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Another car flips over after colliding with bollard (From Wimbledon Guardian)
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Another car flips over after colliding with bollard in Worple Road, Wimbledon
9:10am Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News By Omar Oakes
Dozens of onlookers watch as the couple emerged uninjured from the ordeal at about 11am on Saturday, September 8
A problem bollard has been blamed once again after yet another car flipped over on its side in Wimbledon town centre.
A man and woman had to be helped out of their car by officers from Wimbledon police station after their car collided with the bell bollard on Worple Road as they were turning right from Wimbledon Hill Road.
Dozens of onlookers watch as the couple emerged uninjured from the ordeal at about 11am on Saturday, September 8.
Sarah Davies, the lettings manager at nearby Haart estate agents, told the Wimbledon Guardian in February she had seen eight similar accidents happens at the junction and criticised Merton Council for not removing the bollard.
On Saturday she said: “Fortunately [the victims] both looked unharmed but extremely shocked.
“I will be writing to [Wimbledon MP] Stephen Hammond and Merton Council about this matter once again.”
The aftermath of the crash was captured on video by Giacomo Mantovani, a freelance film director, who interviewed residents as they despaired about the bollard.
In the six-minute clip witnesses are interviewed with mixed views about whether the driver was to blame for turning too steeply, or whether the bollard or the design of the road is to blame.
One man said: “She was going slow but she hit the bollard, which is very heavy, and it lifted the side of the car and that’s how it turned over.
“The police were so good, they were right behind when the car came along and they jumped out to rescue those two people.
“That bollard, if you go to it, is so thick - it just raised the car over and like slow motion it went over.”
Mr Mantovani, who lives in Woodside, said he would send his video to Merton Council to show them the residents' concerns.
The 29-year-old said: "I think it is important to report what happened because accidents happen so frequently at that spot.
"I think it is a combination of drivers being at fault and maybe a problem with the road, but surely something needs to be done."
Comments(7)
Hove Ex-Pat
says...
2:08pm Tue 11 Sep 12
!: Remove the "bell".
2: Or ban all right turns at this junction from Wimbledon Hill into Worple Road.
3: Install a small armco barrier in place of the "bell" so that any vehicle would be deflected rather than riding up & rolling over.
I'm sure that Merton council will find a way to ignore all suggestions. As we know with all local authorities, someone has to die before councils change anything.
maxicas
says...
5:05pm Tue 11 Sep 12
moto2012
says...
8:19pm Tue 11 Sep 12
CllrSuzanneEvans
says...
5:47pm Wed 12 Sep 12
robmorleyuk
says...
9:44am Thu 13 Sep 12
To hit it sufficiently to flip a car needs quite some momentum while a slow moving car would simply become stranded on it.
The road is wide enough, the problem is with drivers travelling too fast, not paying attention and it looks like – cutting the corner and possibly trying to beat the change of lights. I’ve seen that.
A charge of Driving without Due Care and Attention seems more appropriate than removing protection for pedestrians, without the bollard how much faster would drivers take the corner?
Should the bollard be removed and pedestrians be put at risk to accommodate the behaviour of a minority of drivers?
tjames
says...
1:48pm Thu 13 Sep 12
Mordenman says...
11:26am Tue 11 Sep 12