Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Call for lower speed limit
Gran hits out over near miss
A Glenboig woman is concerned “someone will be killed” if speed restrictions aren’t installed on a busy road in the village.
Marianne Bennett, 52, says she instinctively saved her young granddaughter’s life recently when a car travelling at “around 50mph” hurtled towards them on Coatbridge Road.
She pushed two-year-old Elizabeth out of the vehicle’s path when it “appeared from nowhere” as they were crossing the road – which has a 30mph limit.
Thankfully, Marianne and Elizabeth made it to the safety of the pavement just before the car raced by without slowing down.
She told the Advertiser: “Elizabeth lives just across the road and I was taking her home at around 6pm, so it was quite dark.
“The road is a busy one, so we waited for a break in the traffic.
“We were just at the white lines in the middle of the road when I noticed the car coming towards us.
“I had to make a split- second decision and was able to push Elizabeth over to the pavement and get myself out of the way.
“The car didn’t show any signs of slowing down or stopping.”
Grandmother-of-three Marianne thanks her regular walking habits for being fit enough to react quickly to the incident, which took place at the road’s junction with Whitelaw Avenue.
She is also thankful she was able to prevent a disaster, but is concerned not all residents who find themselves in a similar situation will be able to do so.
The mum-of-two continued: “If a child in their own wee world or a less-mobile elderly person was crossing that road at the time they’d have had no chance of getting out of the way.
“There’s nothing there to help kids or pensioners get across safely.
“There needs to be a pedestrian crossing or speed cameras put in place.
“But it seems as though somebody will be killed on that road before anything is done to improve the safety of it.”
A North Lanarkshire Council spokesperson said: “The issue of speeding is a matter for Police Scotland, however we have recently carried out an investigation of traffic in Glenboig, following the submission of a petition from residents concerned about speeding.
“The speed limit in the village is 30mph and features like roundabouts and traffic lights limit the speed of traffic.
“Police Scotland records show that, between May 2015 and May 2018, there were two slight injury accidents where speed was not a contributory factor.
“The council has a list of sites, where there have been more than five injury accidents in three years, where it will prioritise its resources for engineering work.
“As a result, on September 12, the council’s infrastructure committee decided that no action would be carried out.”
The car didn’t show any signs of slowing down or stopping