dave and mary
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View attachment 18717anyone who has breakdown cover with the rac may wont to think again after a horrific incident on the m40 this morning where women travelling to a dog show in their camper van with 12 dogs broke down and were left in the dark waiting for 3 hours after the rac refused to pick them up because of the dogs on board! Subsequently the camper van was hit by a lorry and the women are lucky to be alive! Sadly 3 of the dogs were killed and one is currently still missing.
It's just that people over here are a little more concerned and less insensitive.
insensitive,if you had a child that had its face torn of or a freind how lost there live on motor bike because of dogs i think you would think on a nother slant,im not against dogs there very usfull tool on the farm but i think uk has goon mad with them.
just my thoughts please dont call me insensitive,i take things as i see them.
lucky the folk all got out safe,as for motorways the last time i was in mainland i found motorists drove full belt on motorways
right on your back bumper.
its about time gov toke a stand and reduced car performance,why build cars that can do 100 plus when legal top speed 70,
would it not make more sence to build slower cars with more mpg,just a thought from a daft paddy.
As a member of the dog-showing fraternity. I regularly travel to shows and on holiday with 7 dogs. You may think I am crazy but two of these were rescues and the older ones are my former show dogs - beloved members of our family.
I happen to know that the people in the camper that was hit were a group of people each with their own show dogs - hence the 12.
Most people use "soft crates" in campers as they are lightweight and easy to pack away, and cause no damage to the interior of the van. I believe the dogs in question at the accident were all crated, but I don't know if they were metal or fabric crates. However their camper was obliterated in the accident so any crate may have easily failed - foldup crates of any kind aren't crash tested the way that some of the specially designed car crating is.
I rang the RAC for some assurances last night as we had recently renewed with them. They claim they were on their way to the camper when the accident occurred. We know that larger recovery trucks are needed to move some of our motorhomes, but 3 hrs seems a long wait for people in such a vulnerable position
The RAC said it was up to their officers discretion whether dogs would be transported in the tow truck, or whether they had to be secured in the camper for towing. Clearly this needs to be thought through - and maybe there should be some provision (even at a premium) for a van collection for those travelling with larger numbers of dogs on board. Frankly I would do anything for peace of mind.
Just like our wilding pages advise us of safety measures for general travel - we perhaps ought to have a check list for travelling with dogs.
Safety kit such as triangle flashing lights etc to place behind the vehicle, sufficient crating/restraints for dogs, for dogs, maybe even a pop up tent that could be set up away from a breakdown in a dangerous area....where crates could be put. If you have a rear garage which you use for the dogs and can afford it - permanent crash tested crating could be installed. Extra locks on the garage and habitation doors for travelling ( I have these but acknowledge that that would have done nothing in yesterdays situation - where the van was obliterated in the crash). If you cannot get to a slipway when on a motorway or main road, call highway officers for support - they did in the past attend when I had a blowout and was left stranded in a really dangerous place (had to take a specialist crash tested crate and two dogs out of the car to get to the spare tyre. They were brilliant and kept us safe until the RAC arrived!
Please don't diss us for carrying large numbers of dogs - we all have our reasons: show exhibitors, gundog trailers, obedience or racing dogs to name but a few. Some of us are one family going on holiday, others - as yesterday - may be friends travelling to shows together. Help us to make it safer for all of us!