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Death crash sparks road-safety talks
Reporter: LEWIS JONES
Date online: 31 August 2010
A CONCERNED group of Saddleworth councillors say they are in talks with the police in a bid to cut the number of accidents on the borough’s twisting country roads.
Alarmed by the double fatal motorcycle crash in Denshaw, councillors Mike Buckley, Derek Heffernan and Alan Roughley have spoken out to try and increase safety.
Councillor Roughley said: “What has been put in place so far has not been able to change the culture or give the results hoped on the local roads.
“There is more and more powerful traffic on the roads, first made in the 18th and early 19th century, but we have to work with what we have got.
“We need to do something, we hope that suggestions and talks with the police can be researched and applied.”
They were spurred to make the announcement following the death of two bikers, including 17-year-old Joseph Smith, on the A6052 Delph Road on August 21.
They argue that the rise in the number of bikes and cars coming into the district on summer evenings could be a contributing factor to the number of road accidents.
Insp Chris Gloster, of the Traffic Network Section, said: “We have put in plans to monitor average speed on these roads and measure the extent of the problem.
“Once we have the results we will liaise with the Greater Manchester Casualty Reduction Partnership to decide what tactics can be used to enforce the speed limit.”
The councillors now want to develop a relationship with the police to look at every possible way of reducing the risk of accidents and increase road safety — highlighting the dangerous speed and manner in which some locals drive.
A nearby four kilometre section of the A627 Ripponden Road between Sholver and Denshaw was labelled one of the UK’s high risk roads in a report in June this year.
The Road-Safety Foundation (RSF) reported that the accident blackspot claimed four lives last year, with the total number of accidents doubling since 2005.
Comments
i agree with fedupoldamer. I'm also a motorcyclist & have first hand knowledge of these roads. Reducing the limits will achieve nothing, especially as a minority of riders& drivers will ignore them anyway. What we need is traffic police in marked & unmarked cars to deter offenders. Cameras dont work.
Most off these motorcyclists treat these roads including the a635 like a race track especially on sunny weekends.
The answer is simple average speed cameras at both ends !!
SIMPLES!!
just look at any road in oldham and its pot hole infested or patched up more than a patchwork quilt.
even when the roads are resurfaced, these are cheaply done with tar and chipping laid on top. the uneven and poor road surface is just covered over to hide it. it ends up reappearing a little while later.
to properly maintain the roads the old suface layer needs to be ripped up and a new smooth top layer of tarmac needs laying down.
until this is done the poor roads and accidents will continue
Councillors Mike Buckley, Derek Heffernan and Alan Roughley need to get out of bed early on a Sunday morning then get up to Denshaw and see for themselves the ritual residents have to endure every weekend,
as bikers head for the moors travelling at excessive speeds along the A672 Oldham Road, the A6052 Delph Road and the A640 Huddersfield Road.
i'd also like to know where these councillors get their info from?
they say a rise in the numbers of cars and bikes coming into the district on summer evenings could be a contributing factor to the number of road accidents?
where is your evidence on these figures rising? the roads are actually clearer this year. and speaking to most local biking friends the first thing they do is escape from oldhams roads to better areas where the riding experience is much more enjoyable.
i agree with fedupoldamer. I'm also a motorcyclist & have first hand knowledge of these roads. Reducing the limits will achieve nothing, especially as a minority of riders& drivers will ignore them anyway. What we need is traffic police in marked & unmarked cars to deter offenders. Cameras dont work.
Yes I agree with Saddleworth 1 we to have problems with motorbikes on the A62 where I live, they use it as a race track and the noise is awful makes you want to go out for a bit of peace and quite at weekends when the sun is out, and yes there are still accidents one a couple of weeks ago a motorbike crashed into the barrier on the Floating Light bend.
Its not just motorcyclists that speed on these roads I have seen idiot car drivers come down from junction 22 and speed throgh Denshaw and dissapear towards grains bar. Bikers get bad press when in fact most are good sensible drivers who care for their valuable machines. I am not a biker and I dont think anyone under the age of 25 should be allowed anywhere near one
a prime example of the bad press bikers get is Sweep! ooooh those noisey bikers flying up and down the road.
yes some idiots do ride too fast and recklessly. remember the a62 did used to be a national speed limit road till ombc meddled with it.
the traffic did used to travel faster than the now 50 limit on there.
the bikes have always been there since most living people can remember. and actually where more popular when a motorcycle was a working persons for of transport before cars took over!
"The answer is simple average speed cameras at both ends !!
SIMPLES!!"
They spent £1.2million installing these on the cat & fiddle but they cannot use them due to a shortcut which means you could be prosectued for driving at the legally allowed speed.
Simples..........
"I am not a biker and I dont think anyone under the age of 25 should be allowed anywhere near one"
Seeing as young male car drivers are the most likely to be involved in fatal accidents are we to ben them from driving cars?
I'm not saying that bikers dont speed, but its a minority that treat the roads as a racetrack. Has anyone here actually got a home office approved speed gun to back up these claims or is it that some of the bikes simply sound like they are speeding?
The poor condition of most roads in Oldham are bad enough for cars, let alone motorcyclists such as fedupoldhamer and Owdamer. I'm considering a 4 x 4 for my next car; the potholes around Oldham are that deep the roads look like a First World War battle field. I'm half expecting a German sniper on my way to work.
@jonti007...just how many young people are killed driving cars that are far too powerful for them. I think you'll find that at least bikes are restricted in power for certain age groups/types of licence whereas with cars you can be 17 and drive a Ferrari.
we need more traffic police on our roads. Driving round Oldham today, in just one hour, I saw 6 drivers with no seatbelts on.4 others on the phone,(turning right, badly )one texting, one eating and one trying to do both. That is 12 offences that put us all at risk. This reckless behaviour will continue unless there are people there to make sure traffic laws are obeyed.
There should be retesting of all drivers and riders every 10 years or so as there is in other countries. Maybe then, the idiots will be stopped, or at least have their licences taken away til they can pass and show improvements their driving.If there was something given on passing that must be displayed in a car, it would also wedd out those who don't have licences / insurance.
To jonti007 have you sat outside the junction at denshaw on a warm sunday afternoon,its like mad sunday at the tt when the sensible bikers who love there machines do 100mph plus up every road in the village.
orangepeel. You have a calibrated speed gun to back up these claims do you? Or do these bikes just sound fast? I know the roads around the area well & doubt 100+ would be possible due to the poor condition of the surface.
Owdamer. If orangepeel provides a calibrated speed gun, are you going to provide your research on the condition of road surfaces?
To owdamer, you dont need a speed gun in denshaw you just weigh up how many lamp posts have got flowers wrapped round them, any one new to the area would think denshaw was taking part in the britain in bloom contest.
yes orangepeel! all those flowers for car accidents! when was the last bike accident around the denshaw area?
again! typical bad press that biker get!
I’m commenting from the point of view of a Police Motorcycle Instructor and avid biker with some 30 years of riding experience. Morgana, a re-test is a gauge of a car/bike driver’s ability to drive within the guidelines at the time of the test, similar to an MOT, which only guarantees a vehicles roadworthiness at the time of the test. ANPR is the chosen method the police use to identify un-licensed/ un- insured drivers.
. In conclusion, you will find that there will be, and always have been tragic accidents on the roads in this locality, in fact on many roads throughout the country. It makes little difference whether they are car or motorcycle related, as many have led to the loss of a loved one.
It’s easy for the anti biker brigade to jump on the bandwagon following such a dreadful incident. But you will find that the vast majority of accidents and fatalaties in the last 30 years have, in the main, involved cars. Throwing local government funds at traffic calming measures isn’t the solution, driver education is.
Reading your other comments Morgana, your scrutiny of other drivers is concerning, we don’t want you having a bump as a result of your fascination with the antics of other road users do we?.
Design970, ‘research on the condition of the road surface’. Do you ever venture outside? even on foot?, the state of disrepair of the road surfaces around Saddleworth is quite evident to both the pedestrian and the driver, no research needed.
Listen i am by no means anti bike, i have owned quite a few bikes in the past 30 years and have myself been a victim on this stretch of road, but the sad fact is 2 people are dead and i feel very sorry for there families but speed kills, yes i have seen a lot of car accidents in and around denshaw but you dont see the cars going past the juntion on there back wheels do you, or trying to get there knee down at the green ash, i live in this area and i know the score.
Thank's for your feedback Mr positive. I will leave my dungeon and venture outside on your extremely qualified and experienced recommendation.
Thanks to people like ProDriver who have given time to remind others that yes bikes do have speed restrictors with age. As Joseph's sister I know for a fact our Joe's bike was restricted so yes design970 speed kills but our Joe's bike was uncapable of those speeds. He drove sensible and only every went out when the sun was out to enjoy the scenery!! Maybe people should keep their comments to themselves unless they can back them up with evidence!!
Have Your Say
well reducing the speed limit will not prevent these accidents happening! both the a62 and the a627 have had their limits reduced and the accidents still keep on happening!
now if the roads around here where properly maintained over the last 10 years we might nothave had so many accidents!
as a motorcyclist i can honestly say oldham is the worst borough for main road conditions here in the northwest!
and im not even counting the side roads which are even worse!
By fedupoldhamer @ 31/08/2010 13:02:04