I was travelling along a motorway. Conditions were cold, about 4C (39F), dry, good visibility, although sun low in front of me.
I'm in the fast lane of three, moderate traffic in the two slower lanes, travelling at a reasonable speed. The road is national speed limit, so 70mph.
I pass first one, then two more, illuminated signs saying "50". Normally these signs are used for fog or accident warnings, and are usually left on long after the event that prompted them is over, so most motorists ignore them.
After passing the third one of these, I noticed a high visibility jacket on the hard shoulder. Its wearer was holding something up, looking at the traffic. My immediate thought was a radar speed meter, but I subsequently realised it was a video camera. He was concentrating on the road, I was concentrating on him.
When I finally looked in front again, I saw a piece of what I took to be a vehicle loading ramp lying right in the middle of my lane. It was perhaps four or five feet long, eight inches wide, and was of a channel section, perhaps two or three inches deep.
Luckily for me it was end on, I was able to avoid it with a mere twitch of the bars, missing it by a few inches. Had the man videoing this not been there, I'd have seen it well in advance.
The obvious lesson is to not allow distractions, however compelling, to stop you from your main task of looking where you are going.
(Unless, of course, you want to be the subject of a "Police, Camera, Action" video!)
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