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http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/viewa ... ?id=380497
Reduced speed limit is planned for crash site
Published on 20/06/2006
By Phil Coleman
THE stretch of the A6 where six people died on Sunday afternoon was just weeks away from getting a reduced speed limit, highways chiefs have confirmed.
With the death toll on Cumbria’s roads now standing at 22 so far this year, statistics show that there are few A class roads in the county as dangerous as the A6.
Since August 2004, the number of deaths on the A6 between Carlisle and Penrith has reached 16.
It was a previous fatal accident near to the scene of Sunday’s tragedy at Plumpton that created pressure for the safety improvements, planned for August. That accident happened last October when 22-year-old Gina Renucci died along with businesswoman Dorothy Lister, 55.
Highways chiefs at Cumbria County Council later approved a new 40mph speed, down from the current 60mph limit, covering a half mile stretch of the road either side of the crossroads at Plumpton.
That will include the site of Sunday’s accident, but the change is not due to come into force until August.
County councillors Phillip Chappelhow and Bert Richardson had campaigned for the change, saying the sad deaths of the two women had allowed them to exert pressure for the improvements.
In July last year, the A6 again featured in a multiple tragedy following an accident near to Scalesceugh Hall.
That accident claimed the lives of four Penrith teenagers and a pensioner.
The victims included 19-year-olds Luke Johnson and Neil Guy, who died with their friends Harriet McGilloway and Carly Ann Hullock, both 17, when the Honda Civic car they were in span out of control on a bend outside Scalesceugh Hall.
Their car burst into flames after colliding sideways on with a Suzuki Vitara being driven by 72-year-old Dalston father-of-three Roger Diver.
At the inquest, north east Cumbria coroner David Osborne vowed to write to highways chiefs to urge safety improvements on the road.
His plea was followed by a decision to install solar-powered signs warning drivers to slow down at the top and the bottom of the hill at the accident scene, a few miles south of Carlisle.
A year earlier, in August 2004, the same stretch of A6 was the scene of a triple fatal accident when motorist Lee Sorek, 26, of Long Marton, near Appleby, died.
His passenger Ian Dixon, 37, also died, along with bus driver Mark Lynan, 44, who was in a second car. Though the cause of Sunday’s crash is not yet established, road safety experts say driver education is the key to saving lives.
Cumbria Fire Service group manager Alan Sowerby, who attended Sunday’s crash along with part-time fire crews from Penrith and Lazonby, said: “Cumbria has some of the most dangerous roads in terms of fatalities.
“We don’t yet know what went wrong on Sunday, and can’t make any judgements, but we just want to emphasise to people that you really do need to drive carefully, maintaining concentration and observing the speed limits.”
Experts say that often, fatal accidents resulted from a combination of factors, such as weather, the road conditions and the manner of driving involved.
The fire service is working with other agencies in the county to improve safety awareness among drivers, particularly those aged between 17 and 25, who are statistically more likely to be at risk.
Mr Sowerby said he wanted to reach out to young drivers, or organisations involved with such groups, who could benefit from and are willing to take up road awareness training with the service.
Kevin Tea, communications manager with Cumbria Safety Cameras, said that driver education was part of a three-prong approach taken in Cumbria to reduce serious and fatal accidents.
The other two strategies focus on engineering solutions to road safety issues – such as improving road signs; and the enforcement of speed limits and other safety laws.
This includes the deployment of three safety camera vans, which deter motorists from speeding because they are so highly visible.
He said: “There’s no such thing as a dangerous road. Thousands of people drive along the A6 but we don’t have thousands of accidents. We don’t know the cause of the latest accident yet, but a lot of accidents can be avoided by people driving correctly.”
Cumbria Police spokesman Mike Head said that officers are keen to speak to any person who may have seen either of the two cars – a blue Ford Escort and Toyota Prius – involved in Sunday’s crash, either before or at the time of the accident.
A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said the council was planning to reduce the speed limit at the accident site.
“We have been shocked and saddened by Sunday’s tragic accident on the A6 near Plumpton, which is being investigated by the police,” he said.
“In the meantime, we are pressing ahead with existing plans to introduce a new 40mph speed restriction in the area. This will include interactive ’slow down’ signs, road markings and lighting. Work is due to start early in August.”
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