Cyclist seriously hurt in collision with van in Chippenham (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)
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Cyclist seriously hurt in collision with van in Chippenham
9:19am Wednesday 16th May 2012 in Chippenham By Alex Winter
A cyclist in his 50s is in a serious condition after a collision with a Ford Transit van in Pewsham, Chippenham, this morning.
The cyclist, who was taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, was involved in the incident at 7.20am at the roundabout in Webbington Road.
Traffic in the area has come to a standstill, and the road will be closed until at least 11am as the serious collision investigation team from Chippenham Police Station conduct an investigation.
No one has been arrested.
A police spokesperson said the man, who is approximately 55 years old, was unconscious when police arrived, and was conveyed by road ambulance to hospital.
Comments(19)
makesmewannascream
says...
1:13pm Wed 16 May 12
mcrae167 wrote:Hear hear. It was, unfortunately, an accident waiting to happen. All that has happened is ensure that drivers avoid the Webbington Road and just drive - as fast as they can - straight over the roundabout to get to Canal Road. The A4 is too fast and dangerous as it is - I know as I regularly have to dodge cars driving way too fast, to cross the road to get to the field opposite. Another accident waiting to happen. Get rid of the speed bumps asap before I go out there in the middle of the night with my pick axe!
Clr. Douglas should now resign.
Well, it happened. Webbington Rd. had 20years of 100% safety record until Clr Douglas meddled with it and littered it with speed bumps and made it dangerous.
He was also specifically warned the extra danger the bumps posed to cyclists and he dismissed those warnings.
Cars and vans dodging speed bumps pose a severe risk, remove the bumps, remove the risk, simple.
Clr. Douglas should resign immediately and the speed bumps be removed.
Mr_Orange
says...
1:30pm Wed 16 May 12
mcrae167 wrote:The accident didn't happen where the speed bumps are (I know because I cycled down Webbington Roadabout an hour after the accident happened) so your comment is somewhat void.
Clr. Douglas should now resign.
Well, it happened. Webbington Rd. had 20years of 100% safety record until Clr Douglas meddled with it and littered it with speed bumps and made it dangerous.
He was also specifically warned the extra danger the bumps posed to cyclists and he dismissed those warnings.
Cars and vans dodging speed bumps pose a severe risk, remove the bumps, remove the risk, simple.
Clr. Douglas should resign immediately and the speed bumps be removed.
In terms of the effect of the speed bumps. They appear to have done their job as they were put there to avoid people driving way too fast through the estate where there are schools, children etc and get people using the bypass as designed.
However the implementation of the speed bumps is terrible and does need looking at.
Chippers
says...
2:46pm Wed 16 May 12
mcrae167 wrote:So it shows you don’t live anywhere near Webbington road as you would have know the accident actually happened on Pewsham Way, which if you were local would know it’s always been a dangerous roundabout with numerous accidents over the years.
Clr. Douglas should now resign.
Well, it happened. Webbington Rd. had 20years of 100% safety record until Clr Douglas meddled with it and littered it with speed bumps and made it dangerous.
He was also specifically warned the extra danger the bumps posed to cyclists and he dismissed those warnings.
Cars and vans dodging speed bumps pose a severe risk, remove the bumps, remove the risk, simple.
Clr. Douglas should resign immediately and the speed bumps be removed.
I spoke to one of the Police Officers this morning and raise my concerns over the roundabout and he agrees traffic travels too fast and not seeing the roundabout until too late.
As for the speed bumps they are great they have done exactly what we wanted. Slowed down the traffic and even moved some of the flow to Canal road where it should be.
And you know the answer if you don’t like the speed bumps.... go a different way, the residents love them. I just wish we could block the road after Whitworth Road, and then there would not be an issue anymore.
pewsham_resident
says...
2:53pm Wed 16 May 12
Maybe now it's time Pewsham Way was made safer. The roundabouts obviously don't help, but they are needed for Pewsham residents to get onto Pewsham Way.
Mr_Orange
says...
3:07pm Wed 16 May 12
I personally think that Webbington road should be blocked off at Whitworth Road too as all that roundabout serves to do is create traffic jams.
bchippenham
says...
3:47pm Wed 16 May 12
Paul Tucker
says...
4:10pm Wed 16 May 12
Hope the guys ok.
CrispyB
says...
5:03pm Wed 16 May 12
I sincerely hope the cyclist recovers fully and quickly.
jw9202
says...
5:17pm Wed 16 May 12
CEAM1979
says...
5:28pm Wed 16 May 12
In response to everyone's comments about the use and speed humps in Webbington Road - they were put there to make lazy drivers using it as rat run to go the other way!
Webbington Road should be blocked off at Rumble Dene with bollards (like it used to be with the builder's fence until it was decided to open it.) There is proper through road - Canal road, wider, clearer and with houses set back from the road.
Sheer laziness of drivers cutting through is a nightmare for residents of what was once a quiet street. I watched cars slipping all over the place when it was icy rather than use the gritted main through road - Canal Road! Everyone used to have to go the Canal Road Way, so please dont use the whole "what about emergency vehicles?" thing! Plus you can get bollards which drop down for emergency vehicles.
None of the actual residents of Webbington Road and roads coming off it would object, just the rest of Pewsham who want a short cut!
bswinburne
says...
11:15pm Wed 16 May 12
Back to the point, the roundabouts on Pewsham Way are dangerous, I have had many near misses whilst pulling out of Webbington Road with people not slowing down at the roundabout, unfortunately usually with lorry or van drivers, maybe it is a visibility thing (I'm being kind). I don't know what the solution is, but does Pewsham way really need to be a 50 mph zone, reducing it to 40 or even 30 would not really increase peoples journey times that much, and would maybe give people a little more thinking time at the roundabouts. It would also make crossing the road to get to the foot paths by the river safer.
Molossus
says...
12:00am Thu 17 May 12
1. I spent 22 years working as a police officer, much of that time in the Traffic Department. My duties on normal patrol included making notes about areas on my routes that needed improvement, had too many signs, caused distraction and or frustration. I saw roads where as the motorist entered there were up to six signs on a post advising the hapless driver of speed limit, timed parking restrictions, weight limit, height limit, width limit. It was my job to reign excessive signage back by making sure Councils stuck to advice.
2. Traffic Management is trained, it's not something picked up "on the job". It is subject to constant reviews of best practice and has to take account of all road users, not just one section of them. Todays cars are very different to designs just 10-15 years ago. Windscreens are more raked with thicker, stronger window pillars that cut off peripheral views and drivers do not move their heads enough to check these blind spots.
3. We live in an age of mobile phones, ipods and other distractions which seem to have turned a large section of our population, particularly those under 18 into automatons who see nothing wrong in crossing roads suddenly under the distracting influence of such devices with not a hint of awareness that a vehicle is nearby.
4. I was an advanced police driving instructor. I trained police officers to be "Class Ones" with regular refreshers to make sure my skills kept pace with the years. I've spent nearly three years of my life training as a driver and specialist incident investigator. Today in my mid fifties I'm rated by the IAM as a good advanced driver, but I know my skills have diminished along with uncorrected eyesight. This degradation of skill and he body's performance is common to all.
I'm a patient and steady driver with no accidents since passing my test in the early 1970s, but one thing really gets my blood pressure rising, driving through Chippenham. I can guarantee that if I feel frustrated others are more so, and frustrated drivers make errors as impatience takes the place of common sense. The more you control traffic, the more chaos you cause. I have never known such poor traffic management in a small town. Cars allowed to park where it is clearly unsafe to do so, traffic chicanes on straight roads with wide pavements, that cause frustration and increase the likliehood of motorists speeding towards a school crossing, traffic lights controlling a junction with a pedestrian light less than 30 feet away from it on the same road, junctions that close in and narrow the lanes, where there is ample space to widen the lanes making it flow more easily.
5. Introduce 20 mph limits where appropriate and where they can be enforced, take away artificial pinch points that force cars and lorries towards more vulnerable road users. Reduced frustration and increased concentration increases safety
Phorever
says...
12:37am Thu 17 May 12
If a driver is stupid enough to drive along a road at a speed which does not suit the road and conditions, then that is his stupidity. Nothing to do with the speed limits.
The roundabout comes into view in plenty of time at 50mph. There is no need to create extra noise, wear and pollution by reducing the speed limit.
chippenette
says...
11:36am Thu 17 May 12
Paul Tucker
says...
12:45pm Thu 17 May 12
"There is no need to create extra noise, wear and pollution by reducing the speed limit."
I think this comment demonstrates the difficulty faced by anyone trying to make roads safer, i.e. general ignorance.
Driving slower creates LESS noise, less WEAR (due to less friction) and LESS pollution (due to improved fuel efficiency).
Phorever
says...
1:58pm Thu 17 May 12
Road surface is accountable for most noise caused by a car. The engine is at is quietest when it is working efficiently. In most cars, this would be about 2,000 rpm when under load. Which in most cars in 5th gear is about 50mph. At 40mph, you would have to choose between the engine at slower speed under more strain, or engine at higher speed in a lower gear. Both of which would be noisier.
As for wear at slower speeds you create more tyre scrub when cornering. You cause more wear going over speed humps at 10mph than 30mph As after a speed bump, the downward force adds wear to the road surface as the vehicles weight increases momentarily. And before anyone says it will damage the car going faster, it wont. This is the whole reason they put suspension on a car, to smooth out bumps. Also at higher speeds cars tend to weigh less for 2 reasons. 1, air is forced under them. This is why you see cars in motorsport with large wings pushing them down. And 2, the gyroscopic effect of the wheels turning effectively makes the wheels weightless. You can see this in effect when watching motocross. (Which incidentally is the reason it is easier to balance on a bike at speed than standing still.) So road wear is reduced when traffic flows faster.
And as for pollution, it is a well known fact that cars are most efficient at between 50 to 60 mph. Having cars move slower involve a gearing and engine speed combination that isn't efficient. Thus more pollutants at slower speeds. This is why vehicle emissions are tested at an increased engine speed (2,000rpm). Or have you never taken a car for an MOT?
notscot
says...
8:04pm Sun 20 May 12
Phorever wrote:And pedestrians make mistakes. No matter how careful the drivers - some pedestrians GET IT WRONG! And when those pedestrians are predominantly children - I see no problem in reducing the speed limit with 1/4 mile of all schools.
I have said it before, and i will say it again. Speed does not kill. Stupidity of the driver kills.
If a driver is stupid enough to drive along a road at a speed which does not suit the road and conditions, then that is his stupidity. Nothing to do with the speed limits.
The roundabout comes into view in plenty of time at 50mph. There is no need to create extra noise, wear and pollution by reducing the speed limit.
notscot
says...
9:00am Mon 21 May 12
mcrae167 says...
1:00pm Wed 16 May 12
Well, it happened. Webbington Rd. had 20years of 100% safety record until Clr Douglas meddled with it and littered it with speed bumps and made it dangerous.
He was also specifically warned the extra danger the bumps posed to cyclists and he dismissed those warnings.
Cars and vans dodging speed bumps pose a severe risk, remove the bumps, remove the risk, simple.
Clr. Douglas should resign immediately and the speed bumps be removed.