Horrendous Crash On A3 Northbound...
Discussion
Anybody know anything about this?
I got caught in a pretty heavy tailback on my way to Kingston this morning. I think I counted five ambulances as I was sat in the traffic.
On the way back the Northbound carriageway had been completely closed, and I could see what was left of a sickeningly bashed-in 996.
If you're thinking of getting on the A3 today, I'd advise you not to!
I got caught in a pretty heavy tailback on my way to Kingston this morning. I think I counted five ambulances as I was sat in the traffic.
On the way back the Northbound carriageway had been completely closed, and I could see what was left of a sickeningly bashed-in 996.
If you're thinking of getting on the A3 today, I'd advise you not to!
Karen182 said:
Oh god, not another accident :-(
I went past some flowers on the A3 near New Malden this week and it was very shocking seeing an actual picture of a person who had died there recently.
That one was very bad. Some lorry driver (still pissed from previous night*) ended up toppling his trailer on top of a hatchback. 1 person killed, 1 person seriously injured. (The tailbacks all over Kingston/New Malden were a bit mental too.)
*-from what I heard
There seems to be a sad spate of bad accidents on the A3 at the moment which is concerning for me as someone who travels that entire stretch to work every day.
The one mentioned above in New Malden sounded horrific and basically made the A3 northbound towards Kingston into a car park for 4 hours, I got to work in Tolworth just after midday that day.
Theres also been several others though, a chap was killed just above Guildford a few weeks ago when apparently he went the wrong way down a sliproad, and also below Guildford there was someone killed just below the Milford turning about 3 months ago, as well as several other serious incidents in the section through Guildford.
The one mentioned above in New Malden sounded horrific and basically made the A3 northbound towards Kingston into a car park for 4 hours, I got to work in Tolworth just after midday that day.
Theres also been several others though, a chap was killed just above Guildford a few weeks ago when apparently he went the wrong way down a sliproad, and also below Guildford there was someone killed just below the Milford turning about 3 months ago, as well as several other serious incidents in the section through Guildford.
shadowninja said:
That one was very bad. Some lorry driver (still pissed from previous night*) ended up toppling his trailer on top of a hatchback. 1 person killed, 1 person seriously injured. (The tailbacks all over Kingston/New Malden were a bit mental too.)
*-from what I heard
Must be a different one then, because the last fatal at New Malden (16th or 17th Dec) was the poor sod in his pick up squashed between two heavies. Driver is up for DbDD.
Steve
towman said:
That one was very bad. Some lorry driver (still pissed from previous night*) ended up toppling his trailer on top of a hatchback. 1 person killed, 1 person seriously injured. (The tailbacks all over Kingston/New Malden were a bit mental too.)
*-from what I heard
Must be a different one then, because the last fatal at New Malden (16th or 17th Dec) was the poor sod in his pick up squashed between two heavies. Driver is up for DbDD.
Steve
Oh. Maybe it was that one... I was told it was a hatchback.
I see from the article that the guy went *through* the central reservation... surely they should be able to handle the weight of a normal car?
viper_larry said:
Sounds like no-one was killed in this one, thank goodness, but wouldn't you think with all the safety aids in modern cars, the yearly death toll woould go down? Seems to have remained steady at ~3500 for years!
Perhaps some people take more chances with all the safety aids in cars these days. Plus there is more traffic on our overcrowded and congested roads. If only somebody would come up with an idea on how to unclog our roads that would make them safer............
maybe.....build more? (heavy irony and sledgehammer sarcasm)Karen182 said:
Oh god, not another accident :-(
I went past some flowers on the A3 near New Malden this week and it was very shocking seeing an actual picture of a person who had died there recently.
i saw that the other day as the Worcester Park exit is my exit. nearly crashed the car whilst coming off it was so shocking.
i don't mind flowers, but to have a picture of the victim staring out - what do they hope to achieve? there has to be a limit with these road side memorials - the picture is going a bit far.
viper_larry said:
Sounds like no-one was killed in this one, thank goodness, but wouldn't you think with all the safety aids in modern cars, the yearly death toll woould go down? Seems to have remained steady at ~3500 for years!
It would drop further if we had more traffic police on the roads.
parrot of doom said:
Sounds like no-one was killed in this one, thank goodness, but wouldn't you think with all the safety aids in modern cars, the yearly death toll woould go down? Seems to have remained steady at ~3500 for years!
It would drop further if we had more traffic police on the roads.
my take on this is very simple.
the year on year reduction we used to have was due to improved car saftey. at the end of the day the uk hasa fairly modern fleet on the road, and so advances in safety quickly translate into lower fatalities.
since 97 as we all know the figure has stabilised, and even increased.
the problem to me seems to be that we have not investigated what was making our roads safer, or what were the causes of the accidents. quite simply - "why are our roads so safe".
however, the current trains of thought in govt and every safety campaigner is "why are our roads so dangerous".
this is where it all gets a bit scary.
car safety has continued with a pace, even more so in many respects, however deaths have levelled off.
if my hypothesis that car safety is the major factor in overall deaths, then since 1997, the downward trend of deaths has continued, however, the statistics dont show it because they are being bolstered by something else.
and that something else is the worrying thing and needs to be identified.
FourWheelDrift said:
If only somebody would come up with an idea on how to unclog our roads that would make them safer............
...Motorcycles.
If the tax disc was transferrable, lots more people would find it economic sense to commute in to work on a bike weather permitting. Less standing traffic causing air pollution, less lost time, less use of fuel, etc.
If more folk used bikes, then car drivers would have to be more on the lookout for them so the accident rate may improve too. And you could stick the tax disc into your sports car to go out for the weekend at no extra cost.
We can only drive one of our vehicles at once, so why not have a tax disc which is in use on the one you are driving at the time?
FourWheelDrift said:
Sounds like no-one was killed in this one, thank goodness, but wouldn't you think with all the safety aids in modern cars, the yearly death toll woould go down? Seems to have remained steady at ~3500 for years!
Perhaps some people take more chances with all the safety aids in cars these days. Plus there is more traffic on our overcrowded and congested roads. If only somebody would come up with an idea on how to unclog our roads that would make them safer............
Oh don't be ridiculous, for some reason the electorate, despite being entirely dependant on cars and the revolution in personal mobility they have engendered, have been manipulated into feeling so guilt laden about this very revolution, that they don't even know to demand such things.
I didn't know better either until I went to France, and frankly their toll road system is excellent. There is very little traffic, and everyone is in the correct lane because they don't have to worry about never getting back into the 'fast' lane again. The whole experience is so much more relaxed.
Frankly its a tribute to this country that we have one of the best accident rates in the world, despite having entirely overpopulated roads, and a government focussed more on revenue realisation, not genuine road safety.
Surely I'm not the only cynic to pick up on their intent with changes to the penalty point system of being able to punish people more, extract more revenue in so doing, and yet maintain reasonable stability re. quantity of disqualified drivers.
When it comes down to it, cars are amazingly safe these days.
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