The
street light illuminating the ‘safety zone’ crossing opposite Balmoral Road had
to double as a stop sign last night as someone clearly driving too fast (or too
drunk – or both) ploughed straight into it.
The mangled
wreck of the pole looks like a broken straw with bits of the lighting system strewn
across the road (most having been moved to the pavement now.) The keep left sign,
designed to flex at the bottom when hit was ripped entirely out of the ground
and now lies on the pavement 30 or so metres down the road. I’m not sure where
it first landed but I wouldn’t have though anyone moving it off the road onto the
pavement would deliberately carry it further down the road.
This
little stretch of road has seen too many accidents and this clearly illustrates
the effectiveness of the so called safety zone here. This would be a very sombre
post indeed if someone had actually been standing there when this happened.
The blog
understands that this occurred sometime last night. I would be interested if anyone
knows any more about what happened. They would have had to be going at quite a
speed in order to have done that much damage. Was the car wrecked as much as
the pole? Did the vehicle actually drive straight over and keep going?
Hopefully no one was hurt but I do hope someone is going to be taking
responsibility.
Update (same evening)
The broken pieces have now been cleared away. Thanks to blog reader N. Smith for the comment below filling in a few extra details.
6 COMMENTS (Add Yours Now!):
I live above the sainsbury's and the incident happened at around 7:15 this morning. A rather sheepish looking Asian man by himself got out of the 58 plate, navy VW Jetta and cleared the road for traffic. A recovery truck turned up pretty quick and they both very hastily cleared all evidence of the car from the road and island. I was about to take a photo when they drove off.
Sounds like a genuine accident (albeit prob caused by lack of due care & attention) but at least they cleared up, presumably to avoid a hefty bill from the council!
However does this incident highlight that advance warning of the traffic calming measures needs to be signposted earlier on the approach to the bend. It is quite easy to reach 35mph+ as you drive down from North Cheam when the roads are empty, and if you're not familiar with road layout ahead it's easy to see how an accident such as this can occur . A 20mph limit from outside St Philips / The North End Tavern to the railway bridge would be good thing.
Unless the driver was suddenly taken ill, or overtaken by some other event beyond his control, it cannot have been a "genuine accident ". Anyone driving a vehicle is required to be able to stop short of an obstruction, ergo this person was driving too fast. Apparently he did not wait around to be breathalyzed, or to answer for his careless driving, and 'we' will ultimately pay for the damage he caused. This kind of driver needs to be taken off the road, at least until he can show that he has learned to drive responsibly.
Hopefully, with the evidence provided by N. Smith, the relevant authorities will be able to identify the vehicle from CCTV and the tow truck and charge the driver for careless driving and the much more serious offence of attempting to pervert the cause of justice and failing to report an accident.
Apparently the Victorian memorial outside the Ewell entrance to Nonsuch Park was also destroyed during the same weekend. Looking at the photos on the Sutton Guardian website (which show it as rubble, completely broken off its foundations) it looks to have been hit at high speed, though the report says the driver was released without charge.
I am very sad to hear that the memorial has been destroyed. I really don't understand why people are in such a hurry that they risk the lives of those around them. It is pretty scary crossing where the memorial used to be.
We hear lots about the roadworks slowing traffic down in Worcester Park but outside peak times the roads are clear and it's like a racetrack, especially under the railway bridge and the top end near Sainsbury's.
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