‘Safety’ screen to block drivers’ views makes roundabout more dangerous

11:44am Friday 20th July 2012 in Your Letters

RE: The installation of a screen by Buckinghamshire County Council at an accident blackspot in an effort to improve safety by slowing drivers down. The screen was introduced by a roundabout on the A4155 after there were 14 crashes at the site in Little Marlow Road between 2008 and 2011.

REGARDING the news item in the Marlow Free Press last week concerning the screen on the junction of the Little Marlow Road and the A404 roundabout: I use this roundabout every day and it has become more dangerous, not less, than before the screen was erected, because drivers cannot see what is on a collision course with them.

The council should have improved visibility, not reduced it – that would make it safer.

What kind of perverse logic says that road safety is served by not being able to see what is coming at you?

I suspect that this is more about feeding their obsession with low speeds than safety.

It is a fundamental principle of safety that no change should be made that increases risk, hoping that behavioural changes will compensate for it.

Those who do this are failing in their Duty of Care under the Health & Safety at Work Act, Section 3 (1) which says “It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health and safety.”

By reducing visibility of traffic on a collision course, Transport for Buckinghamshire have indeed breached this Act by exposing drivers to more danger than before the screen was erected.

Chris Burmajster, Andrews Way, Marlow Bottom

Comments (3)

12:13pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Tharus Bond says...

ignoring the fact that when you approach a roundabout you must be prepared to stop?
ignoring the fact that when you approach a roundabout you must be prepared to stop? Tharus Bond

6:56pm Fri 20 Jul 12

tom.marlow2 says...

I use this roundabout most days too and anything that encourages people to slow down as they approach it is a good thing.
I use this roundabout most days too and anything that encourages people to slow down as they approach it is a good thing. tom.marlow2

6:08pm Sat 28 Jul 12

Eachban says...

It is clearly illogical to try to make something safer by hiding danger. Time will tell if the vision barrier does make a difference - and whether the council have negligently endangered road users by their actions.
.
Whilst you should be prepared to stop at a roundabout, the whole point of them is you only do so if it is necessary. This improves traffic flow. If the only way to make this place safe is to ensure drivers stop, I would venture sticking up stop signs would be a more cost effective solution.
It is clearly illogical to try to make something safer by hiding danger. Time will tell if the vision barrier does make a difference - and whether the council have negligently endangered road users by their actions. . Whilst you should be prepared to stop at a roundabout, the whole point of them is you only do so if it is necessary. This improves traffic flow. If the only way to make this place safe is to ensure drivers stop, I would venture sticking up stop signs would be a more cost effective solution. Eachban

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