Bring back our cats eyes: "Dangerous experiment" with coast road markings must end, says councillor (From Dorset Echo)
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New call for restoration of cats eyes and white lines on Weymouth-Bridport coast road
11:00am Monday 11th March 2013 in News By Anne Bell
DISPUTE: The coast road between Swyre and Abbotsbury
A NEW call has been issued for white lines and cats eyes to be restored to the Weymouth to Bridport coast road.
County councillor Ronald Coatsworth made the plea amid concerns that crashes on the B3157 have risen in the last five years – in contrast to reduced figures for Dorset as a whole.
He warned that the figures were disastrous and proof that white lines and cats eyes need to be re-instated along the whole length of the road.
His arguments and his interpretation of accident figures are refuted by Dorset County Council.
Coun Coatsworth says he wants the matter debated by the whole council again.
He said: “In the five years up to the end of 2011 the number of collisions and casualties for DCC as a whole has reduced by 25 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
“For the B3157, the number of collisions increased by 21 per cent and the injuries by 17 per cent.
“Full figures are not yet available for 2012 but the six month figures show a 42 per cent increase in collisions over a five year period.
“These are disastrous figures with nearly one accident for every one mile of the road every year and about 1.5 injuries.”
He added: “The county council officers continue to want us to wait another three years before the matter is re-considered again and I do not think this is living in the real world.”
Coun Coatsworth put questions to Peter Finney cabinet member for highways and transportation.
He called for the ‘dangerous experiment’ to be abandoned and the white lines returned.
Coun Finney said 75 per cent of the collisions since the road markings were changed had happened where there were still centre white lines.
He added: “Of the remaining 25 per cent at other locations, the causes varied and included a variety of factors, none of which have been attributed to the lack of centre line markings.
“Poor visibility due to fog is recorded in two of the collisions before the scheme and one since.
“In all three cases the fog related collisions occurred at locations where the centre lines still remain.”
He said given the current collision data and the relatively few negative comments from the general public the situation would be reviewed in 2015.
£1M project introduced in 2010
IT WAS 2010 when the £1million road safety measures were introduced with the aim of reducing collisions by 40 per cent – a move which caused uproar and sparked a partially successful campaign to get lines and cats’ eyes re-instated.
The idea behind removing ‘road clutter’ like white lines and cats’ eyes was that drivers would become more aware of the hazards on the road, it would encourage lower speeds and would reduce ‘visual intrusion’.
Comments(13)
MattWey77
says...
11:21am Mon 11 Mar 13
Having white lines on the road gives people the "ownership" of what they believe is "their" half of the road. This is much more likely to cause increased speed (and thus more damage when an accident occurs), as people only look at their "half" of the road, and believe that oncoming traffic won't be on "their" side.
The idea is that if the white lines in the middle of the road are removed than traffic will drive slower and more carefully. If this isn't happening, that is not the fault of the road, but poor driver education.
Simply: educate the drivers better. My memory suggests that the age bracket for those having accidents is spread from teenagers, to parents, to OAPs - ie. not specifically boy racers who are normally associated with being in the highest risk taking category.
IDONTKNOWIFITISTRRUE
says...
11:28am Mon 11 Mar 13
But this isn't happening.
When driving at night, cats-eyes in the middle of the road help to keep traffic over to the left of the middle of the road.
unexpected error
says...
12:01pm Mon 11 Mar 13
I doubt the very people who keep supporting this ridiculous experiment have to drive this road as it is awful in periods of poor visibility. I have yet to meet anyone who does not want the white lines back who uses this road on a regular basis.
I simply don't buy the arguement that making roads more difficult to negotiate improves safety as humans are infallable and drivers do get distracted or lose concentration. Road safety should be about minimising the risk to road users if such lapses occur.
shy talk
says...
12:05pm Mon 11 Mar 13
Dorset Guy1
says...
12:21pm Mon 11 Mar 13
earlofplunket
says...
4:21pm Mon 11 Mar 13
wessex-andy
says...
5:28pm Mon 11 Mar 13
PossumGoose
says...
7:30pm Mon 11 Mar 13
The list of accidents quoted has been subjected to an emotional free audit by our County Councillor and the outcome is that all the accidents have occurred where the white lines REMAIN – which is hardly surprising as these are all the dangerous bits, sharp corners, junctions etc.
weymouthfox
says...
9:46pm Mon 11 Mar 13
I travel this road a lot and at night and in fog and mist, the white lines and the cats eyes are vital. Why do the County Council spend so much money on silly experiements like this? I suggest Councillor Finney has a trip along the coast road in fog and he will then know the problem.
unexpected error
says...
9:32am Tue 12 Mar 13
PossumGoose wrote:Yes but as I have previously said it's not just about the actual location of the impact of the crash that is important, it is also what has led up to the crash.
So many people who know so little about road safety. First of all, the cat’s eyes HAVEN’T been removed on the open road. They’ve been re-set at nationally established intervals.
The list of accidents quoted has been subjected to an emotional free audit by our County Councillor and the outcome is that all the accidents have occurred where the white lines REMAIN – which is hardly surprising as these are all the dangerous bits, sharp corners, junctions etc.
Hedgehogwinter66
says...
2:29pm Tue 12 Mar 13
Jezebella
says...
9:47am Mon 18 Mar 13
IDONTKNOWIFITISTRRUE says...
11:06am Mon 11 Mar 13
So if fences are removed from cliff edges, people will be more aware of the danger and stop falling over them. Similarly, perhaps railway crossing gates should be removed to make people realise the dangers from passing trains?