Tipper Truck incident in Bath

[turbobloke]

Fatalities unfortunately.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-31321...

[juice]

Bloody hell, sounds awful

[turbobloke]

Apparently the truck driver was trying to avoid an accident but didn't manage it

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-02-09/police-t...

[mrpurple]

Less than an hour earlier and that area would have been crammed with people / kids leaving the school.

[davepoth]

mrpurple said:

Less than an hour earlier and that area would have been crammed with people / kids leaving the school.

Very true.

I drive this road every day and I always wondered about why that road doesn't have an HGV ban. It's seriously steep - if you have the misfortune to get stuck behind a big truck or someone who is a bit timid and doesn't know the road, you'll likely end up in first gear before the top of the hill.

[mrpurple]

davepoth said:

mrpurple said:

Less than an hour earlier and that area would have been crammed with people / kids leaving the school.

Very true.

I drive this road every day and I always wondered about why that road doesn't have an HGV ban. It's seriously steep - if you have the misfortune to get stuck behind a big truck or someone who is a bit timid and doesn't know the road, you'll likely end up in first gear before the top of the hill.

Not 100% certain but think there are signs saying not suitable for HGV's.. I should really know for certain as I live very very close.

[IroningMan]

I used to use it a lot - turning London Road into a bus lane means that Weston is the only sensible way to get to the M4 - I'm sure it has an HGV restriction. If not then it should do.

[Riley Blue]

I know it well too though haven't been that way for a few years. There is (or was according to Street View) a 6' width restriction 'except for access' at the top but I couldn't see any weight limit. Horrifying to think of a truck out of control hurtling down there.

[MikeyMike]

I was about 100m from the scene when it happened. I heard the driver leaning on his horn trying to get other drivers out of his way and then an almighty crash. There are weight and width restrictions on Lansdown lane and that lorry exceeds them by some margin. The council has recently lowered the speed limit to 20mph for most of its length which means you either rev the tits off your car in low gear or stay on your brakes. I suspect the driver did the latter leading to brake failure. It's absolute carnage. Several cars were collected by the truck on the way down the hill and it's smashed through a wall turning onto it's side. It's truly awful.

[GloverMart]

MikeyMike said:

I was about 100m from the scene when it happened. I heard the driver leaning on his horn trying to get other drivers out of his way and then an almighty crash. There are weight and width restrictions on Lansdown lane and that lorry exceeds them by some margin. The council has recently lowered the speed limit to 20mph for most of its length which means you either rev the tits off your car in low gear or stay on your brakes. I suspect the driver did the latter leading to brake failure. It's absolute carnage. Several cars were collected by the truck on the way down the hill and it's smashed through a wall turning onto it's side. It's truly awful.

Poor bloke, little more he could do than what he did. Often used that road from home (Oldland) to Bath as it's a quick, easy way when the main A431 was shut and being repaired.

RIP to those who lost their lives. As someone else said, an hour earlier and this could have been even worse.

[ewenm]

Riley Blue said:

I know it well too though haven't been that way for a few years. There is (or was according to Street View) a 6' width restriction 'except for access' at the top but I couldn't see any weight limit. Horrifying to think of a truck out of control hurtling down there.

I drove down it about 2 hours earlier. As it happens the width-restriction sign at the top has been flattened by someone earlier. So I guess the tipper driver if not local may not have seen it.

Tragic incident.

[GloverMart]

Looked on Streetview and the hill has a 20% gradient on it.....

[ewenm]

GloverMart said:

Looked on Streetview and the hill has a 20% gradient on it.....

It is steep, twisty, goes from a NSL to a 20mph limit halfway down and has a traffic calming chicane before you get to the school crossing. Really unsuitable for trucks, hence the 6ft width restriction. Someone had crashed into the central width restriction sign at the top earlier as it was flattened when I drove past it before the accident.

[miniman]

It's a big old hill, twisty too near the top. Unfortunately there aren't many ways into Bath that aren't a bit steep one way or the other - only the London Road and the Bristol Roads. The A46 is so slow that inevitably vehicles take back roads into the city. Very sad.

[Jasandjules]

Looks nasty.

[GloverMart]

ewenm said:

GloverMart said:

Looked on Streetview and the hill has a 20% gradient on it.....

It is steep, twisty, goes from a NSL to a 20mph limit halfway down and has a traffic calming chicane before you get to the school crossing. Really unsuitable for trucks, hence the 6ft width restriction. Someone had crashed into the central width restriction sign at the top earlier as it was flattened when I drove past it before the accident.

Used that way into Bath a lot when the main road was shut with the landslide and regularly attended the boot sales at the top before dropping into the city for grub. Coming up, it was that steep that your ears would pop halfway up....

[miniman]

Twitter report of 3 adult deaths in a single car, and a child pedestrian Would explain the school closure. Unimaginable.

[ewenm]

Local info suggests a child and grandparent were on the crossing when the truck came down. Horrific news. Friends of ours have kids at the school but are not involved thankfully. So sad

[Six Fiend]

Horrific, another one here who knows the scene well.

[Slagathore]

ewenm said:

It is steep, twisty, goes from a NSL to a 20mph limit halfway down and has a traffic calming chicane before you get to the school crossing. Really unsuitable for trucks, hence the 6ft width restriction. Someone had crashed into the central width restriction sign at the top earlier as it was flattened when I drove past it before the accident.

At the top by the race course?

When I left Bath this evening, I saw the road was closed at the top there and the sign flattened, I thought there was an accident at the top that caused the sign to get flattened!

Had no idea this had even happened 'til I just saw this thread!

That is a really steep hill, you can pick speed up enough just in a car if you don't use a low gear or the brakes, can't imagine how quick the lorry would be going if the brakes did fail/fade. A really scary thought, and reality in this case!