If you work at a motorway service station, what happens when there’s an accident?

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GodAtum@reddit

Don’t they have a secret back entrance to the local roads

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Not always even secret - where my aunt & uncle used to live, the main way we got there when visiting was via the local road exit of Heston motorway services. Looking on Street View now though, that's no longer open to the public.

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BungalowJumper@reddit

Yea now it’s got an ANPR camera and loves dishing out fines if you’re not on the list of plates that can use it…

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Proof-Lavishness7100@reddit

Outside of tresspass, what could they "fine" you for?

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heyitsed2@reddit

My sister's neighbourhood is the other side of the road to one such entrance, there's a group chat just to share the code to get in and out and save yourself about 30 mins to get onto the M1

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Dyalikedagz@reddit

Yeah, you used to be able to get off the M4 at Heston services if you knew the way. I no longer live there so isnt useful to me, but I believe they've now put up a fence.

Was good because it was a pretty lengthy urban stretch without an exit.

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m_fiddy@reddit

There’s also a camera now, so you can’t use it either way

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Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

Half of Milton Keynes knows the Newport Pagnell services code

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NortonBurns@reddit

I don't need it any more, I'm retired, but I was so pissed off when they first put the security on that gate. I seemed to spend half my life up from London to Newport Pagnell & Castlethorpe. J14 was a PITA most of the time. The back gate of 'paggers' was perfect.

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AxolotlMagic@reddit

I misread your last line as back gate peggers… 😬😳😳

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NortonBurns@reddit

Whatever you're into, i guess ;)

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charlottedoo@reddit

I know it and I live an hour away.

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brittafiltaperry@reddit

Please dm me as Iive in Newport and don't know it!!

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PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

80085

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ViscountGris@reddit

Prove it - write it here and I’ll confirm if you really do know it.

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PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

80085

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Winston_Carbuncle@reddit

I'm 6 hours away and I know it haha. That 20 minutes saved after a 5.5 hour drive is glorious

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hattorihanzo5@reddit

Share the wealth?

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PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

80085

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Hamsternoir@reddit

There isn't a code on the one near us.

But it's not far from a junction

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rich_hr@reddit

Hilton?

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carguy143@reddit

There's one near me as apparently the code is given out by Tesla to allow locals access to the Superchargers.

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carguy143@reddit

Some do. Charnock Richard and Lancaster aka Forton do.

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CrossCityLine@reddit

Frankley does. It’s practically an unofficial junction at this point.

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SirSquaggle@reddit

Is this the one off the M5 near J3?

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Extension_Sun_377@reddit

Burton in Kendal northbound on the M6 is the same.

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ChiefMeowsOBrien@reddit

Never seen my village mentioned on Reddit before! Neat.

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Extension_Sun_377@reddit

Know it well, am in Morecambe

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ChiefMeowsOBrien@reddit

Morecambe has some lovely scenery! :)

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carguy143@reddit

Beautiful little village. My family used to have some statics at Bank End in Cockerham and this was our "sneaky shortcut" as my grandad called it. Many happy memories sneaking past the old police station on the exit. :)

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DesLynam@reddit

Had my first ever car crash at the frankly southbound cut through. Lady in front pulled in, I pulled in behind her, someone came the other way, she shat it and stuck it in reverse and rammed into me. Then told insurance rear-ended her. Cunt

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Stingin_Belle@reddit

I was going to mention Frankley! Notorious shortcut

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prettyfluffybunny@reddit

Charnock Richard try putting new barriers in at least every couple years and people just break them, also don’t change the code ever- saves me so much time every day

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carguy143@reddit

I can just picture someone repeatedly ramming the things as they seem to be broken in different places every few months. Still, it saves me 20 minutes on my drive from home to my dentist in another town.

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merlybirds@reddit

Clacket Lane does! I stayed at the Holiday Inn once and the receptionist gave me the code so I could get to my destination urgently. Felt very cool

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Wiltix@reddit

I use to cut through the back entrance to on of the services on the m5 as my office was right next to it. Nice quick journey home.

Some people would use it to get to work too, excoet the basic ass anpr didn’t watch the back exit so the people ended up with parking fines as they spent 8 hours at the services.

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Quality_Cabbage@reddit

I used to join and leave the M6 at Corley Services because it was a little quicker than going to Junction 3. In due course, they installed a card activated gate, which became rising bollards, which eventually became an open gate, protected by ANPR cameras.

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captain-marzipan@reddit (OP)

!answer

Thank you! I always wondered about that but thought "That would be far too simple"

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GLA_Postal_Services@reddit

Thanks for asking. I never even thought about this despite relatively frequent use of the motorway.

Mind = blown

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CrossCityLine@reddit

Most of them do, but some do not.

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External-Praline-451@reddit

I thought this was a joke, but reading the other comments and googling, it appears to be true. Honestly it's blown my mind 😂 I'm easily pleased, lol.

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AnselaJonla@reddit

The majority of on-line motorway services have an access road that links to the local road network, which is for staff to use to access and exit the site. Food delivery riders on mopeds and dodgily modified ebikes will also use this route.

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Lau_kaa@reddit

And anyone local who knows they're there. Often they don't have a barrier.

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AcceptableCustomer89@reddit

A load have anpr these days, not worth the risk

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Lau_kaa@reddit

Yeah, you have to pick and choose. But the one local to me doesn't have ANPR. The road's quite obscure, so you really have to live locally to know about it.

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DaveBeBad@reddit

Also to deliver stuff from one side to the other, or to allow emergency vehicles access - particularly if the motorway is gridlocked

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DeifniteProfessional@reddit

I walked up one once at about 2am, was interesting

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Key-Tax5850@reddit

If the accident is before us, it’s great as there’s no customers! If the accident is after us and people can’t leave. It’s carnage. We have to inform the parking people so people don’t get fined for staying more than 2 hours. There is a back road in and people tend to find it and make their way out that way

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chartupdate@reddit

Thank you, I was going to ask what occurs when people are stranded at the services through no fault of their own and bust the time allowance.

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thecockmeister@reddit

Think the WH Smiths tend to have a place to get your reg recorded so that you can pay for parking and/or tell them if you're waiting recovery etc so don't get fined.

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AnselaJonla@reddit

If you're waiting for recovery and gonna go over the two hours, you have to pay. Unfortunately.

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Key-Tax5850@reddit

Nah you don’t, depends how friendly your site manager is! I always cancel off anyone waiting for recovery’s ticket.

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AnselaJonla@reddit

It was Pagnell where we were waiting for the AA one time. They weren't so accommodating.

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Key-Tax5850@reddit

I’ll tell him to be nicer 😆

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PipBin@reddit

So, staff road has been established, but what about if you are working and the motorway is closed and no customers are able to get to the services. What do you do for your shift?

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AnselaJonla@reddit

Clean. Restock. Do any outstanding staff training modules. Clean some more. Use the prayer room. Do a full date rotation on all the food including ambient. More cleaning.

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NekoFever@reddit

There used to be the Fleet Cheat if there was a queue on the M3 until they put access control barriers on it. I assume other service stations have similar.

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Naughty-Stepper@reddit

West bound used to have rising posts, the number of cars tailgating staff that got literally jacked up………….

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mythtixx@reddit

There's usually service roads that lead out to smaller roads at the ones round me. I used to work in one when I had a moped on L plates so I'd just use the service road to get in and out

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Equal_Membership_923@reddit

Flown in by helicopter.

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EuphoricCover8449@reddit

They have private access roads.

The ones at Woolley Edge services on the M1 are known by the locals as junction 38a.

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joey_p726@reddit

Staff only access roads

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PenaltySeparate1699@reddit

Most locations have easy access out the back. This may or may not be barrier protected. (The barriers are frequently broken by locals who resent their shortcut being blocked off)

But some sites do not have a seperate way out and if the mway is closed you are screwed (Eg Winchester South which has no back exit)

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ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

OP marked this as the best answer, given by /u/GodAtum.

Don’t they have a secret back entrance to the local roads

^(What is this?)

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retiredblade@reddit

Most If not all uk service stations have a back road in for staff one to each side of the motorway

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Training-Party-9813@reddit

Maybe there’s a secret way in and out?!

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Watchkeys@reddit

The crappest portals in the universe. I'm picturing a sci-fi scene where they shoot out at the far end, recover themselves, then someone says 'Where are we??'

Clacket Lane.

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Worried-Penalty8744@reddit

You could take a wrong turning in the portal and end up coming out in the multi-storey car park at Bridgewater services on the M5 too.

Is it possibly the only multistorey car park at a motorway services. Still has that dank piss smell that all of them get though and has the tightest turns of any I’ve ever been in

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