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by Lib Dem team on 26 January, 2012
We were very concerned to hear of the Schools Hill accident on Wednesday evening. A 34 year old man was hit on the zebra crossing by an 79 year old male driver, and we understand the man is in a serious condition in hospital.
We don’t know if excessive speed played a part in this particular incident, but we know that it is a problem on Schools Hill and we are continuing the work to make the crossing safer and to slow down traffic on that section of the road.
The vehicle activated speed signs will be in place in the next two weeks – the Council ordered them a few weeks ago and we are now just waiting for the supplier to deliver them.
We are also looking at further options, including making the streetlights brighter along that section of road, ensuring any overgrowing branches are cut back to maximise visibility and painting additional “SLOW” signs on the road.
The bus stop near The Downs is being moved nearer to the junction, so cars park further away and visibility for cars coming out of The Downs is improved.
Council officers will be conducting a speed survey at the zebra crossing over the next couple of weeks and the Lib Dems will be pressing for further measures if they are needed.
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Why do we ALWAYS jump at speed & call for even more restriction. As far as I can discover official statistics attribute only 3% of accidents to speed. At 79 it is much more likely that the offending driver has a sight problem or wandering attention.
There have now been three accidents on this crossing in the last year. Were any of the drivers actually speeding, or is the real problem that the crossing is not visible enough for drivers approaching from the A34? Please can we have proper traffic lights at this crossing? It is quite obviously dangerous and I’m not convinced that any of the proposed measures will improve the visibility of the crossing.
I have lived on Schools Hill for all of my life and when trying to cross this particular crossing myself nearly everyday vehicles do not stop at the crossing. I am often left several minutes waiting for someone kind enough to stop for me. Traffic lights are definately needed at this particular crossing it is getting ridiculous now especially outside of a primary school.
It comes as no suprise to hear that there has been yet another incident on this inherently dangerous crossing.As a resident of Schools Hill for almost 25 years I witness the problems on a daily basis.The speed of traffic travelling down from the Cheadle Royal roundabout towards Cheadle along Schools Hill is a real cause for concern and the siting of the crossing is particularly poor.When travelling towards Cheadle you are not able to see pedestrians waiting to cross from The Downs side of the road and at night poor lighting makes pedestrians almost invisible.I am sure pedestrians are lured into a false sense of security using the Zebra and most probably don’t realise that they may not be clearly visible to even the most careful driver.Whilst the solutions proposed make improve the situation to a degree I cannot see that these will ever make this crossing safe.Local politicians should be lobbying for a pelican to be installed here particularly in view of the vicinity of the crossing to Bruntwood Park and Ladybarn House school.
We do need to look at the option of a puffin crossing with proper traffic lights.
We know that such a crossing can’t be put in quickly, so we’ve been pressing to get the changes that can be done now in place.
When those are in, we’ll need to look again at the situation, including the option of upgrading the crossing.
Inattention and poor hazard perception is the cause of many road accidents. Speed alone does not cause accidents but in the event that inattention, distraction, or poor hazard perception should result in an accident then collateral damage is inevitably greater if the speeds involved are higher.
It is unfair to generalise about age because fitness and ability does not necessarily decline with age, but we are all aware that there are clearly examples when it has.
It is not really any of our business to know anything about this drivers medical history and prescribed medications but I hope accident investigation work involves enquiries about these matters.
Police or insurance accident investigators are unlikely to have full familiarity with the topic but the cholesterol lowering drugs generally called ‘Statins’ could have a bearing.
Statins are prescribed to more than 6 million in the UK with the intention of lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease. If your male and above a certain age there is a strong possibility the Dr will be prescribing statins.
Statins inhibit the bio-synthesis of cholesterol in the liver by acting as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. They also inhibit the bio-synthesis of a number of important bodily biochemicals including Co-enzyme Q10 which could be a factor behind a detected rise in congenital heart failure (CHF). But worse, cholesterol is vital to the brain and is the principal constituent forming the synapses, or junctions, between neurons. Statins also inhibit the ability of the glial cells of the brain to produce supplies of cholesterol for these synapses. This last point is the reason statins are strongly associated with memory loss or impairment, cognitive impairment, reduced capacity to concentrate, and slower reaction times [1].
The side effects of statins are pretty yucky, and there are more than I have described, but the notion that cholesterol has an active part in the cause of heart disease is built upon an entirely false medical hypothesis. The overwhelming number of persons prescribed statins do not need them and that alone is a disgrace. Statins have a number of effects in the body and they may have some benefits but not by the supposed route of lowering cholesterol. It is qualitative conditions and differences that explain heart disease not a quantitative assessment of cholesterol counts.
So while it is not our business to be party to this elderly drivers medical history we can be reasonably certain elderly persons are getting lost en route (like the gent on the M25 lost for 30 hours) or are becoming involved in road accidents through side effects of statins that are easily put down to old age. That’s sad – and it gets my goat.
Notes and helpful tomes:
1, Slower reaction times. The men in white coats call this ‘reduced visuomotor speed’. Visuomotor speeds decline with age but they are exacerbated significantly by reduced cholesterol levels. (see Colpo pp27-28) There’s a paper:
Zhang J, et al. Serum cholesterol concentrations are associated with visuomotor speeds in men: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1998-1994. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Aug 2004; 80: 291-298.
2, The Great Cholesterol Con; Anthony Colpo 2006 (Book)
3, The Great Cholesterol Con; Dr Malcolm Kendrick. 2007 (Book)
4, Fat and Cholesterol Are Good for You; Uffe Ravnskov 2009 (Book)
5, The Statin Damage Crisis; Dr Duane Graveline. 2009 (Book)
6, TRhe Homocysteine Revolution; Dr Kilmer McCully 1997, 1999 (Book)
7, Trick and Treat; Barry Groves. 2008 (Book)
‘cjpalmer'(to be found at)talktalk(dot)net
I agree the only solution is a puffin crossing.
Also we need something done to improve the right turn from Daylesford Road on to School Hill.
Traffic coming from the a34 do not realise that is a blind corner for the drivers coming out of Daylesford and with the speed of cars on School Hill is a major accident waiting to happen.
The hedge on the corner needs to be cut back/replaced with a fench
Not related to this accident but related to Schools Hill. A few years ago the problem of traffic queueing to get in to the school car park and therefore blocking the road almost completely for 30 minutes or so each day was a problem. Then the school started putting someone on the gate waving traffic on if the car park was full so the traffic kept moving and presumably parent had to park on one of the side streets and walk into the school to pick up their children. In recent months, however, I have noticed a return to the old ways. Between around 3:30 and 4pm the road is completely blocked by static traffic queueing at the school gate. Frustrated drivers often do wild moves involving overtaking the whole row of cars even when the road ahead cannot be seen clearly. This is also an accident waiting to happen. Is it possible to suggest to the school that they put a volunteer on the gate to wave people on again? Or make the road leading up to the school into a no stopping zone or promote car sharing or ask them to consider a school bus to ferry children to somewhere like Sainsbury’s car park where their parent could be waiting without blocking a major road…..just some ideas off the top of my head. I think someone standing on the gate would be the easiest and least expensive solution. Do you know if there is a reason why this person has been removed? Many drivers tend to use Kingsway to get on to the A34 at this time to avoid Schools Hill. It is a more dangerous place to get on but it is a lot quicker at this time of day.
Sorry, meant Broadway, not Kingsway!
“We know that such a crossing can’t be put in quickly, so we’ve been pressing to get the changes that can be done now in place.”
Its taken this latest accident to apparently even get a puffin seriously considered. The main actual action carried out to date appears to have been to turn up the brightness of the light bulbs on the crossing (nb why were they dim too start with ? – trying to meet a green target?).
Also why can’t a Puffin be installed quickly?
Given Stockport’s 1/2 billion pound budget and ca 10,000 staff surely they could get one installed quickly before some one gets killed.
All in all an appallingly poor piece of service delivery by Stockort Council which someone is now paying the price for in hospital seriously injured.
Some very interesting comments, especially Fredrick Kenny’s.
GH is absolutely correct. I have lived on Schools Hill for 46 years and the situation outside Ladybarn School is in- tolerable. My children attended North Cheshire Jewish Primary School on St Ann’s Road in the 80’s and now my grandchildren go there.There are no problems of this magnitude and St Ann’s Road is also a residential area.
Hassan’s comments about Daylesford Road being a blind spot is also true.
The installation of a pelican crossing may be costly but would be the best solution. In the meamtime, most of the solutions seem eminently sensible and not very costly.
On Broadway outside Kingsway School, a man in a high visibility coat controls the pupils using the pelican crossing. He is NOT a ‘lollipop’ man! The same sort of thing could be done to control the traffic outside Ladybarn School.
Frederick,
If you’ve been following this story, you’ll know that there’s been extensive consultation with local residents over the last couple of years and quite a bit has been done.
I won’t pretend there’s lots of money around: as you’ll know the Council is having to make big savings and the majority of the Council’s money goes on care for vulnerable adults and children, plus school funding.
The reality – as ever – is that spending more on one thing means spending less on something else so we do need to look at these things carefully and make sure we’re spending money in the best way.
We have looked at this in the past and will continue to look at it. Of course, one important element will be looking at why this accident happened.
Jennifer – the man who helps pupils stay safe on Broadway for Kingsway School does work very well, and is employed by the school because the pupils cross there throughout the day. You may well be right that a similar person would help at Ladybarn House School – perhaps something the school should look into.
interesting comments. i use this road daily and have done since i started driving in 1977. its not speed that is the problem on this road, its ignorant drivers and an antequated crossing. there are also problems with ladybarn school in the mornings and afternoons which dont help matters.
i alos live on schools hill and have been pressing for changes for over 7 years. we attempt to safely cross the zebra everyday with our children and often 3/4 cars pass through until one comes to a halt. we also then wait for the other carriage way to stop( which they often don’t for a while). a puffin crossing is the answer and we need it quickly.
In the meantime, just wondering what action locals can take the slow traffic down whilst we wait for the crossing we need. ( a go-slow from 4pm-6pm??)
Paul, do what i do on the south park estate – do the speed you think is appropriate (in my case sometimes 10 mph when there is a lot of traffic cutting through behind me) but on schools hill 20 to 25 in certain stretches. 30 in others is quite OK. remember, speed bumps cause damage to suspension and an increase in fuel consumption and pollution.
Councillors, Sorry but you response in woeful.
I cross Schools Hill nearly every day, but to be honest I no longer use the crossing as I consider it to be too dangerous. Try it sometime you’ll see what I mean! There is only one solution which is to install a proper Puffin/Pelican crossing.
Sadly the majority of drivers pay no heed to a Zebra crossing, and given the visibility issues combined with excessive speed and a general lack of consideration, none of the other options is even worth considering. You will just be wasting our money, because when these half baked solutions have been tried and failed, you will end up installing a proper crossing anyway. So come on councillors, stop talking and \looking into\ and get the crossing installed, before someone gets killed.
We’re working hard to get a puffin crossing installed. I use that zebra crossing myself and I agree with you – a puffin crossing is needed.
However, I would say that we still need to slow traffic down – the issue with speeding traffic affects more than just that crossing – it causes problems for the people on the Cheadle Royal side of the crossing who’s cars regularly get hit by vehicles speeding as they come off the roundabout.
So both are needed. We’re getting what we can in place quickly and campaigning for a puffin crossing.