Headline of the Bolton Paper .. photo of a road (Looks like a rural NSL to me)
and
SLOW DOWN
3200 accidents
4500 injured
30 dead including 5 children
the shocking three year casualty toll on Bolton's roads
They do have speed cameras ..
From
www.theboltonnews.co.uk
Quote:
Death on the roads: The shocking facts
By Deborah Linton
(The front page of The Bolton News - photo on the web site)
THE shocking accident toll on Bolton's roads is revealed today in figures obtained by The Bolton News.
Statistics show that 30 people - five of them children - were killed in crashes between January, 2003 and December, 2005.
Almost 4,500 people, including drivers, passengers and pedestrians, were injured during the same period. Many of the accidents were down to speeding.
Road safety campaigner, David Jones, whose daughter Natalie was killed by a speeding motorist, said: "It's frightening to hear these figures. We need to see more measures in place to combat dangerous driving. I would urge motorists to think about the road every second that they're driving and slow down. It could be one of their own loved ones that is hurt in an accident."
The figures were compiled by Bolton Council's road accident investigation officers, using police records which detail more than 3,200 road accidents in Bolton between 2003 and 2005, the latest period for which figures are available.
They show there were a total of 3,200 crashes on the roads of Bolton. The incidents led to 4,500 people being injured, 743 of whom were children aged under 16.
Council bosses have vowed to push forward a number of initiatives to cut the number of casualties on roads in Bolton.
A spokesman said: "Much of the work we carry out on our highways goes some way to improving road safety, though this can be undermined by poor driver behaviour."
Of the 3,200 accidents, 28 resulted in a total of 30 deaths. Eleven of those crashes were caused by speeding motorists.
The council has drawn-up a map of the borough, pinpointing accident blackspots in each ward, ranking the most treacherous junctions and stretches of road.
Snydale Way, at junction five of the M61, in Hunger Hill, was identified as the most dangerous junction, with 29 collisions resulting in 36 casualties, over the three years. D'Havilland Way (A6027), at junction six of the M61, ranked second, with 26 collisions and 33 casualties.
The A579, through Daubhill, was identified as the most dangerous stretch of road, with more than 45 accidents per kilometre in Derby Street, and 43 accidents per kilometre in St Helens Road.
Sgt Dean Memory, of Greater Manchester Police's Traffic Management and Planning Unit, said: "We are constantly assessing accident hot spots and working with the council to improve on the factors that lead to accidents, such as increasing visibility and making it easier to judge road speed and direction through changes to road markings, priorities and speed limits.
"Though one accident is one accident too many, we are pleased that the general trend for fatal or serious injury accidents continues to go down."
The number of road accidents in the borough has dropped by 250 since 2001. Bolton Council has a Local Road Safety Scheme budget of £720,000 for the current financial year and carries out 12 safety improvement schemes a year. In a new road safety push, highways chiefs will visit area forums across the borough to ask residents how they want to see funds spent.
Jo Stagg of RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), said: "These figures reinforce the need to continue the fight against speeding drivers.
"Drivers and riders exceeding the speed limit are more likely to be involved in crashes."
What are the main causes of fatal accidents on Bolton's roads?
46 pc - driver lost control
39 pc - excessive speed
25 pc - pedestrian entered the road without due care
18 pc - driver or pedestrian failed to look
14 pc - inattention by driver or pedestrian (Some accidents were caused by a combination of the above factors.)
I think we need a better breakdown of some of these stats..
Quote:
Casualty breakdown:
1,777 drivers
1,124 passengers
805 pedestrians
243 cyclists
264 motorcyclists
I reported some time ago about the teacher who died on the A6 NSL at Blackrod. She was apparently taken ill at the wheel of her car. There is talk of reducing the speed limit .. a move which appears unwelcome to the locals there per the letters I read in this Bolton paper.
I have removed some part of the article as I do not name people on internet fora - though feel free to visit the website.
The paper lists 3 young victims - and I posted up each of these sad stories as they appeared in the Bolton paper at the time. The original stories and reports of the inquests tell the truth of these accidents. They are not as they are reported in this piece. The original pastes are in the archives somewhere on this site - and again I did not name the victims - feeling it best to allow some dignity.
However..
The paper recounts the story of the 15 year old who died crossing a road in the Bury area (I posted up this story from the B.E.N on PH in my "six of onehalf dozen of the other" thread over there and re-pasted to this site. Another poster on PH posted up the link to the Bury Times at the time which gave the same account.
The fifteen year old was killed as she crossed a road at 11.30 pm .. and had reportedly downed two bottles of neat vodka prior to this. This little fact seems to be missed out when the bereaved family petitioned for a speed camera.. funded by the council but administrated by DriveSafe I agree nothing is more precious than a child's life.. and that includes not allowing them to drink themselves senseless outside an off-licence..
We have the story of the 23 year old father who was in a car driven by his pal. No passenger in this vehicle was wearing a seatbelt. His mother is very balanced by commenting that more training and education for young dirvers is required and the importance of wearing a seatbelt must be stressed
We have the 13 year old who was killed by a local DJ who was showing off in his sports car and was later jailed for dangerous driving.. rightly so. I also posted up the original of this story which occurred at a wide traffic light crossroads in the Farnworth area. This has since been significantly re-engineered for the better per my sisters.
However, this accident again occurred late on a Sunday evening. The DJ had thrown a party earlier that day and these young kids had attended. At the time he was tearing up and down the road with some young boys in his car .. no doubt being watched by these girls whom he had just dropped off. After ploughing through the crash barriers into the two 13 year olds (One K and one SI) .. this lunatic ran away and was in the shower claiming no knowledge when the police called
He had been taking drugs and had been drinking per the report of his trial.. at which he received 5 years.... :rolleyes:
However, whilst the 13 year old's mother states that the family will be serving a life sentence of grief when this person is released from prison.. I cannot help but wonder why on earth they allowed their girl to attend this person's "party" in the first place per the original rBolton Evening News report of August 2004.
Let's put it this way.. mine would get a firm "no" from me and Wildy to go to any such "party" .. but then I think they have a bit more sense anyway ..
I have posted some of the comments to this story on the web site
=====================
Quote:
4:19pm today
COMMENTS
Posted by: James on 1:13pm today
The A579, through Daubhill, was identified as the most dangerous stretch of road, with more than 45 accidents per kilometre in Derby Street, and 43 accidents per kilometre in St Helens Road.
As a former resident of Morris Green and a regular user of those roads - it does not surprise me one little bit. I have never seen so much bad driving, illegal parking, people pulling out without warning in my life. In fact, it was so bad, I used to take longer, alternative routes to avoid it.
The police/council would do well to launch a crack down on the illegal parking situation on that road.
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Posted by: D partington on 1:51pm today
It seems obvious to me that the driving test for cars is out of date for the amount of traffic on the roads today.The test should be brought in line with hgv and psv tests and also as in the above mentioned tests taken every 5yrs with compulsory medicals every 5yrs.After all we are all on the same roads and contrary to popular belief i think you can do just as much damage with a vehicle whatever your driving.
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Posted by: D partington on 1:56pm today
I should correct a point in my previous post,the medicals should be every 5yrs after the age of 45yrs
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Posted by: K HUnter on 1:58pm today
Daubhill is the most dangerous? No surprise at all really, confusing bus lanes, a complete absence of police and traffic wardens and extremely poor standrds of driving all contribute to this. I drive it regularly and I often feel intimidated by agressive and dangerous drivers.
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Posted by: joe on 4:16pm today
D Partington.
Why pick on the over 45s? I am over 45 and accident free from day one, I am qualified police driver.
The current MOT test for cars, no use if there are no police to ‘pull’ defective cars etc.
I agree that the driving test is a bit of a joke, with no motorway or night driving test.
The court system, a driver with no licence, no insurance etc. fined 200 pounds and disqualified for a year. Is this a don’t do it again message, I don’t think so.
We need more traffic police on the road, to educate the motorist not just to generate funds.
Our politicians have introduced more and more laws, but no one to enforce them. The mobile phone use by drivers is a prime example, if you isn’t going to get caught then drivers will continue to use them. How many drivers know the rules about overtaking on the approach to a pelican crossing?
The problem is most people throw the Highway Code away after the day of their test, and drive with aggression, with little or no regard for other road users.
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Posted by: joe on 4:23pm today
Re my last post, forgot to mention the hopeless road planning and markings of our roads, and please get rid of those useless empty bus lanes that go nowhere.
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Posted by: OldBoltonian on 4:57pm today
How on earth has Blackburn Road managed to escape mention? Especially around the Tramways stretch, where I doubt most of the drivers have even taken a test let along passsed one.....
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Posted by: OldBoltonian on 4:59pm today
OldBoltonian wrote:
How on earth has Blackburn Road managed to escape mention? Especially around the Tramways stretch, where I doubt most of the drivers have even taken a test let along passsed one.....
.. alone passed....
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Posted by: AC on 5:04pm today
46 pc - driver lost control
39 pc - excessive speed
25 pc - pedestrian entered the road without due care
18 pc - driver or pedestrian failed to look
14 pc - inattention by driver or pedestrian (Some accidents were caused by a combination of the above factors.)
Not one mention of any contribution from alcohol andno mention of correlation with age.
Speed par se does not kill, INAPPROPRIATE speed does.
Compulsory eye tests for those over 40 years of age and a graded driving licence A-E. A grade pass equals unlimited road use. E grade equals highly restricted road use.
Might save lives but it wouldn't win votes which is the main reason why raod safety is mainly lip service to the govt.
If it wasn't then all road tax revenues would go to road safety and up keep.
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Posted by: Jen on 5:06pm today
In the words of Metallica "its sad but true!" I have been driving for 91/2 years and am known amongst friends and relatives for being a safe driver. However, it is not your own driving you need to be wary of - it is everyone elses. My partner at age 34 has ventured into the world of driving recently and is discovering this quickly. In the last 7 days driving from work in town to Great Lever, I have had 4 vehicles pull out of side roads in front of me, 3 cars cutting me up at traffic lights particularly those joining Moor Lane with Trinity St and several vehicles moving into my lane without looking and slamming brakes on - what makes it worse is that the majority of these drivers are taxi drivers. I have contacted the relevant companies to complin about the drivers but it is unlikely anything will be done. I am now taking down registration numbers - i believe these drivers should be named and shamed and should those vehicles be mentioned more than several times, i believe the Police should enforce re-testing. What do others think?
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Posted by: D partington on 6:27pm today
joe wrote:
D Partington. Why pick on the over 45s? I am over 45 and accident free from day one, I am qualified police driver. The current MOT test for cars, no use if there are no police to ‘pull’ defective cars etc. I agree that the driving test is a bit of a joke, with no motorway or night driving test. The court system, a driver with no licence, no insurance etc. fined 200 pounds and disqualified for a year. Is this a don’t do it again message, I don’t think so. We need more traffic police on the road, to educate the motorist not just to generate funds. Our politicians have introduced more and more laws, but no one to enforce them. The mobile phone use by drivers is a prime example, if you isn’t going to get caught then drivers will continue to use them. How many drivers know the rules about overtaking on the approach to a pelican crossing? The problem is most people throw the Highway Code away after the day of their test, and drive with aggression, with little or no regard for other road users.
Joe i was not meaning to pick on the over 45s on purpose i was just relating the rules regarding hgv and psv tests.But apart from the test no car driver is req.to take a medical for many yrs.Its a fact that many drivers have defective eyesight and as age creeps on their reactions are not as sharp as they should be.If medicals were brought in at 45 or even 55 then i feel it could improve road safety.As you say to not have night driving and motorway driving as part of the modern day test is ludicrous.
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Posted by: andrea on 7:25pm today
no wonder daubhill has been mentioned maybe if drivers did not park on wrong side of road with their lights on we maybe able to see one way to prevent this is for a permanant police officer of traffic warden based outside the lloyds tsb bank. i for one would not mind paying extra tax for this if it would save just one persons life.
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It has had a chequered history in its fight to achieve this status .. but that's apparently a local rant per the teacher who teaches at a pretigious School in the town. Her students head for traditional ivory towers of academia though.) 