Only a matter of time before there’s a death
Residentsvoicefearsaboutaccidentblackspot
Residents of a Hamilton community fear it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed at a danger spot for road accidents.
Last week, we told how a woman was rushed to hospital following a crash in Ferniegair.
One local who dashed to help at the incident on the A72, Carlisle Road, has now stressed how dangerous the area is.
She said: “My concern is the speed going through the main village and the amount of accidents.
“I’ve only lived here four years and I do feel I’ve noticed a big difference in the speed of traffic and how people drive on the road.
“Sometimes there’s overtaking on the 30mph and it’s scary how many accidents there’s been. It’s ridiculous.
“There was a head-on collision there last year and that was the exact same spot I saw the car flip last week.
“Me and my neighbours were all out at it and I was the one dialling 999 giving the driver’s details. We heard it flip and everyone ran down to help.
“I’ve since been on a meeting about it [the road safety issues] and the number of people who said they’d seen an accident firsthand, I just think it’s a big concern, especially when there’s a lot of pedestrians out there now. To me, it all adds up wrong. Seeing something like that is not OK.”
The calls for better safety measures have since been backed by Central Scotland MSP Monica Lennon who feels there is “complacency” over how safe the local road is. The Scottish Labour politician says some constituents are fearing the worst.
Ms Lennon told us: “Residents in Ferniegair are terrified that it’s only a matter of time before there is a fatality on the road.
“Despite raising concerns with South Lanarkshire Council and Police Scotland on behalf of my constituents, I fear that no action is being taken to improve road safety.
“There have been too many nearmisses; the complacency has to end.
“I am grateful to local people for continuing to share their experiences. Ferniegair is a lovely place to live and everyone deserves to feel safe.
“The council and police need to listen to the residents and take action before someone is seriously injured or killed.”
Residents in Ferniegair have stressed that speed cameras don’t necessarily act as a deterrent for dangerous driving on the A72, but the possible introduction of roundabouts at junctions near residential areas may settle traffic.
In 2015, the death of a Larkhall woman in a fatal collision on the same stretch of road led to a reduction in the speed limit, however members of the community believe speeding is still an issue.
And in April last year, locals were joined by Ms Lennon and Hamilton North and East councillor, Davie Mclachlan to launch a petition to tackle the problem.
Together they called for action on measures to be brought in that would urge motorists to stick to driving at 30mph.
Problems of loud noise caused by HGV lorries passing through the area at speed were also raised at the time.