Tragedy. No other word for it.
Friday’s death of a 25-year-old Pwllglas motorist less than a mile from Rhuthun on the A494 near the Vale country club has left many in the community feeling numb. We don’t yet know the circumstances surrounding this tragedy. We do know that he was the only driver on the road at about five o’clock that morning. It’s unlikely therefore that, had a speed limit been imposed on this section of road, such a limit would have had an effect, in this circumstance.
The crash and the earlier one nearby of 3 April 2008 is now highlighting the tension between those who feel the road length is dangerous and those who feel that the knee-jerk imposition of a speed limit is inappropriate. Should the two straights between Rhuthun and the Smithy be subject to a limit?
Drivers vote with their right foot. Rhuthun residents will well recall the longstanding temporary 30-mph speed limit along this stretch of road, till Easter this year, during the culvert and general improvements at the Smithy. This effectively extended the 30-mph from Rhuthun all the way to the 30 zone of Llanbedr. How many people kept to this limit? Very, very few. There were common instances of motorists overtaking drivers, where the slower driver was already travelling over the limit.
Since Friday, the road near the Vale country club currently has a further temporarily imposed 40-mph limit, from the Smithy west to the Rhuthun 30 zone. Even now, even after this horrific incident, there appears scant regard for the 40 limit. The road seems so open, unobstructed, with few accesses off it. And motorists frustrated by the Tan-yr-Unto bends and the Llanbedr or Rhuthun 30-mph urban limits will inevitably use the straights by the Smithy to pass slow traffic.
One thing’s for sure: the explicit need for travel from our town is not matched by roads suitable for swift commuting. Our main roads aren’t fast roads. Progressive motorists will take those limited opportunities that straight stretches present, we suspect whether there’s a speed limit or not.
That there have been numerous incidents on the roads to Dinbych, Yr Wyddgrug/Mold and Wrecsam is a matter of record; and that more and more communities are now the subject of speed limits, red road paint, double white lines and even traffic lights serve to illustrate the need for caution and restraint. Yet, drivers’ attitudes to speed limits remain generally one of hostility towards enforcement such as Arrive Alive. While communities continue to press for mitigation, motorists also tend to want unfettered progress, often ignoring speed limits set for their safety.
And that’s the dichotomy that this stretch of the A494 by the country club illustrates so well. Perhaps we all want speed limits along our own stretches of road; just don’t slap them down anywhere else.
Friday’s death of a 25-year-old Pwllglas motorist less than a mile from Rhuthun on the A494 near the Vale country club has left many in the community feeling numb. We don’t yet know the circumstances surrounding this tragedy. We do know that he was the only driver on the road at about five o’clock that morning. It’s unlikely therefore that, had a speed limit been imposed on this section of road, such a limit would have had an effect, in this circumstance.
The crash and the earlier one nearby of 3 April 2008 is now highlighting the tension between those who feel the road length is dangerous and those who feel that the knee-jerk imposition of a speed limit is inappropriate. Should the two straights between Rhuthun and the Smithy be subject to a limit?
Drivers vote with their right foot. Rhuthun residents will well recall the longstanding temporary 30-mph speed limit along this stretch of road, till Easter this year, during the culvert and general improvements at the Smithy. This effectively extended the 30-mph from Rhuthun all the way to the 30 zone of Llanbedr. How many people kept to this limit? Very, very few. There were common instances of motorists overtaking drivers, where the slower driver was already travelling over the limit.
Since Friday, the road near the Vale country club currently has a further temporarily imposed 40-mph limit, from the Smithy west to the Rhuthun 30 zone. Even now, even after this horrific incident, there appears scant regard for the 40 limit. The road seems so open, unobstructed, with few accesses off it. And motorists frustrated by the Tan-yr-Unto bends and the Llanbedr or Rhuthun 30-mph urban limits will inevitably use the straights by the Smithy to pass slow traffic.
One thing’s for sure: the explicit need for travel from our town is not matched by roads suitable for swift commuting. Our main roads aren’t fast roads. Progressive motorists will take those limited opportunities that straight stretches present, we suspect whether there’s a speed limit or not.
That there have been numerous incidents on the roads to Dinbych, Yr Wyddgrug/Mold and Wrecsam is a matter of record; and that more and more communities are now the subject of speed limits, red road paint, double white lines and even traffic lights serve to illustrate the need for caution and restraint. Yet, drivers’ attitudes to speed limits remain generally one of hostility towards enforcement such as Arrive Alive. While communities continue to press for mitigation, motorists also tend to want unfettered progress, often ignoring speed limits set for their safety.
And that’s the dichotomy that this stretch of the A494 by the country club illustrates so well. Perhaps we all want speed limits along our own stretches of road; just don’t slap them down anywhere else.
Tags:
Traffic