UPDATED WITH VIDEO: Pair "lucky to be alive" after car overturns on A338

10:30am Thursday 7th March 2013 in Latest

Picture by Corin Messer Picture by Corin Messer

A DRIVER and passenger had a lucky escape after their car overturned into a waterlogged ditch on the A338 this morning.

The 37-year-old female driver of the green Volkswagen Polo and a 60-year-old female passenger were rescued from the vehicle by passing motorists after they lost control of the car on the northbound carriageway, past Blackwater junction around 8am.

The interior of the car was waterlogged with the front doors unable to be opened as they were against the side of the ditch.

PC Mark Palmer from Dorset Police’s road traffic unit described the pair as "lucky to be alive" saying it was incredible they did not suffer any injuries.

Emergency services attended from Matchams Lane so not to cause any delays on the A338 but police were forced to temporarily close one lane after an ambulance stopped on the carriageway.

Recovery of the vehicle will take place later today at a time most convenient to road users, PC Palmer said.

Motorists did suffer some delays as a result of the incident.

Read the full story of the rescue:

Comments(21)

The Cerne Giant says...
11:05am Thu 7 Mar 13

By Heck

It must have been their lucky day, though the car will need re-waxing

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static kill says...
11:11am Thu 7 Mar 13

whoops a daisy

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Oldalbanian says...
11:42am Thu 7 Mar 13

"Recovery of the vehicle will take place later today at a time most convenient to road users, PC Palmer said"

Well done PC Palmer. Clearly the message is getting through that closing major roads for hours after an accident is unacceptable.

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speedy231278 says...
12:10pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Good that there were no injuries. Now, where's the knee-jerk campaign to reduce the speed limit by 10mph?

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Piston_Broke says...
12:22pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Oldalbanian wrote:
"Recovery of the vehicle will take place later today at a time most convenient to road users, PC Palmer said"

Well done PC Palmer. Clearly the message is getting through that closing major roads for hours after an accident is unacceptable.
I presume that is a dig at the police for events on February 24th/25th, and as such, is in extremely poor taste.
As for this incident, as the old VW advert used to say: "If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen."

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Mindvor says...
12:39pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Oldalbanian wrote:
"Recovery of the vehicle will take place later today at a time most convenient to road users, PC Palmer said"

Well done PC Palmer. Clearly the message is getting through that closing major roads for hours after an accident is unacceptable.
What a #!%*

Wouldn't want any investigation of the suffering and pain of another human being(s) to make you late for your manicure would we!

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spooki says...
12:53pm Thu 7 Mar 13

How exactly do people 'lose control' on this bit of road? Apart from the stupid dodgy junctions it's a straight road???

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P Barker says...
1:08pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Well I'm sure driving fast in the wet had nothing to do with it !!. Better check the tyres they maybe below the required thread depth.

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Dorset Mitch says...
1:12pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Oldalbanian wrote:
"Recovery of the vehicle will take place later today at a time most convenient to road users, PC Palmer said" Well done PC Palmer. Clearly the message is getting through that closing major roads for hours after an accident is unacceptable.
We wouldn't want to get the correct answers of why the accident happened or provide safety for crews working on the scene would we!

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awsokend says...
1:39pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Nice car looks good upside down ¿¿

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awsokend says...
1:40pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Nice car looks good upside down ¿¿

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Oldalbanian says...
1:46pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Accidents are investigated in other eurpean countries to a consistent high standard without the need to close the road for several hours at a time.
I lived in Germany for many years and there following any autobahn accident the injured/deceased are treated/removed frtom the scene, photographic and video evidence collected and the site cleared to restore traffic flow as quickly as possible.
Why can't the UK police study alternatives models of traffic accident investigation which reach the same high standards achieved elsewhere? I

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grazzer says...
2:17pm Thu 7 Mar 13

What makes kneejerk assume that reducing the speed limit would have prevented this accident when he doesn't even know what speed it was doing anyway? Last week the general consensus of opinion was that what we needed was not lower limits but higher standards of driving.lf drivers are unable to handle this stretch of road at the speeds permitted,then thy should not be driving. Or to quote the Police's own phrase "No Excuses"

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PokesdownMark says...
2:34pm Thu 7 Mar 13

A very very well done to the drivers who assisted.
Maybe one of them even suggested the Matchems Lane approach to avoid adding to the jam?

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BIGTONE says...
3:47pm Thu 7 Mar 13

I'm waiting for the lets have a 20mph limit along here brigade.......

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Hessenford says...
5:28pm Thu 7 Mar 13

spooki wrote:
How exactly do people 'lose control' on this bit of road? Apart from the stupid dodgy junctions it's a straight road???
Burst tyre perhaps.

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moost says...
6:27pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Oldalbanian wrote:
"Recovery of the vehicle will take place later today at a time most convenient to road users, PC Palmer said"

Well done PC Palmer. Clearly the message is getting through that closing major roads for hours after an accident is unacceptable.
I think the clue is in "no injury". If it was more serious and I was injured I would expect the police to gather evidence so that any insurance claim would be properly supported. Imagine losing your income and the police don't gather the evidence, no doubt you would then say "I pay my taxes why haven't they done what we pay them for"..... It's only acceptable when its you I guess !! Why on earth do you think the police close the road for the sake of it.

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hucky999 says...
6:28pm Thu 7 Mar 13

When will people realise roads are slippery after a dry spell and there's surface oil on the roads.

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Mudefordman says...
7:24pm Thu 7 Mar 13

awsokend wrote:
Nice car looks good upside down ¿¿
you can turn it around with Microsoft picture manager

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The Cerne Giant says...
8:55pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Yes, it is a darn inconvenience when roads are closed due to serious RTA's

The Police are more than ever required to gather every small detail for possible prosecution . . . and of course the friendly Insurance fraternity to fairly settle claims

Give the dog a bone

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Lord Spring says...
8:00am Fri 8 Mar 13

Hessenford wrote:
spooki wrote:
How exactly do people 'lose control' on this bit of road? Apart from the stupid dodgy junctions it's a straight road???
Burst tyre perhaps.
Tyres dont look flat to me in the picture

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