Wrong way on the A1
Discussion
Bloke drives wrong way along A1
I've had to re-read this a few times just to make sure I understand but it seems that RoadPeace are more worried about the vehicle's speed than the fact that it was being driven on the wrong side of the road! Am I the only one who see's a little bit of a problem with this approach?
As an aside, are Gatso's capable of snapping oncoming traffic if it is in the wrong lane as implied in this report?
RoadPeace said:
This man was twice the speed limit on this stretch of road.
At that speed the stopping distance would be very considerable and if there had been other traffic there would undoubtedly have been a collision and there is no way the occupants of that car could have survived the crash.
I've had to re-read this a few times just to make sure I understand but it seems that RoadPeace are more worried about the vehicle's speed than the fact that it was being driven on the wrong side of the road! Am I the only one who see's a little bit of a problem with this approach?
As an aside, are Gatso's capable of snapping oncoming traffic if it is in the wrong lane as implied in this report?
depending on what bit of the A1 it is, the wrong-side-of-the road part may not be all that bad.
Dont get me wrong - the guy's obviously a plum, but what I'm trying to say is that some of the A1 (i think) does not have central reservation and so it may be simply like moving over to the opposite carriage way to go round a left bend if you can see that there's nothing coming.
So, while I agree with the sentiment, it may not be that this guy "drove up the wrong side of the road" in the extreme sense. Also, it was a 60 limit so may suggests was not dual carriageway and therefore no central reservation.
Having said all THAT....there's bits on the A1 that I've done decent speeds (admittedly not 60 limits though) and so it may not be as extreme as it sounds.
While I know nothing of the details, I'm simply trying to play devils advocate and look at it from a different point of view.
Tony
Dont get me wrong - the guy's obviously a plum, but what I'm trying to say is that some of the A1 (i think) does not have central reservation and so it may be simply like moving over to the opposite carriage way to go round a left bend if you can see that there's nothing coming.
So, while I agree with the sentiment, it may not be that this guy "drove up the wrong side of the road" in the extreme sense. Also, it was a 60 limit so may suggests was not dual carriageway and therefore no central reservation.
Having said all THAT....there's bits on the A1 that I've done decent speeds (admittedly not 60 limits though) and so it may not be as extreme as it sounds.
While I know nothing of the details, I'm simply trying to play devils advocate and look at it from a different point of view.
Tony
dougc said:No
I've had to re-read this a few times just to make sure I understand but it seems that RoadPeace are more worried about the vehicle's speed than the fact that it was being driven on the wrong side of the road! Am I the only one who see's a little bit of a problem with this approach?
I just had a look at the RoadPeace homepage. While I agree with their basic philosophy (support victims, reduce casualties), their approach is extremely biased. Their homepage:
mentions the demons of speeding and extol the virtues of scameras countless times,
mentions (real) irresponsible driving in one small paragraph,
but never, not once (not even elsewhere on the site) mentions educating pedestrians of the dangers of walking onto a road without looking properly – which accounts for about half of the total number of deaths of the road!
minornut said:
I think your suspicions are correct. I just checked multimap and the section mentioned is a short length of single carriageway just north of Morpeth.
the A1 around there is like a country road....I would have a very hard time keeping to 100 let alone 120, unless it was the odd burst. In the dark, I wouldn't even consider it.
RoadPeace said:
.... if there had been other traffic there would undoubtedly have been a collision....
Things don't change do they?
Here is an archived bit of news from 1900 (yes 1900!!)
Posted a link to this last year but as the words are so similar it made me smile. Also impressed with how many expert assessors of speed they came up with, plumber, baker, candlestick maker.
Speeding driver exceeded 12mph
MALVERN magistrates took a dim view of the first speeding case ever to come before them.
Edward Guy Sindry, from Bristol, was summoned to appear before Malvern Petty Sessions in October, 1900, for driving a motor car at a greater speed than was reasonable in Grange Road.
For the offence of exceeding 12mph he was threatened with one months imprisonment
or a fine of 40s. with 20s. costs, a huge sum at the time. P.C. Miller told the court he had been on duty in Church Street at 7.45pm on Wednesday, September 26.
He said he had seen the car travelling at a "terrific pace", and its speed had not slackened as it turned into Church Street.
There had been a lot of people going to the Assembly Rooms at the time and had there been a vehicle coming down Church Street an accident would have been unavoidable,
the officer said. Arthur Perks, a porter, had seen the car in Grange Road and said it "was going at a rate of 15mph, or as fast as a motor car could travel".
Thomas Davis, a plumber, agreed that the speed was near 15mph and said that had the car come along 10 minutes earlier there would have been an accident.
But Mr W H Mayo, of the Coventry Cycle Works, in Church Street, who was called as an expert witness, said it would have been impossible for the car to exceed 12mph.
The Chairman of the Bench, Major De Trafford, was not impressed and insisted it was the duty of the court to put a stop to similar occurrences.
Faced with imprisonment, Mr Sindry choose to pay the fine.
>> Edited by Flat in Fifth on Friday 7th January 16:22
...had the moon been blue, had there been a herd of elephants on the road, had it been 3 days earlier, had it been midday rather than midnight, had the month had an R in it, had Reclaim the Streets been marching just there at that particular time,...... then there would undoubtedly have been an accident.
As it was, there wasn't. But just to prove that safety is independent of everything except speed, let's do 'im.
As it was, there wasn't. But just to prove that safety is independent of everything except speed, let's do 'im.
Peter Ward said:
...had the moon been blue, had there been a herd of elephants on the road, had it been 3 days earlier, had it been midday rather than midnight, had the month had an R in it, had Reclaim the Streets been marching just there at that particular time,...... then there would undoubtedly have been an accident.
As it was, there wasn't. But just to prove that safety is independent of everything except speed, let's do 'im.
I agree with the point about misguidedly saying the speed was the only important factor, but in this case that kind of speed is foolhardy on that piece of road unless you're the stig and you're in a tuscan. I speak from detailed local knowledge btw (I lived there for 7 years) also, I just can't see how anyone driving on the wrong side of the road to "impress" his mates can be anything other than a nobhead
Hold on, you don't know the whole story...
He was convicted yesterday or so for driving at 120mph on the wrong side of the road (it's a single carriageway road, fairly long straights up there). He admitted it and told the court he "was showing off to his friends in his fathers car". The court gave him 180hours of community service pay £43 costs and banned him from driving for 18months.
RoadPeace have said that this is disgraceful and that harsher punishment should have been handed out, I tend to agree - although their arguments is somewhat flawed. Driving at 100mph or so on a motorway is one thing, up there where there are regular crashes due to reckless driving is another thing!
News article here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4152379.stm
He was convicted yesterday or so for driving at 120mph on the wrong side of the road (it's a single carriageway road, fairly long straights up there). He admitted it and told the court he "was showing off to his friends in his fathers car". The court gave him 180hours of community service pay £43 costs and banned him from driving for 18months.
RoadPeace have said that this is disgraceful and that harsher punishment should have been handed out, I tend to agree - although their arguments is somewhat flawed. Driving at 100mph or so on a motorway is one thing, up there where there are regular crashes due to reckless driving is another thing!
News article here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4152379.stm
minimax said:
I think your suspicions are correct. I just checked multimap and the section mentioned is a short length of single carriageway just north of Morpeth.
the A1 around there is like a country road....I would have a very hard time keeping to 100 let alone 120, unless it was the odd burst. In the dark, I wouldn't even consider it.
I noticed it wasn't particularly straight on the map but I've never been that far north in the old moggy.
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