Joanne Roney OBE
Chief Executive
Wakefield Council
Town Hall
Wood Street
WAKEFIELD
WF1 2HQ
22.01.2011
Ref: Another accident at the junction in Featherstone
Dear Mrs Roney OBE
I thank you for your reply. I am sorry for having to contact you again but yet another accident has occurred at the Featherstone cross roads that you should be aware of that again disagrees with the WMDC experts.
On Friday morning the fifth accident in three months occurred (what I know of). You do not have to be an expert to see the problem.
A disabled lady with her 80 year old parents as passengers was traveling from Pontefract and wished to turn right up Station Lane. Correctly she was stationary and indicating to make the right turn whilst trying to work out which set of lights to look at as the original lights that have been in place for 30 years plus had vanished.
Before the lady could complete her turn a bus came along her passenger side with the intention of making a left hand turn up Girnhill Lane. This was again a perfectly correct highway maneuver that travelers have made for over 30 years.
As the bus turned around the non compliant angle of curve that is now in place the buses rear end as would be expected swung out. As the highway is none compliant also in width the buses rear end scraped down the side of the stationary ladies vehicle. The lady was left with two upset elderly and disabled passengers and herself unable to move because of shock. The lady pulled herself together and made the decision to continue her right turn. The lady really wished to change her mind and follow the bus to get details but this could have resulted in even more carnage.
After the lady had recovered from the shock she contacted the bus company. Luckily the bus was fitted with CCTV and had captured the incident. The lady obtained insurance details from the bus company. The lady also informed the bus company that she believes that the junction layout is incorrect. The bus company agreed. They informed the lady that they were now aware of the problem and were considering what actions to take. Interestingly actions mentioned were the possibility that all the bus company’s runs from now on will have to be made with alterations to driving techniques. This could be either by pulling over both lanes to gain the correct turning angle or by instructing drivers to block the carriageway and wait until all other traffic has passed.
This is totally unacceptable and will cause even more delays and bigger queues. No drivers should ever have to alter their driving outside of the Highway Code to accommodate a bad road design.
This is just one incident at one side of the four way junction. The bus services run every 10 minutes. This is how many accidents could be expected. The problem exists not just at this side of the junction but on all sides. A disaster waiting to happen!
Regards
