Mount Pleasant accident blackspot: Hull City Council aims to improve safety on roundabout
NEW safety measures are set to be installed after three lorries overturned at an accident blackspot in east Hull.
Hull City Council has confirmed new road markings will be laid out at the Mount Pleasant roundabout, near Victoria Dock, to help guide drivers around the junction.
The decision to install new markings follows a meeting between council highways officials and ward councillors Linda Chambers and Adam Williams.
She said: "This roundabout has become a real danger spot. Adam and I discussed our concerns with the officers and potential steps to make the roundabout safer."
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In September, a lorry shed its load of earth as it failed to negotiate the roundabout, which is one of two under the elevated section of the A1033.
No other vehicle was involved and the driver is believed to have escaped without serious injury.
It was third lorry spill at the scene in just over a year and prompted renewed calls to improve safety at the site.
In April, a load of animal feed was spilled across a footpath and cycleway after a lorry overturned close to the same spot.
Work on restoring the verge and a cycleway had only just been completed when September's accident happened.
Cllr Williams said: "One of the problems with the roundabout has been the lack of clarity about which lane vehicles should be in if they are turning right."
"This has led to vehicles switching lanes on the roundabout itself.
"The roundabout is small and the turnings are tight, which has contributed to the problem."
The new road markings are expected to be laid on the roundabout over the next few weeks.
As well as guiding vehicles into the correct lanes, council officials hope they will also encourage drivers to slow down.
Cllr Williams said: "I'm not an expert but I am told the weight of a load like this does shift around when a vehicle is going around a roundabout.
"Combine that with the speed of vehicles approaching the roundabouts and it could make them more difficult to negotiate."
There have been a series of similar crashes at roundabout junctions along Hedon Road in recent years.
In 2010, cyclist Susan Russell was killed when a container fell off a tractor at the nearby Garrison Road roundabout.
Comments
by dontwo
Saturday, November 24 2012, 12:11PM
“Seems strange that it has taken such a long time for the Council to identify these "problems" if all it was seems to be a lack of road markings. If it was such an obvious thing as "a lack of clarity of which lane to get in" I would have thought this flaw would have been identified when the roundabout was first designed, or at the very least as soon as the first accident occurred.”
by Gaia69
Saturday, November 24 2012, 8:47AM
“As road haulage companies pay a fraction of the true cost of damage they inflict on the national infrastructure - will the highways authority/local authority be seeking to recover the full cost of remedial work from them?
It seems entirely fair as it is they and their employees who seem to have problems with speed and manouvering control....”
by happytrucker2
Friday, November 23 2012, 10:00PM
“Jezhull..
HGV half wits !!! You want to sit in a HGV and see how many times a day we get cut up by car/van drivers, and be expected to then stop in the small space some inconsiderate driver has left us! If we leave a space it's cos we need it so please don't rush into it.”
by happytrucker2
Friday, November 23 2012, 9:51PM
“Fairway1...
Good to hear your an experienced HGV "Artic" driver, so am I, you don't specify what you transport, but as you should know not all loads are secured correctly, and the driver has no way of checking this with certain loads! Because he cannot break the security seals. And any load that slips whilst turning on an adverse camber will give the driver no chance. Heavy liquids (Tankers) also cause their problems whilst negotiating poorly designed roundabouts (the prison one in particular) due to the adverse camber. I will agree on one thing though, speed is usually the cause of most rollovers, and if it rolls over at 8 mph, then 8 mph is too fast.
And just because the tachograph reads 8mph, travelling at 40+ mph and braking heavily down to 8mph before turning will severely affect the dynamics and centre of gravity as the vehicle turns.”
by qualitychap
Friday, November 23 2012, 8:55PM
“and while there at it,can they take there lawn mowers down there,and cut all the verges down hedon rd,god knows what the arriving ferry passengers think,its like a scene from planet of the apes,have our council ever heard of the saying,first impressions.”
by dondeckie
Friday, November 23 2012, 10:45AM
“Dig it up and start again.”
by Foxache
Friday, November 23 2012, 10:23AM
“Any driver who can't negotiate something as simple as a roundabout should have their licence removed immediately.
"the roundabout is small" - you only need to look through your windscreen to see that, and once you know this basic fact then any half competent driver would travel at an appropriate speed.
Did these drivers drop their Yorkies just before the roundabout?”
by b00001
Friday, November 23 2012, 7:11AM
“Given the right circumstances an HGV be it Rigid or Articulated can turn over at very low speeds. The only pre reqisite is that the centre of gravity of the vehicle moves outside the vehicle footprint. Bad driving can cause or contribute to this but is not always to blame for incidents. It is a general concensus amongst local drivers that some of the roundabouts on Hedon Road have bad geometry and are dangerous. In particular the one near the prison needs ripping up and redesigning. I make it a policy never to be alongside any HGV when using or leaving any roundabout. The tragic case of the cyclist killed last year is a different matter, The load was not secured which was a blatent example of neglect.
fairway1 - big respect to your post.”
by Mildred
Thursday, November 22 2012, 6:42PM
“I suspect "tractor" should read "trailer" regards the Susan Russell incident. HDM's proof readers have always been quite poor. However, it's fairly irrelevant. In fact why is it even mentioned as I am sure this is about a different junction.
As others have said there is no reason for this roundabout to be relabelled as they are quite obvious to any driver. It's such a shame we have to cater for the thickies and those who cannot follow basic rules. Reminds me of that story about the roundabout in Hornsea where some people claimed not to know they couldn't differentiate between the (black Tarmac) road and the (beige block-paved) roundabout. Specsavers should do a roaring trade in these parts!!!”
by BevRoadNorth
Thursday, November 22 2012, 6:33PM
“Cllr Williams said: "I'm not an expert". At last, a bright spark in local govt sees the light and it sinks in.
Given the decisions these people are making,from council budget,to transport network,road works,its alarming just how far from being experts in anything, they actually are. Its little wonder cities like Hull lurch from crisis to blunder.”