Safe Speed Forums

You have my deepest sympathy for your loss “Callums Mum”

I have signed the petition and will ask my fiends and family to do that same.

Callum's Mum I cannot even begin to understand what you must be going through. The government that you trusted to protect you and your family has let you down in the most horrible way imaginable.

If it could be proved by way of a transcript of a council meeting that known potholes were indeed being left in place as a means of "traffic calming", I'm certain that a manslaughter charge would be a possibility.

I signed your petition anyway. I wish you the best of luck in obtaining some justice.

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

Thank you
yes you are so right, it should be corporate manslaughter because the government were well aware that the roads were in a bad condition for years, (roads are now in a poorer condition than the 1970s) I even had one councillor tell me he used to avoid the pothole that callum struck for a number of years.

I know the reason we have never received an apology or the council admit responsibility is because they know it is manslaughter.

I suggested to a local paper that if Cllr Oldham suggested that littlemoor road was left for traffic calming then did he decide that this was the case on the road where my son was killed because it was a short cut to the next town.

Trying to get anybody take on the local authority is so hard because people are scared of being sued, I even wrote to a women's magazine who said they cannot publish the story for legal reasons. But unless they are made responsible for their responsibility then I cannot see things changing. All we have had all the way through is not are responsibility and they will not even do an internal enquiry.

I am even studying law now myself I just cannot let it go - anybody any ideas?

Thank you
Callum's mum

I guess it might be worth an email to Neil Herron. He has certainly got Sunderland council on the run, over many issues.

http://neilherron.blogspot.com/

DEFINITELY work with the press/media to increase the pressure. I have some excellent contacts (and a PR system) from my Safe Speed work. I'll try to help. Give me a ring on 01862 893030 and we'll chat it over.

Have you lodged a complaint with the police for criminal negligence?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Thank you for the links i will be getting in touch with Neil Herron and i will phone this afternoon if thats okay?

i have not put in a complaint to the police!

The accident report for the inquest was concluded in march 2004, which suggested that the fault was my son's (the pothole had been repaired, one hour after callum's accident and denied, the were caught on camera) the hgv driver involved in the accident was not interviewed till May 2004 (2 months after the final report) who continually stated when we finally got his witness statement (it got lost) that callum had hit a pothole which nobody on two wheels would have got out of, the hgv driver was not asked to attend the inquest or his statement was not going to be used.

Thankfully the hgv driver wanted to speak at the inquest because he was aware that the pothole had been in a bad condition for years and rattled his waggon if he went over it. Mr Blackburn (the hgv driver) is 100% behind me in my campaign and his life is ruined as well.

During the inquest my solicitor wanted to ask the accident investigator Michael Jeffrey's why the report had been concluded two months before the main witness the hgv driver had been interviewed but we were told he had had a stroke a few weeks before and nobody knew the whereabouts of the documents involving my son's case. our liason officer said at the inquest that he told us at the begining that he thought Callum had hit a pothole and everyone was aware about the state of Bayley Street where my son died.

Sorry for going on but it is great that you are listening

Callum's mum

Hi this is Callum's mum whose Son was killed when his scooter hit a defective manhole cover.

I was hoping to hand my petition in last year but the year proved much harder than i expected. A recent article in my local paper about the council ignoring a defective manhole cover that has been reported to them for six months which is still left unfixed and the local public complaining about the state of the roads as given me the push to get more signitures and to arrange a date with the bikers who have offered to come down to parliament with me to hand it in.

I am having a trip around my supermarkets in Tameside to get more signitures (I currently have about 3000) with another lady who is a member of roadpeace and then I will hand it in because it is doing nothing at the moment stuck in my Son's bedroom.

If anyone would like to sign my online petition it is on:
http://www.ethical-business.com/?sect=detail&pet=2399


More details about my petition are on:

http://www.4callum.com/campaign.html
http://www.4callum.com/why.html

If anybody would like to come down when i hand my petition in please email me roseannekay@aol.com

Thank you everyone for all your support

Callum's Mum