Opposite the C of E School near St Chads, on Hall Lane, there is a set of traffic
lights and a very busy crossing which has already seen at least one fatality when a cleaner
from Barclaycard was killed several years ago. There must have been more accidents at this
apparent 'blackspot.'
As explained on Kirkby Times, there was an accident on Mon the 5th of
May when a Kirkby child, who happens to be my nephew, was knocked off a bike
on the same crossing opposite the C of E School. Luckily no harm was done;
thankfully the driver of the car involved stopped and was going slow enough
to be able to apply the brakes in good time.
I decided to investigate the crossing, and took photographs and
videoed the actual time the traffic lights allow people to cross.
The video also has audio (sound) so you can also listen to and time
the beeps which signal to the blind or visibly impaired that it is safe
to cross. This video evidence is damning as you will see for yourself when
you download it.. Whilst taking images at the scene, I also decided to
ask several people crossing what they thought of the dangers at the
crossing. 8 out 10 were of the opinion the traffic lights did not give
you enough time to cross. All the Elderly people I asked said it was a
danger to them. Most people agreed that the cars were breaking the speed
limit whilst some never knew what the limit was. It is 30mph, but even as
I stood there, I could see traffic which was going faster.
See the Evidence for yourself
The first video is a small file size, it will play in windows
media player if you simply right click it, you can also left click and
'save as'. This First video shows you the density of traffic at the
crossing on Hall Lane. In 11 seconds, 7 vehicles can be seen driving past.
Click here for video No 1
The second video, also small in size, shows the traffic lights
in action. Both videos were taken at approx 4.00pm on Weds May 7th 2003
opposite the school. On the second video, I pressed the button to stop
traffic; this can take between a few seconds and a couple of minutes to
activate the lights to stop traffic. The first indication of the traffic
being halted is the red man changing to the green man on the light facing
the pedestrian. Many elderly folk wait for the actual signal to sound, a
clear audible beeping sound, but this beeping sound is only audible for 5
seconds!. By the time the beep is heard, you have the grand total of 15
seconds to cross the road. The evidence is clear. The video shows a Red
Car pass the lights (2 seconds into the video), 2 seconds later, the beeping
can be heard. At 16 seconds into the video, the traffic once again starts up.
The video is only 19 seconds long, it doesn't take a genius to work out that
something is very wrong here. If you view the video in windows media player you
will have a timer counting the seconds and can freeze the frames. You cannot
see the actual lights change, but the red car almost jumped the lights and
just made it with less than a second. A child walking out
would not have a chance.
The video has been shot sideways but you can see clearly the crossing,
its only 19 secs and if you view it a few times you will observe the dangers.
Click here for Video No 2
What can I do?
Contact Knowsley Council,(0151 489 6000) they are aware of this news article, tell them to lengthen the time that pedestrians get to cross.
Contact your own Councillor regarding
any dangers in your area and try to organise actions, such as blocking off roads,
demonstrations and petition your community to back whatever you want to campaign on.
If your Councillor is not up to scratch, consider standing yourself. Send all reports
here to Kirkby Times involving in particular this issue of road safety in the community.
If you are a parent, make sure your children are fully aware of the dangers. If you are
a Car driver, stick to the 30 mph limit and the 20 mph limit. Go slower in any
built up residential roads and bear in mind that even 5mph over the limit you
are unlikely to stop in time.
Did you know?
Around two-thirds of all accidents where people are killed or injured happen
on roads where the speed limit is 30mph or less.
Seven out of ten drivers regularly break the speed limit on
these roads usually by about 5mph.
An average family car traveling at 35mph will need an extra 21
feet (six meters) to stop than one traveling at 30mph.
If you hit a cyclist or pedestrian at 35mph the force of
the impact increases by more than a third than at 30mph.
A 1mph reduction in average speed will cut accident frequency by 5 per cent.
On urban roads 70 per cent of cars will exceed the speed limit if the road is clear.
It is not safer to drive faster at night. Casualty
rates are double that during daylight hours due to higher speeds because
of less traffic, higher alcohol consumption, tiredness and darkness.
A quick guide to braking distances
The first figure represents the speed travelled at and the
second is the braking distance measured in car lengths…….
20mph = 3 car lengths to stop
30mph = 6 car lengths to stop
40 mph = 9 car lengths to stop
50 mph = 13 car lengths to stop
60 mph = 18 car lengths to stop
70mph = 24 car lengths to stop
Driving too fast was the main cause of 1,200 deaths and more than
20,000 serious injuries on built-up roads in the UK last year.
Back to top
