A588/ A1307 Britain's Killer Roads


A588/ A1307

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Last year, almost 1,900 people were killed on Britain's roads.

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It was like the end of your world.

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And it's not always the motorist that's to blame.

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She'd be alive if there'd been barriers there.

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Today, we expose these killer roads

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and ask if enough's being done to prevent needless deaths.

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..to stop any other mum or dad

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walking into a hospital and having to identify their son.

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Welcome to Lancashire and the Wyre Estuary in particular.

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This delightful area used to be much quieter -

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until this bridge over here was built.

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For almost 20 years, this bridge has brought increased traffic to the north side of the river

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and turned the A588 into a notorious route for accidents.

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Now, it looks like a lovely rural area,

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but this road does pass through several villages

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posing a persistent threat to those who live along it.

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Set in the north-west of England in the Lancashire countryside is the A588,

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a 19-mile road linking Blackpool in the south and Lancaster to the north.

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At around the half-way point of this road lies the village of Stalmine

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and a stretch of about two miles

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that has enough corners, built-up areas and speed limit changes

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to create a real blackspot area for motorists and pedestrians.

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You're three times more likely to suffer an accident here

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than on the average British A road.

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Between 2004 and 2010, this five-mile stretch saw 78 accidents resulting in injury,

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including 22 serious injuries

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and four deaths.

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One of those seriously injured here was Charlotte Rainford.

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In 2007, when she was just 14,

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she was hit by a car while crossing this 60-mile-an-hour road with her sister

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to catch the bus to school.

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Charlotte was left in a coma for months.

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The car hit her

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and finished up about 30 to 40 metres up the road.

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Technically dead, when her sister moved down to see what was wrong with her.

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She gave her CPR, brought her round, somebody called an ambulance.

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The air ambulance arrived.

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Charlotte was in a coma for three and a half months.

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Three and a half months?

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She was in intensive care for another six weeks.

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And, thanks to wonderful surgeons, et cetera,

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and all the physiotherapy et cetera that she's had,

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she's made a fantastic recovery

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but at the end of the day, she's still severely handicapped

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and always will be.

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The driver was not at fault,

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but Charlotte's life was devastated by the accident.

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In 2009, 3,446 pedestrians were hit on Britain's rural roads,

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resulting in 143 deaths.

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The local residents confirm that this road has a deadly reputation.

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I've been here just over two years and I've seen about seven accidents.

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-Really?

-Only last month, there was within ten minutes,

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there was a car crashed into one here,

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going too fast, and some guy came off the bus

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and tried to get across the road and he got run down by a car.

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Luckily, he was OK, but this is the kind of thing that happens all the time.

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Just traffic mayhem. No idea why they haven't decided to put something here.

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Other local villages, there's at least one crossing. But here, no crossing.

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As you can see, we've had a pedestrian refuge put in.

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We thought, "Great. Next thing, we get the crossing."

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That was years ago. We're still waiting for the crossing.

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Members of the local parish council feel that the village is dangerously split in two

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by the road.

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One of the major problems in village life has been this road

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which divides the community.

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The people of Stalmine, some five years ago,

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saying in our parish plan, the top priority of our village

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was for a 30 mile an hour limit,

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which we were successful in getting.

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The next priority was for a pedestrian crossing.

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And we still don't have one.

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It's not just within the village

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that the lack of pedestrian crossings are an issue,

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as Charlotte's grandfather Jim explains.

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Half of these rural roads don't have a footpath.

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There isn't one that side of the road.

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Or further down there.

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So you've got to constantly cross the roads to find a footpath.

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What it needs here, for children crossing the road, both ways, is a zebra crossing.

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-Right.

-That would make a hell of a difference.

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Doug Smith lives a few hundred metres from the bus stop outside Stalmine

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on a stretch of the A588 where the speed limit is 60 miles per hour.

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He's witnessed first hand the dangers this road poses to motorists.

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This has been a major area of major accidents over the time I've been here.

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I've been here 18 years.

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Just between where we stand now, this entrance,

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-and my other entrance there, we've had three fatalities.

-Three?!

-Three fatalities in that period.

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We've also had numerous fatalities up near the junction and the bus stops.

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-Crikey.

-It's horrendous.

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For every one accident, there's many more that go unreported

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which are so close to being a fatality.

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We only had one a month ago, just right here.

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It could so easily have been a head-on crash

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and it missed by inches.

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The residents see three clear problems with this part of the A588.

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The bus stops in the 60 mile an hour zone are dangerous.

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After hearing the residents' concerns, I've set out to experience this stretch for myself.

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We're in the village of Hambleton, just north of the River Wyre.

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It's a nice little village. It's very calm. It's 30 miles an hour.

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You've got these red rumble strips for people to mark their speed.

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Just ahead of me here is a speed camera.

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So this is checking that everyone is doing no more than 30 miles an hour.

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There's also a zebra crossing, right by a butcher's, a hair salon, all the local shops.

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That's the hub of the village back there.

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Hambleton doesn't have too many road safety issues,

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but it's not so good as we leave and drive to Stalmine.

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Here, instantly, we hit the national speed limit.

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That suddenly feels a bit fast, because the road is still quite narrow.

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It's quite windy. There's a big corner here.

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There's houses and driveways coming out onto it.

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And yet it says it's 60 miles an hour, so that's not ideal.

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There's a little warning sign. I can't make it out.

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I now can make it out because it was behind a hedge but it's gone past.

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It definitely said warning, so it's talking about a black spot.

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There's a big bus going past. Just around this corner,

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we've got two bus stops.

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There's no lay-bys for them to stop in. If they both come at the same time, they block the road.

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This is a 60mph stretch, just after a corner.

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So if you come round there and find a static bus and you're doing 60,

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that really is quite serious, actually.

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In fact, I'm only doing 40 miles an hour. Maybe 45 at times.

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So people would do this a lot faster, still within the speed limits,

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I can't imagine it's that safe.

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Here we are, we're now in Stalmine.

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It goes straight down to 30 miles an hour.

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You've got the post office, a corner shop supermarket, pub.

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This is the hub of the village. The church is there.

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But there's no crossing like we saw in Hambleton.

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You'd expect to be some way of pedestrians getting across the road.

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But nothing. Shortly after that, we come out of the village.

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National speed limit signs. Once again, back up to 60 miles an hour.

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So what a varied and tricky little road the A588 can be.

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The stretch of road outside Doug's house has become so notorious,

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it's been featured on the local news.

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'This beautiful Lancashire stretch has seen some ugly scenes.

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'These are the remnants of the latest crash.

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'A car being driven by this man's girlfriend overturned here last night.

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'Seven lives have been claimed on this road in 12 years.

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'The local community is campaigning to have the speed limit cut to 40.

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'As for people living here, until something is done to improve safety,

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'they're just left picking up the pieces.'

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We had a series of three crashes in four days at this particular spot.

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The first one was a Land Rover Discovery.

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It was coming this way, lost it, hit the telegraph, broke it in half,

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and ended up in this dyke upside-down.

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Very fortunately, the gentleman escaped unhurt.

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The next night, a lady came round late at night and went through the hedge where the wooden bit is.

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Then we had a third night where luckily nothing happened.

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On that third day, the council had come and removed the telegraph pole.

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The fourth night, three girls in a Fiat Punto were coming from the same direction.

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They came round the corner, again lost it.

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The tyre tracks went over where the telegraph pole would have been.

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They hit the fence here.

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That made them catapult which made them him my neighbour's gatepost.

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Then they did another somersault and ended up in the hedge

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roughly where the For Sale sign is, upside-down and that broke their fall.

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They were all right.

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Their tyre tracks went right through where the telegraph pole had been.

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-A Fiat Punto is a small car. If you hit that pole...

-It's not nice what could have happened.

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Fortunately, something bigger had taken it out and they were unhurt.

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Thankfully, there haven't been any deaths outside Doug's house recently.

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But he's been so frustrated by the authority's lack of action,

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he's taken matters into his own hands.

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We were talking about where the telegraph pole used to be.

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I can see a slight dimple in the grass. But it's no longer there.

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-How come it's got moved finally?

-When they came to put it back up,

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I came out and begged them to move it into my garden.

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I don't want it in my garden, but I begged them to put it there, and they said OK.

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I'm glad to say there's been no fatalities or major accidents

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in this spot since that was done,

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even though we still have tyre tracks coming across here. I believe that's made a difference.

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We've heard from residents living in and around Stalmine

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and it's clear they strongly believe pedestrian crossings need to be installed

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and that the speed limit outside the village is simply too fast.

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But to help get a better understanding of the road,

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we've asked a senior road engineer to have a look.

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John Dawson has over 35 years' experience

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of British roads, so he's ideally placed to comment.

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We're coming to the de-controlled sign, which means national speed limit.

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60 miles an hour we're allowed to travel legally

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on this road, if it's safe to do so.

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The environment doesn't seem quite right for a 60mph speed limit.

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There's far too much property, I would have thought.

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I'm not sure I'd like to come out of my driveway into a 60mph road in this way.

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No protected right turn on a 60mph road.

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There's a bus stop right in the middle of the road.

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This is 60 miles an hour.

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Ah, we're stepping down to 30 now.

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These transverse bars across the road telling the people arriving inside the 30mph limit

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that there must be some kind of hazard ahead.

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Why they're there for traffic going in the other direction is not clear.

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So we're coming up to a more built-up area again.

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Not very well laid-out. We haven't been told the speed limit for a considerable period now.

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Perhaps one of the most striking features was the use of 60mph national speed limits

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in a fairly suburban-looking type of environment.

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I was very surprised to see those speeds permitted.

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To be honest, I'd like to have seen a much more standardised layout

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where we know it can be effective in reducing death and serious injuries

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particularly to pedestrians.

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While John Dawson highlights issues over poor road surfaces and confusing signs,

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he also backs up local residents' concerns, citing:

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It's clear that both John Dawson and local residents

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feel changes need to be made to prevent further deaths and injuries on this road.

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I've returned to see Jim Hill, whose granddaughter Charlotte was hit

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while crossing the road.

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I'm meeting Charlotte, her mother and her sister for the first time

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to hear their recollections.

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Charlotte, a very distressing day. What do you remember from that morning?

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I remember seeing the headlights on the front of the car.

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And that's about it.

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You were crossing at the time, edging onto the road,

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waiting for the traffic to pass, is that right?

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Yes, on the other side.

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Yeah. There was no traffic coming from the other way.

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And then that's it. You don't remember the hospital? You were in a coma for months.

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The first thing I can remember is saying, "Morning, Mum."

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Morning, Mum?

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The zebra crossing to me would be, if the benefit just saves one life

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or one more child or adult being knocked over and being injured slightly.

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What's the cost?

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We want something different there to allow the children crossing to school

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and other people, to cross in safety.

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Peter Swarbrick explains that the risks to pedestrians trying to cross this road

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is a major cause for concern.

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One of the parameters for getting a pedestrian crossing in a village

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is the notion of a divided community.

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The parish council argues that this is a divided community.

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On the north-east side of the road are two mobile home parks

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with a lot of elderly residents.

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And there's the church and the public house.

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On the south side of the road is the post office, shop, village hall and hairdresser.

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So if any member of the community wants to access the services across the road,

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they have to wait a long time.

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In my office, it's not uncommon for pensioners to complain it's taking 20 minutes

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to cross the road. They're getting frightened.

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They come in, they're breathless.

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It's difficult for them.

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They really would like a pedestrian crossing on this road to make it safer.

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John Dawson agrees the road through the village

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is a challenge to pedestrians.

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The impression I had was that is was a road that would benefit greatly

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from modern design of living streets,

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of actually recognising that pedestrians are an important road user

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in this sort of environment and they need more attention.

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Speeds can be managed down by all sorts of techniques.

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The local residents have been campaigning for change

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both within the village and on the outskirts.

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Charlotte's grandfather Jim believes simple measures

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could have prevented her accident but feels his voice isn't being heard.

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We've tried for two or three years and gone round in circles.

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You couldn't argue with the County Council, the police. I have a letter here

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from the County Council and Lancashire Constabulary.

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-From the police?

-It contradicts itself completely.

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They're saying the majority of collisions here are not speed related

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but it's possible through poor driving and inappropriate speed

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though you might not be in excess of the speed... It's saying

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you can have an accident on this road driving within the speed limits.

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-Yes.

-That suggests that the speed limit is flawed.

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That it shouldn't be 60mph. It's possible to lose control of the car

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-doing 60, so it should be 40 or 30. Is that your feeling?

-Yes.

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I think that at school times where there are children crossing for school,

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at designated points, it should be 20, like it is outside schools. Why not at school bus stops?

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Doug has also been pushing for change.

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He's been petitioning for some years.

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You've been quite vocal. You've campaigned to get changes made.

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Between 2002 and 2004

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I organised a campaign to try and improve the safety

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of this area of the road.

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I did a petition where we got 2,000 local signatures

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which for a village is very good.

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We've had meetings with the Highways Department, the police, local councillors.

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And basically, very little's been done in that period.

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No-one can say they're unaware of the problems here.

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You've brought them to the authorities' attention.

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Yes, and it's well known it's a bad spot.

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-It's the national speed limit.

-It's 60mph, which is just ridiculous.

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Absolutely ridiculous. That's the main thing we wanted to stop.

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A view echoed by road safety expert, John Dawson.

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I was quite surprised to see 60mph speeds permitted

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in a road that looked fairly suburban to the eyes

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with lots of residences adjoining the road.

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And then we have the issue of the bus stop.

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If that's a bus once a day, perhaps that's an acceptable risk.

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But if that's a regular bus service,

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that looks to me a really strange thing to do

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to provide a bus stopping in the road on a 60 mile an hour road.

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We'll revisit the story of the A588 later,

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when I confront those responsible for road safety

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and ask why more isn't being done.

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You put in this island. All you had to do was paint in a crossing.

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It's unreasonable to introduce a crossing at this location

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when there are higher priorities elsewhere.

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Throughout Britain, there are many roads like the A588

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which have ongoing issues that threaten lives.

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But there are some causes for optimism.

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Killer roads that have been turned around.

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High-risk routes that have been improved with dramatic results.

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The A1307 is a mixture of dual and single carriageway road

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running from the A14 at Cambridge to the Suffolk town of Haverhill.

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There's a short section of this busy road

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that for over a decade had locals up in arms and campaigning for change.

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Until finally, major work was carried out.

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I think that bus stop was a tragedy waiting to happen.

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We had whole villages sign petitions.

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Every household.

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It was unacceptable that people were dying on this road.

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Something had to be done.

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Just south of Cambridge is an eight-mile stretch of the A1307

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that runs from the village of Hildersham to the town of Haverhill.

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It's a busy route that carries 20,000 vehicles per day

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and serves as the major link to Cambridge for many villages in the surrounding area.

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In just eight years, there were 149 accidents resulting in injury,

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including 41 serious injuries and 20 deaths.

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15-year-old Imogen Barker was killed in 2007

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when she was knocked down by a car as she crossed the road after getting off the bus from Cambridge.

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It happened on a February night at ten to seven.

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So it was very dark. There was no moon out or anything.

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It was a very dark night.

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And as was standard for us, we'd take the bus into Cambridge.

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She got off at the bus stop with two boys.

0:21:240:21:27

They just had to cross the road and she failed to make it.

0:21:270:21:33

She was hit by a car coming out of Haverhill, on the far side of the road.

0:21:330:21:37

The car was going at 50 to 60 miles an hour.

0:21:370:21:42

The car had been travelling within the speed limit,

0:21:420:21:45

but Imogen didn't stand a chance.

0:21:450:21:47

My wife and I were at the accident scene within ten minutes and found her there.

0:21:470:21:51

I also knew the moment that I arrived that she was dead

0:21:510:21:57

because - I'm in the medical profession myself -

0:21:570:22:00

and there was no urgency about anything.

0:22:000:22:03

If you're crossing a road and you get hit by a car at 50 to 60 miles an hour,

0:22:030:22:07

there is only one outcome from that, really.

0:22:070:22:10

It was only once that we'd had the tragedy of losing Imogen

0:22:100:22:16

and you then go back and look at that bus stop where the accident happened,

0:22:160:22:20

that you become much more aware of just how dangerous

0:22:200:22:24

a bit of road that was. How dangerous that bus stop was.

0:22:240:22:27

How dangerous it was to cross the road.

0:22:270:22:30

That road had one light opposite to where the bus stop was.

0:22:300:22:35

The bus stop itself was a wooden shed, a somewhat dilapidated garden shed.

0:22:350:22:41

It had a sign on the side of it for a bus stop, at the top,

0:22:410:22:44

but if you didn't know there was a bus stop there, you'd never notice it as you drove past.

0:22:440:22:49

It looked nothing like a proper bus stop.

0:22:490:22:51

It had no lighting around it,

0:22:510:22:53

there was no warning to anybody that there was a bus stop there.

0:22:530:22:57

Once you got off the bus stop which was muddy around this hut,

0:22:570:23:01

you then had to cross two lanes of an A road

0:23:010:23:06

at the top of a hill, so cars would be going at about 50 to 60 miles an hour

0:23:060:23:12

in both directions.

0:23:120:23:14

I think that bus stop was a tragedy waiting to happen.

0:23:140:23:19

When I think about it.

0:23:190:23:20

A dark country road

0:23:200:23:23

no lighting, fast cars going in either direction,

0:23:230:23:27

blinded to cars coming up the hill.

0:23:270:23:29

Sooner or later, someone was going to get injured there.

0:23:290:23:33

Imogen's death was the 13th on the road since 2001.

0:23:330:23:37

It was clear to local residents that there was a problem.

0:23:370:23:41

They'd been campaigning for change for almost a decade.

0:23:410:23:45

Esther Cornell was one of the residents involved.

0:23:450:23:48

Around 2000 there was a major meeting in Linton

0:23:480:23:54

with all the surrounding villages to see what could be done.

0:23:540:23:58

And at that meeting, we were basically told

0:23:580:24:04

that there hadn't been enough accidents in one place and there were no plans for the road.

0:24:040:24:08

So the parish councils from around the area set up a group called Access 1307

0:24:080:24:15

to work together and get a holistic approach on the road and get improvements.

0:24:150:24:21

There's been historically a major issue of getting out of the villages to access the road

0:24:210:24:26

as the road takes 20,000 vehicles a day.

0:24:260:24:29

The campaigners main concerns were:

0:24:290:24:31

The risks posed by the A1307 were acknowledged by local police.

0:24:380:24:42

The road features quite a few hazards.

0:24:420:24:45

By that I mean variable speed limits, nearside junctions, offside junctions

0:24:450:24:50

lay-bys, dual carriageways, villages.

0:24:500:24:55

There's quite a lot for a driver to think about when on this road.

0:24:550:24:58

I was very much aware of the campaign going on

0:24:580:25:01

because our local news and media, it featured in there quite heavily.

0:25:010:25:07

Sadly, after somebody died on this road, it was "Another death on the A1307".

0:25:070:25:12

It was a road that featured very highly in there.

0:25:120:25:15

I was well aware that there were groups of people, parish councils,

0:25:150:25:20

people that had a healthy interest on the safety on this road,

0:25:200:25:24

putting pressure for something to be done.

0:25:240:25:28

We gave a presentation of the problems for different villages.

0:25:280:25:31

We specifically mentioned the bus stop at Horseheath.

0:25:310:25:35

We said, "You can't expect people to cross the road here."

0:25:350:25:38

At that time, there hadn't been an accident.

0:25:380:25:42

Funding for accident blackspots, there's no funding for risk-taking.

0:25:420:25:47

There is no funding. We're talking quite small villages.

0:25:470:25:50

They look at it. "It's not going to affect that many people."

0:25:500:25:54

It's frustrating because there have been lots of fatal accidents.

0:25:540:25:57

Each one, you feel, "Goodness me. I can't carry on." It's difficult.

0:25:570:26:04

But the death of Imogen at the bus stop gave campaigners further incentive

0:26:040:26:08

to fight for something to be done.

0:26:080:26:10

After the accident, there was a public meeting held two weeks after the accident.

0:26:100:26:15

It was within two or three weeks,

0:26:150:26:17

up at the village next door to the bus stop.

0:26:170:26:20

The people from the council were there to talk about the road and the accident.

0:26:200:26:27

So that, instantly, was one of the topics that came up

0:26:270:26:30

the accident at the bus stop and what was going to happen.

0:26:300:26:33

We had whole villages sign petitions.

0:26:330:26:36

Every household signed it, particularly for Horseheath.

0:26:360:26:41

The whole community was behind it.

0:26:410:26:44

From that, a route study was undertaken on the road

0:26:440:26:47

to see what improvements could take place.

0:26:470:26:51

In 2008,

0:26:510:26:52

the A1307 was identified

0:26:520:26:55

as something that really needed to be done.

0:26:550:26:58

It was quite unique in the fact that it was a long stretch of road

0:26:580:27:01

rather than any specific junction where the problem was occurring.

0:27:010:27:06

We needed to find a different approach to what we normally do.

0:27:060:27:10

Rather than just trying to do something to appease people,

0:27:100:27:14

it was about making sure that what we put in was right for the route

0:27:140:27:20

in order to make the route safer for people to use.

0:27:200:27:23

Plans and budgets were being put in place for change.

0:27:230:27:26

But improvements didn't come soon enough.

0:27:260:27:29

We had managed to get funding for improvements to the road

0:27:290:27:33

which are quite significant.

0:27:330:27:35

But before they could be put into place and the funding year started,

0:27:350:27:40

another life was lost.

0:27:400:27:42

The teenager was killed at exactly the same location

0:27:420:27:45

as Imogen Barker.

0:27:450:27:47

But then finally, the breakthrough campaigners had been fighting for.

0:27:470:27:51

After years of tireless lobbying,

0:27:510:27:53

wholesale improvements were carried out along the route

0:27:530:27:57

at the bus stop and a nearby junction.

0:27:570:27:59

We've widened the road to give a right-turn lane

0:28:000:28:03

to protect vehicles turning right, allowing traffic to pass them from behind.

0:28:030:28:08

We've also put in a pedestrian island

0:28:080:28:11

so that there's not such a long crossing so people can do it in two stages.

0:28:110:28:15

And also improved the facilities to access the bus stops, including a footpath

0:28:150:28:21

and raising the level of the bus stop. In addition,

0:28:210:28:24

the visibility around the junction has been improved

0:28:240:28:27

by installing lighting and trimming hedges and trees.

0:28:270:28:30

Making the junction much more conspicuous to people using the road.

0:28:300:28:36

These measures were supported by a high-profile awareness campaign.

0:28:360:28:40

We knew the engineers were putting in engineering measures,

0:28:400:28:44

and we wanted to back that up with a campaign of media and press adverts.

0:28:440:28:50

So there were radio adverts. Drive safe along the A1307, there were posters made

0:28:500:28:55

that were put in local premises, so it was very visual again.

0:28:550:29:00

There were adverts on the back of buses that travelled along this route

0:29:030:29:07

so people could see again, "Stay safe on the 1307."

0:29:070:29:10

The approach we've used on the A1307 was unique.

0:29:100:29:15

It was a different way of working for us,

0:29:150:29:17

combining education, enforcement and engineering aspects of road safety.

0:29:170:29:22

It's something we've gone on to replicate in other areas of the county.

0:29:220:29:26

We've benefited as a service for it,

0:29:260:29:30

combining that education, engineering and enforcement

0:29:300:29:34

and working more closely together.

0:29:340:29:36

The changes made such a difference to the junction and bus stop.

0:29:360:29:40

It's a completely different area now.

0:29:400:29:43

I think what they ultimately did

0:29:430:29:44

was much better than anything I could ever have imagined was possible there.

0:29:440:29:50

Now when you go and look at the road,

0:29:500:29:52

you cannot understand how an accident could happen.

0:29:520:29:55

You can't understand how you could get off the bus and be knocked down.

0:29:550:29:59

You only have to negotiate one side of the road at a time.

0:29:590:30:03

Cars will be slowing down because there is a junction,

0:30:030:30:07

it's lit, there's a traffic island so you can't go whizzing through.

0:30:070:30:11

It's all so much clearer that there's something going on

0:30:110:30:15

and it's so much safer.

0:30:150:30:16

And the data backs up the measures.

0:30:160:30:19

In the three years prior to the improvements,

0:30:190:30:21

there were 53 accidents resulting in injury and nine deaths.

0:30:210:30:25

In the two and a half years since the work,

0:30:250:30:27

there have been 22 accidents resulting in injury and only one death.

0:30:270:30:31

But with another two people dying in an accident since we filmed,

0:30:310:30:35

there are still concerns about the safety of the road.

0:30:350:30:38

And with Haverhill continuing to grow at a rapid rate,

0:30:380:30:41

there is a feeling that perhaps more improvements will be needed in future.

0:30:410:30:46

At the present moment, we're going to carry on complaining,

0:30:460:30:50

obviously keeping an eye on the grave plans

0:30:500:30:52

and making sure that changes can happen

0:30:520:30:56

without the huge loss of life that's happened in the last ten years.

0:30:560:31:00

It's definitely not job done. I hate to say that.

0:31:000:31:04

But people are not injuring themselves on this road, so that's a positive.

0:31:040:31:10

It's nice to know that something good has come out of something that is so awful.

0:31:100:31:14

There's nothing good about Imogen losing her life in that way,

0:31:140:31:18

but the fact that something positive has come out of it by making that bit of road safer,

0:31:180:31:22

is some sort of comfort.

0:31:220:31:25

I would never want anyone to go through what we went through.

0:31:250:31:28

Losing your child is one of the worst things that can possibly happen.

0:31:280:31:33

Turning up at an accident scene just after it's happened

0:31:330:31:36

and seeing your daughter on the road is not something you want anyone to go through.

0:31:360:31:40

So if you can change a road such that that won't happen again,

0:31:400:31:45

that is a fantastic thing to do.

0:31:450:31:47

Improvements to dangerous roads are always welcome.

0:31:510:31:55

Sometimes, these changes aren't physically obvious.

0:31:550:31:58

I'm at the Transport Research Laboratory in Wokingham

0:31:580:32:01

to meet Dr Nick Reed and find out more about psychological traffic calming measures.

0:32:010:32:06

I want to experience how reducing the speed limit in a built-up area

0:32:060:32:11

can actually help control speeding when the driver re-enters faster roads.

0:32:110:32:16

Nick, what have we got lined up for today? What simulation are we doing?

0:32:160:32:21

This is the car simulator. You'll be driving it for about 15 minutes.

0:32:210:32:25

It's a route where you encounter a number of different villages

0:32:250:32:29

and in those villages, you might encounter some psychological traffic calming measures.

0:32:290:32:34

We'll be looking to see how that affects your speed as you drive.

0:32:340:32:38

Psychological. Not physical interventions like road bumps, but other techniques people can use.

0:32:380:32:44

Things that make you feel the road is more risky, and maybe choose to adopt a lower speed.

0:32:440:32:49

-OK. Let's give it a go, then.

-Take a seat.

0:32:490:32:52

As with many of the UK's A roads, this simulated road will take me through villages and countryside.

0:32:520:32:58

I'll experience a variety of different speed limits.

0:32:580:33:02

The simulator will monitor my speed, gear changes, and watch my eye movements

0:33:020:33:06

ready to be assessed at the end of the drive.

0:33:060:33:10

Around 1,000 people are killed each year because drivers and riders travel too fast.

0:33:100:33:15

Around two-thirds of accidents that result in serious injury or death

0:33:150:33:18

happen on roads with a 30mph limit or slower.

0:33:180:33:22

I can see the next village coming up.

0:33:220:33:25

Slightly narrower here, the gap.

0:33:250:33:29

There, I did feel the road was constricted and I had to slow down.

0:33:290:33:33

I didn't probably brake hard enough

0:33:330:33:36

but I felt I had to come to the middle of the road

0:33:360:33:39

and certainly watch my speed.

0:33:390:33:43

-That's an example of traffic calming?

-Yes,

0:33:430:33:46

there was a brick surface that came into the left-hand side of the road,

0:33:460:33:52

making it feel that the road was narrower as you entered the village.

0:33:520:33:56

Hopefully, it encourages drivers to slow down as you enter the town.

0:33:560:34:00

-So it's like a gateway measure.

-OK. Is that what you call it?

-Yes.

0:34:000:34:05

Studies show drivers exceeding 40 miles an hour where gateways have been installed

0:34:050:34:10

falls from 50% to around 10%.

0:34:100:34:14

Here comes another village.

0:34:140:34:16

Ooh, 20.

0:34:160:34:17

This is testing, when you've got an even slower speed limit,

0:34:170:34:21

how well did the drivers obey that speed limit.

0:34:210:34:24

This makes you quite impatient, when you're crawling along.

0:34:240:34:28

"Thank you for driving safely."

0:34:280:34:30

While we're doing these tests, we not only look at your speed in villages,

0:34:320:34:36

it's your speed outside the villages as well.

0:34:360:34:39

So having gone through that 20 miles per hour region,

0:34:390:34:42

travelling at 60 again feels psychologically faster

0:34:420:34:48

than it had done previously.

0:34:480:34:51

Dropping the average driving speed by just one mile an hour reduces accidents by five per cent.

0:34:510:34:57

Behaviour in the simulator is representative of behaviour in the real world.

0:34:570:35:01

That's what we're trying to test.

0:35:010:35:03

Time for the results. How have the psychological measures affected my speed?

0:35:030:35:08

-So, Nick, how did I do?

-You drove very well.

0:35:080:35:11

You kept to all the speed limits

0:35:110:35:13

and you lowered your speed going through each of the villages.

0:35:130:35:17

What we saw with the psychological traffic calming

0:35:170:35:20

is you were more comfortable at the lower speed limits

0:35:200:35:23

when the psychological calming measures were in place.

0:35:230:35:26

You slowed down and took the villages more slowly

0:35:260:35:30

and were more comfortable at that lower speed when there were extra measures.

0:35:300:35:34

I certainly found the first time I went through a village I was doing it fast with no calming measures.

0:35:340:35:40

The calming measures made me think more about the speed. Is that typical?

0:35:400:35:44

Yes, the measures are part of a tool kit of measures

0:35:440:35:48

that an authority can use

0:35:480:35:50

to help reduce speeds at certain locations.

0:35:500:35:53

How many people would you test a simulation like this on?

0:35:530:35:57

We use a range of numbers of people.

0:35:570:36:00

Anything from 20 to 100 participants

0:36:000:36:02

that come in, drive the simulator, and we compare their results.

0:36:020:36:06

Is your conclusion that these traffic calming measures work?

0:36:060:36:09

The conclusion was that psychological calming measures

0:36:090:36:12

are effective and can be more appropriate at certain locations

0:36:120:36:16

to reduce speeds.

0:36:160:36:18

Back in Lancashire, the short stretch of the A588 around Stalmine

0:36:220:36:26

is still three times as dangerous as an average British A road.

0:36:260:36:31

Charlotte Rainford was hit as she crossed the 60 mile an hour road to catch a bus.

0:36:310:36:36

She spent three and a half months in a coma.

0:36:360:36:38

Her family want to see changes made to the road

0:36:380:36:41

before more lives are devastated.

0:36:410:36:44

She's lucky to be here. Her injuries were horrific.

0:36:440:36:47

She spent six months in hospital in Manchester.

0:36:470:36:52

What's the cost of a zebra crossing to the cost of supporting someone through hospital and treatments?

0:36:520:36:59

-It's nothing in the perspective of everything.

-No.

0:36:590:37:03

Many of the local residents have been campaigning for lower speed limits and crossings.

0:37:030:37:08

But with limited success.

0:37:080:37:10

There is a saying among municipal engineers that in order to make things better,

0:37:100:37:15

things have got to get worse so you can then improve them.

0:37:150:37:19

This means that if things do get worse,

0:37:190:37:21

then there's more willingness on behalf of the county to spend money.

0:37:210:37:26

But does that mean somebody has to be killed or maimed

0:37:260:37:29

because of money?

0:37:290:37:31

A lot of those people that have been hurt, either injured or passed away,

0:37:320:37:36

have been people that I know, or I know people that know them.

0:37:360:37:40

It's just a terrible loss of life.

0:37:400:37:43

People want answers, so I've arranged to meet Jim Robson from Lancashire County Council

0:37:450:37:50

to discuss their concerns and find out what decisions have been made.

0:37:500:37:54

Jim, thanks for taking the time to meet me.

0:37:540:37:56

The A588, it's a bit quiet at the moment,

0:37:560:37:59

but it is a problem road, isn't it?

0:37:590:38:01

A problem in terms of accidents, yes.

0:38:010:38:03

We share data with the police in terms of accidents

0:38:030:38:08

and looking at the figures, there's clearly a higher number of collisions and casualties.

0:38:080:38:16

The residents we've spoken to, there are a couple of things they want to address.

0:38:160:38:20

To the south of the village there's a very fast section of road, 60mph limit,

0:38:200:38:26

and they want that reduced.

0:38:260:38:28

There was representation locally to a local committee

0:38:280:38:32

and local people involved through the community

0:38:320:38:34

that they thought this ought to be taken to a reduced level.

0:38:340:38:38

The cabinet member listened to this representation

0:38:380:38:41

and has included a reduction to 50 miles an hour

0:38:410:38:45

as part of the programme that's due to be completed this financial year.

0:38:450:38:49

So the speed limit is going to be reduced. Good news.

0:38:490:38:52

Is that slow enough? There's a section with driveways, a nursery on the corner,

0:38:520:38:58

buses often stationary in the road.

0:38:580:39:01

The bus stop is some distance from the bend.

0:39:010:39:05

We had a look at it this morning on the way here and ought to be visible over the hedges

0:39:050:39:12

if they're maintained by landowners.

0:39:120:39:15

There isn't a crossing there.

0:39:150:39:17

The level of pedestrian activity suggests a crossing would be inappropriate

0:39:170:39:21

and people have to take appropriate caution as they cross the road.

0:39:210:39:25

The council says it's committed to reducing the speed limit to 50mph.

0:39:250:39:29

But that doesn't deal with campaigners' demands for a pedestrian crossing.

0:39:290:39:33

If hit by a vehicle at 40mph, nine out of ten pedestrians would be killed.

0:39:330:39:38

At 20mph, it's just one in 40.

0:39:380:39:42

If we go into the village of Stalmine,

0:39:420:39:44

there has been a lot of attention from the local community

0:39:440:39:49

on the campaign to get a crossing in the village. Why isn't there a crossing there?

0:39:490:39:54

Unfortunately, at that location, it simply hasn't met the criteria

0:39:540:39:58

of being screened with other priorities because of their higher level of usage.

0:39:580:40:03

So Hambleton has a crossing because it has more people.

0:40:030:40:07

But Stalmine isn't worthy of one. Is that what we're saying?

0:40:070:40:11

It's not a matter of being worthy. It's what the demands are around the county.

0:40:110:40:17

We have to assess them and see which have the highest priority based on those assessments.

0:40:170:40:22

Funding is allocated according to that.

0:40:220:40:25

But the council drew up plans for a crossing in 2007.

0:40:250:40:28

I've got a copy. I want to know why work was started but not completed.

0:40:280:40:33

You put in this island. All you had to do was paint in a crossing.

0:40:330:40:37

We've done the part of the works we could do with the funding available,

0:40:370:40:42

which was to improve footways.

0:40:420:40:44

We didn't have funding to introduce a crossing

0:40:440:40:46

and it would be unreasonable to have a crossing at this location

0:40:460:40:50

when there are higher priorities around the country.

0:40:500:40:53

You have to be careful on this, because when it comes down to pots of funding

0:40:530:40:57

what we can and can't do, we can build this but not paint that in,

0:40:570:41:01

you look very inflexible to local people when there's a clear demand that they need and want this.

0:41:010:41:08

In fact, we've been flexible in extending the footway scheme to include the landing island

0:41:080:41:13

and made best use of the funding we had.

0:41:130:41:15

But we couldn't introduce a crossing with higher priorities elsewhere.

0:41:150:41:20

There's no doubt the A588 has a notorious reputation as an accident blackspot.

0:41:260:41:32

Local campaigners and some road safety experts agree

0:41:320:41:36

that much more needs to be done to help protect road users.

0:41:360:41:40

The council have agreed to implement a reduced speed limit of 50mph

0:41:400:41:44

on parts of this road.

0:41:440:41:45

But is it enough?

0:41:450:41:47

Anything's an improvement. That's excellent news.

0:41:480:41:51

Why it's taken this long, I don't know.

0:41:510:41:54

I still think, like the majority of people in the village and on this road,

0:41:540:41:59

we signed a petition with 2,000 signatures asking it to be 40.

0:41:590:42:05

But 50 is an improvement.

0:42:050:42:07

-We still need a zebra crossing.

-Still need a zebra crossing.

-For the kids.

0:42:070:42:11

It's disappointing.

0:42:110:42:13

But I think the more people that object to the lack of a crossing,

0:42:130:42:19

if people become more involved,

0:42:190:42:22

-then maybe something will be done by pressure.

-Yes.

-Public pressure.

0:42:220:42:26

This road continues to disregard the needs of pedestrians

0:42:260:42:30

with inappropriately placed bus stops and no sign of a crossing down there in Stalmine.

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But there is some good news. Finally, after all that campaigning,

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this stretch of the A588 will have its speed limit lowered by ten miles an hour.

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Will that be enough to prevent serious accidents here in the future?

0:42:450:42:50

Who knows? I really hope so.

0:42:500:42:53

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