Bikers want barrier pulled down
Saturday 8th March 2008, 5:59PM GMT.
Motorcyclists in Telford are calling for a traffic barrier to be pulled down claiming their lives are being put at risk.
Bugsplatz Motorcycle Club says the new 50 metre black barrier at the Old Park Roundabout on the approach from Telford town centre, reduces driver visibility and stops cars spotting motorcyclists.
Telford & Wrekin Council says the barrier is designed to stop motorists speeding straight across a roundabout in the face of oncoming traffic.
It aims to reduce rear end shunts as motorists will slow down when approaching the roundabout – the scene of 20 recent accidents – because the wall reduces their vision to the right.
But Bugsplatz secretary Sarah Harrison said: “Our lives are being put at risk by this experiment and it is only a matter of time before a motorcyclist is severely injured or even killed as a result.
“We would therefore ask that the barrier is removed.”
The club says the distance a vehicle has to stop has been cut by the barrier, which reduces the likelihood of a driver spotting a vehicle with a small frontal area.
Mrs Harrison said reducing visibility on the approach to the roundabout did not take into account the safety of other road users.
The club has written to the council about its fears and MP David Wright, who is looking into its concerns.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s lead member for environment Stephen Bentley, said: “A similar barrier installed in Nottingham has proved successful in reducing shunt accidents on a roundabout.”
The overall cost of the scheme was £140,000.
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Only £140,000?
Was it done on the cheap?
Another well thought out scheme?
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£140k to build a wall, I’m quids in here guvnor!!
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What idiots do T&W have running this department?
So this barrier is going to reduce shunts at the expense of motorcyclists safety – I can understand why they aren’t impressed!
When I saw the barrier I was gobsmacked (I actually thought it was temporary) to find out that it is experimental and cost £140,000 leaves me incensed!
Over what period of time were these 20 accidents recorded?
What percentage do these accidents represent against the amount of people who actually used the roundabout over the same period of time?
These are all questions that you will never get answered by T&W because some anonymous idiot has been given free reign with our money and is never required to justify the expenditure or to quantify the results.
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Barrier works for this road user. Why do some people have to moan about anything and everything.
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Having used this roundabout for many years, I would suggest that the problems, far from being solved by further limiting visibility, would be much reduced by improving visibility by removing some of the foliage from the island and reducing its height.
Many’s the time I’ve been ready to set off on to the island only have to change my plans due to the rapid approach of a vehicle travelling from the Lawley direction turning right towards Dawley – said vehicle being out of view until the last minute. The new barrier does nothing to solve this.
The concern of motorcyclists is a genuine one. This ill-conceived eyesore should be taken down, and the council official responsible for it’s creation should be disciplined.
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Im sorry did I read that wrong, £140,000 for some black plastic posts. Im in the wrong job….
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“It aims to reduce rear end shunts as motorists will slow down when approaching the roundabout”
Will they? Well, I hope so. But those drivers who slow to a safe speed on approaching a roundabout do not need a visibility reducing barrier to remind them.
And those that do need reminding probably don’t care if they can’t see properly and will just speed on, regardless.
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Who ever thought of this needs strapping to the front of a car and then driven continually around the roundabout until the laws of common sense and probability take their course. Toying with peoples lives is NOT acceptable.
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How are lives being put at risk? The barrier is there so you have to slow down before going onto the island.
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Bob i agree
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Stupid idea! why pay so mouch tax when all they do is mess you about? lets see how long it takes for an accident, just too prove how useless the wall really is! what a joke! T&W planners needs to think about things before wasting money like that! £140k on a wall when pot holes need filling! try and ride a bike these days, ITS NOT EASY!
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bob,charlie and all who condone this insane idea…..i ride a motorcycle as well as drive a car and can only be amazed at your comments….there are certain elements of road users who will not let this barrier deter them from approaching at speed i have actually witnessed this and seen many late braking attempts..this then greatly reduces the chance of oncoming traffic seeing the vehicle and being able to act accordingly…..may i suggest i take you on the back of my bike and we can see how you feel when its you put at risk by some perilous idiot in a hurry for a meeting or thinking they are Lewis hamilton etc(there are plenty of them about!!)if there is a single incident where a collision occurs or someone gets hurt,as they claim “they couldnt see”then its one too many…lets just hope its not someone you know eh!!!
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seen these things spring up all over the country for the last 10 years or so.. i can see what they’re trying to do, (can’t see what’s coming so you have to slow down to a crawl to peer round the wall) i thought vision was a necessary component of driving, i must have been wrong.. we could all drive with one hand over our eyes.. then we’ll have to drive everywhere at 5 mph.. as none of us have the required skill to judge our speed, the speed of on coming traffic or know our vehicles performance enough that we have to be nannied in this way.. 20 accidents.. none of which were KSA, or they’d have bleated on about deaths not just accidents.. out of how many thousands of cars using this junction every year?
sod this i’m moving to france
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Hi Sean, I also ride a motorbike but can’t see what the problem is. The island has caused problems in the past by motorists racing straight onto it. The ‘screen’ is there so whether the Island is clear or not you still have to slow down. The motorists that don’t slow down or break late should re take their driving tests.
I will decline your offer of a ride on the back of your bike if as you say your a perilous idiot in a hurry for a meeting or thinking you are Lewis hamilton ;o)
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What’s the matter with traffic lights?
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bob…read the comment properly please it states about “you being put at risk by a perilous idiot”in the context of being the victim not the perpitraitor!..and if you ride yourself may i suggest you use this route more often when riding and do some in depth research of your own to see how it feels to be put at such severe risk by such a waste of public funds!as for the drivers taking tests again i whole heartedly agree.but they have to be caught and prosecuted…when will this happen….probably only after someone gets hurt!!too late then
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Hi Sean, i was teasing about the being put at risk bit, it was the way it was written.
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Bob and Sean, Time out.
Go and take out your frustration on the barrier
or the moron that put it there.
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the thought had crossed my mind !!!!!!…”swerved to avoid a fox officer!!!!”
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For what it is worth I e-mailed telford council on the 3rd of march, I have not had a reply (11 days elapsed) I haev resent the following **********
Dear Sir,
I see that the installation of the Visibility Reducing Barrier at Old Park Roundabout has generated a fair bit of attention in the motoring community. As a motorcyclist I am intrigued at the likely effect this will have on traffic on the roundabout and approaching it. I have a couple of questions that may help me understand the logic of the barriers.
An article in the Shropshire Star Councillor Steven Bentley alluded to a similar scheme set up at a roundabout in Nottingham.
My questions are:
To which roundabout in Nottingham does he refer?
What statistics are available for this roundabout – before and after installation?
What other speed reduction measures were considered and why were they not adopted?
How many accidents have occurred at the roundabout since the screens were sited?
I am aware of two similar ideas being trialled in other locations, both of which have been removed and other systems put in place as it became apparent that the reduced visibilty created a hazard rather than reducing the hazard.
Thank you in advance
******************
Either they cannot be bothered to reply or they do not have any data to support their claims.
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