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Lucky escape for boy hit by rat-run car
Reporter: KAREN DOHERTY
Date online: 28 April 2010
A MUM whose son was knocked down is calling for traffic-calming measurers on her street before a child is killed.
James Gamblen escaped with cuts, bumps and bruises when he was hit by a car on Rydal Avenue, Chadderton.
The seven-year-old spent a night in hospital after undergoing a CT scan to rule out serious injuries, but his mum Janine (38) fears that the next child might not be so lucky.
She said that the road is a rat-run for speeding drivers and is renewing her call for speed bumps or chicanes to to slow them down.
The car which hit the St Matthew’s Primary School pupil on Friday evening was not speeding and Mrs Gamblen stressed that she did not blame the driver because James had stepped out into the road from behind an ice-cream van.
Mrs Gamblen said: “His dad saw it and I heard it. When I got out he was up and walking but this bump came up on his head.
“We are lucky that the person who hit him was local. She knew the road so she wasn’t going particularly fast.
“If it had been someone using it as a cut through he probably would be dead.”
Mrs Gamblen said she had previously asked Oldham Council to install traffic-calming measurers and had contacted the council again this week.
She added: “The traffic on this road is a nightmare. It is quite long and you can pick quite a bit of speed up.
“It is a side road, it is a residential area and there are a lot of children who play out.
“James wasn’t seriously injured, but the next child won’t be so lucky.”
Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for infrastructure, said: “I am sorry that James has been injured and I am glad to hear that he is okay.
“I will take this to the traffic section and get them to look into it to see what we can do.”
Comments
If her son was to blame, for stepping out from behind an ice cream van & the mother says the car driver wasn't at fault, how does she justify her call for traffic calming measures? Have there been other collisions where the drivers were at fault? Are the police aware of these incidents? Or is it a case of her son needing more supervision & an awareness of how to cross a road? I'm glad he wasn't seriously injured but I think the mother is wrongly allocating the blame.
It is very obvious that the driver of the car concerned was NOT speeding otherwise the child would have been dead, not escaping with a few minor injuries, and saying that other drivers are speeding is simply not good enough! where is your evidence?
This as the parents say is the fault of the child, and also their own fault for failing to instill the dangers of crossing the road.
There are already far to many 'trafic calming; measures, and cameras. All of them cause polution and damage vehicles.
If it's so dangerous why are the three of them sat in the middle of the road? That's a good example to the kids. Almost on a par with stepping out from behind an ice-cream van. Do all locals drive slowly and others race through at the speed of light? How fast is 'particularly fast'? Where is Rydal Ave a rat run to or from? Strikes me it's a road likely to be used by locals only. Too many 'ifs' here, apart from Mrs Gamblen's statement, ".. the next child won’t be so lucky." Prescience or what?
So the child was to blame (was he on his own on a "rat run" road ?) but the first remedy is always a call for road humps, not supervision of the child or raod saftey instruction. I feel sorry for the motoristm who was not speeding. How would she have felt if she had killed the poor lad ? Would road hunmps have changed the outcome? I am so glad the lad is OK BTW.
Mrs.Gamblem - the accident is your fault for not looking after your child - but, of course, it's easy to try and deflect the blame by asking for traffic measures.
As a resident of Rydal Avenue I fully support Mrs Gamblen's concerns regarding the speed of vehicles on the avenue. The road is regularly used as a cut through when traffic is busy on the adjacent main road, and a number of drivers have little or no concern for the local residents. If traffic calming measures were to be implemented the situation would improve dramatically. Children have been injured in recent years by speeding vehicles and as residents we need to take action before a fatality.
I would like to make a comment - but its all been said.
What a stupid family to want to publicise this story
Another cash cow coming I think.. And why is it a rat run agian I suspect the very low intelligence of our HW people and planners
Have Your Say
Lucky escape for boy hit by rat-run car! Not sure the driver would like your headline to this article. He was not speeding and did nothing wrong. A child stepped into the road. Instead of asking for traffic calming measures learn your children not to go on the road.
By jennyd @ 28/04/2010 13:53:17