brent Cross.  Close to the Hoo Hing chinese superstore.  No problems over reverse camber there, it is pretty flat.  About a quarter of a mile before the big dip in the road which turned into a lake a few years back when water mains burst there.Every time I think about it I feel shivers up my spine.I don't know if there were any fatalities.

Robin Hall ● 4745d

Confuses me as well but it is Eastbound (north towards the City and east London) and westbound (south away from the City and towards west London)I don't know where the crash was but the section where you come off the gyratory heading east(north)bound has had a number of crashes over the years  but towards the parade of shops rather than the central reservation.

Nigel Brooks ● 4746d

Chris,Excuse my ignorance but I always get confused with this (bear with me!) - the A40 runs East (to London) to West (out of London). The North Circ cannot have the same rules, right ? Or wrong ? I thought it was North / South ?Anyway, what I am trying to understand is where it went wrong. I think the lorry was on the Hanger Lane Gyratory going onto the N.Circ (towards Brent X) and lost it on the bend just as you leave the HLG and enter the A406 ?

Bud Richards ● 4746d

There is an eastbound warning sign of reverse camber, but from the news picture it was the kind of lorry with a very high centre of gravity when loaded, so should have been driven carefully. According to the TFL website the road was finally cleared after midnight, more than 12 hours after the event.

Chris Bell ● 4746d

Interesting to actually hear a witness account Robin. Saw some images of the site last night and didn't look good. My wife works in N.London and uses the N.Circ daily but fortunately we learned of the pandemonium in the area and she was able to take a longer but less congested route home. I know of people that took several hours for what should have been a very short journey.

Bud Richards ● 4746d

How terrifying!  Glad you're OK - hope there were no fatalities or injuries.

Gerry Tan ● 4746d