Shropshire was today urged to follow the example of Birmingham and install glow-in-the-dark markers alongside badly lit waterways to prevent people falling in.
Grant Taylor is concerned about the number of people falling into the River Severn, particularly in Shrewsbury where several people have died in recent years.
Following the deaths of three young men who fell into a canal on an unlit section of the network in Birmingham, Mr Grant set up a business called Traxeyes to address the problem.
The company, registered in Dorrington, near Shrewsbury, has come up with a way of lighting the edge of footpaths and towpaths during the night at a minimal cost.
Mr Taylor said: “This is a matter of life and death and that is why I am so passionate about it. Shrewsbury desperately needs someth- ing like this if we are going to stop any more lives being lost.
“The deaths in Birmingham were completely avoidable if they had only seen the edge of the towpaths. When I looked into it, I couldn’t see any viable product on the market that would solve the problem, and that’s why I came up with Traxeyes.”
The suggestion follows calls to improve the safety around the River Severn.
Shropshire Council asked consultants to carry out a risk assessment of the town’s river this year following the deaths of Christopher Wall, 21, and Hayden Reynolds-Evans, 18.
The marker studs require eight minutes of daylight to glow throughout the night. Samples have been sent to Shropshire Council.
Tim Sneddon, Shropshire Council’s head of environmental maintenance, said: “We would be happy to receive and consider any suggestions that may help to improve safety.”
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What an overeaction yet again to the river severn. It’s not badly lit, and tell me how in any way will a glowing spot spot people hurling themselves in when drunk? If anything it’ll attract drunks into the river!
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It will be like Moths to a flame.
Drunks will see this as a game – walking along the glow in the dark spots. Of course, having never been drunk myself, I am just guessing that that will be the case.
And I think it is a bit of a stretch to suggest that these dots will “light the edge of footpaths…”. They might indicate where the edge is, but light? That would suggest illuminate as a street light would – I don’t think so.
Anyway, kids will collect them, they’ll last about 10 minutes. Bedrooms will be glowing all over Shrewsbury.
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Not too sure if this will help as if the plan is to warn those who have been drinking then surely they may well have difficulty in working out which of the lights they can actually see is the real one!
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If your blind drunk, how is this going to help?
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Sounds like a good idea. The catseyes that are used on the roads have proved their worth, ask anyone who was a driver before they were invented.
Anyone who is so inebriated as to stagger into the road, which you see often if travelling late in the evening, is dicing with death. To walk alongside a river in the same condition is equally stupid.
You can’t stop people being stupid but anything that improves safety in an unobtrusive and inexpensive way gets my vote.
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It’s all rather pointless. Shrewsbury is the home of the man who first discovered natural selection.
Falling into the river whilst inebriated and drowning is simply a matter of natural selection, thus deleting the genes of those, too stupid to be allowed to procreate from the gene pool.
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lol !
very good observation,like it
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Presumably these will be solar powered otherwise they’ll be forever changing the batteries,so how will these show and charge up when they’re under 2′ of flood water, or do they emerge from the water like mini periscopes?
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Why would you be walking on the paths if the river is flooded? Surely that is just ridiculous and asking for trouble!
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Yet another load of rubbish.well it’s only rate payers money in the end.
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these look brilliant, cant shrewsbury do it with all that cycle shrewsbury money? its terrible to cycle at night now, i cycle in the summer but i dont feel safe on the rural lanes at night and its not much better in town, these cat eyes style ones are low energy and really look the part
i also support the lighter later campaign for road safety http://www.lighterlater.org/
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Why would they help you cycling at night, surely you have got lights fitted to your bike and have them actually turnedon, or are you one of the many who do not bother to have lights fitted and expect everyone else to see you and move out of your way !!!!!!!!
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All of you above are correct of course. Lets continue to do nothing, it’s been working great so far.
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I have not laughed and cried so much in a long time, conjuring up Darwin is priceless but I wonder if Warrington North has any family that if by some miss fortune died/or had an accident due not to the evolution of the gene pool theory but rather from neglect of a council to do what they can to prevent such an accident would be willing to draw on his/her Darwin theory in a coroners court? Yes I am the inventor of Traxeyes and on one site alone before Traxeyes was fitted 38 people died before even the most ardent gene pool theorist did anything but since being fitted not a single accident or death in 4 years, to JGH Traxeyes don’t use batteries it’s a crystal formula that lasts 10 years,oh and by the way in 4 years less than 1% have been vandalised or stolen thanks to its design.
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Well said Grant.
#7 JGH, how many people do you know who cycle or even walk along the riverside path when it is 2 ft under water?
It does make you wonder however whether these same light discs that have been so successful in Birmingham will work in this scenario bearing in mind that canals are man made and do not flood as a general rule. Will the lights be water resistent?
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Whilst my heart goes out for the families of the loved ones lost. It was drink that was their downfall not the River. I walk along the River from the Welsh Bridge to the Railway Station every morning at 5.30am, its very dark at the moment but I take a torch. During the summer I have seen young men jump in the River at that time in a morning, no barriers or lights would stop them. Please Please do not waste any money.
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Don’t you think it would be a better idea to educate people in moderate alcohol consumption and how to order a taxi rather than spending the publics hard earned council tax contributions illuminating the tow path.
I think a little more research into the behavioural patterns of the blind drunk is needed as I don’t think these lights will get noticed until your face is pressed firmly up against them.
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Is it cynical of me to suggest that Grant Taylor (surely Mr Taylor and not Mr Grant?) is passionate about this idea and believes that Shrewsbury desperately needs something like this because it will mean a decent payday for him?
The article doesn’t suggest that Shropshire Council are even thinking of using such a system, so the article is little more than an advert for Mr Taylor’s firm. I’d also suggest that in these financially hard-pressed times and with the current government promoting ‘the Big Society’ and personal responsibility that any local authority is either unlikely to spend money on such an idea. If they did I’m sure they wouldn’t here the last of it from the opposition and large sections of the electorate.
As Karen (#13) suggests the unfortunate deaths were not caused by a lack of lighting, far better if you are that way inclined to spend money on treating the cause and not the symptoms…
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What a mean-minded bunch. This simple, long-lasting, reasonably priced move to make the paths by the river safer after dark should surely be applauded.
I can’t get my head round this attitude of ‘drunk???!!! walking by the river in the dark???!!! dead? – serves ‘em right’
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I think that people aren’t mean it’s just that they hold a sense of personal responsibility and discipline and have spoken out accordingly.
Warrington North has hit the proverbial nail right on the head, it is all part of the natural selection process.
“Life can be demanding and tough, it’s even tougher if you’re stupid or irresponsible as well”
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‘drunk???!!! walking by the river in the dark???!!! dead? – serves ‘em right’
Couldn’t have put it better myself Kath. Well said, summed it up nicely.
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Woh Tiger..
“drunk???!!! walking by the river in the dark???!!! dead? – serves ‘em right’”….. ( i suggest you think of the family)
you two are possibly the most cruel muppets i have ever seen post a comment before. “Serves em right”????? for what havin a pint and drowning!!
Im sorry, but have you ever been drunk before? im guessing not…These people dont mean to die when they get drunk, its not as if they start the night by deciding which ‘s bend’ they go in at…
but its nice to see that despite the evolution of the human being, we still have a link to the past.
You pair of chimps.
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Nice looking product. But. Did these people fall in because it was too dark and they couldn’t see where the water was?
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“it’s just that they hold a sense of personal responsibility and discipline and have spoken out accordingly.”
To the exclusion of all sense of common humanity? Self-righteous, self-satisfied tosh.
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So anybody who doesn’t agree with you is lacking in common humanity, perhaps they’re not afraid to speak out and expect people responsible for their own actions rather than making everybody else who do act appropriately to pick up the tab.
Perhaps we could also fit these beacons of hope along every unlit country road just in case somebody who’s had one over the eight knows where to avoid the oncoming vehicles?
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Why shouldn’t people be held responsible for their own actions?
I suppose you’ll not be happy until we all club together and pay for a lighted walkway so those who fancy a bit of fun on the way home from the pub? Yes! I see your dream… We could have it so the paving slabs light up in a sequence,I can sense the Jackson rythm already
“Ka-thy is not my lover,
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one,
but the kid is not my son”
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What a joke, the only use these glow in the dark spots will have, is give illumination to what part of the river the poor soul, is going to fall into.
These are not the answer, when are the council going to realise that fences in specific places, are the solution.
They need to stop thinking about cheaper options, and think about long term investment.
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At a time when councils are turning off street lights all over the country surely these represent a cheap, environmentally friendly substitute?
The point aboout lighting up the edge of waterways is valid but there will be many more deaths and injuries around the country with no street lighting to demarcate where the road ends and the pavement begins.
Yes Mr Taylor or whatever his mname is might make a fortune but if it helps reduce local authority spending in a safe way I for one dont care how rich he gets!
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Yes, I used to have the same problem driving along that stretch of motorway between Telford and Wolves – I kept driving up the embankments because I couldn’t see where I was going. Then someone told me my car had headlights and I was suddenly able to drive in a straight line at night.
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My god. Is this the best we can offer.
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