PLAN TO MOVE ROADSIDE TRIBUTES TO STOP DRIVERS BEING DISTRACTED
Questions over siting policy for memorials
COUNCIL chiefs fear roadside memorials in tribute to crash victims are distracting other drivers.
Community leader Councillor David Brookes questioned Staffordshire County Council’s policy on the siting of memorials at this month’s full council meeting.
In response, it was accepted that while placing tributes at the scenes of incidents can be an important part of the grieving process, safety concerns for other road users must be taken into account.
Now Councillor David Williams, cabinet member for highways and transport, has pledged to work with communities to site roadside memorials safely.
He said: “The county council’s programme of road safety engineering, education and training activities has contributed to Staffordshire having one of the safest highway networks in the country.
“The county council recognises the placing of a tribute at the roadside can be an important part of the grieving process for some individuals following the loss of a loved one.
“However, we have a responsibility to ensure that no items placed within the highway serve as a distraction to passing motorists, and consideration must be given to how the tribute would affect drivers using the road.
“Paying tribute at a memorial placed within the highway setting can also present a road safety risk and, therefore, the council will work with local communities and their representatives to ensure any locally agreed memorial bench or monument is appropriately sited.
“The county council’s statutory responsibility is to ensure the highway is not obstructed, and that any items placed within the highway are covered by an appropriate legal agreement.
“Within a town centre/ pedestrianised setting, full consideration must also be given to maintaining accessibility for all.”
Councillor Brookes had initially put forward the question at the meeting.
He said: “Over the years, very sadly, Staffordshire, like other roads and highway networks throughout our country, has seen many unfortunate fatalities.
“What policies do we have for permanent memorials on, or adjacent to, our public highway network?
“What policies do we have for pedestrianised highways or town centre marketplaces regarding memorial benches and monuments?
“Have we – or do we – have a policy to close highways, and what would happen to this land?”
MOTORWAY police using a new HGV cab stopped more than 50 drivers flouting the rules of the road in a four day crackdown.
As part of Operation Tramline, officers spotted offences such as motorists using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt, and speeding on the M6.
The operation has seen Highways England loan out one of three unmarked HGV cabs to Staffordshire Police.
The cabs are used on the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) network which includes the M6 and A500 in North Staffordshire.
The elevated position means officers have been able to travel alongside vehicles to detect any unsafe driving.
Between February 16 and February 19, the CMPG stopped 53 drivers on the M6 in Staffordshire on suspicion of 27 mobile phone offences.
They were 15 seatbelt offences; four speeding and four of careless driving with three vehicles seized for no insurance.
One driver was also spoken to for driving on the hard shoulder, while one was arrested for immigration offences and another was stopped driving a stolen car before being arrested for the theft.
Inspector Sion Hathaway, of the CMPG, said: “We welcome this new HGV addition to our resources and thank Highways England for enabling us to use the truck to improve driver safety on our roads.
“It’s especially important, particularly given the recent wet and often icy conditions on the roads, as well as the latest national lockdown, that we detect people travelling in a potentially unsafe manner and detect offences before serious collisions take place.
“All of this enforcement activity is about keeping people safe on the roads, not catching them out.
“I hope that those stopped and dealt with by CMPG will now think twice about committing an offence again.”
Staffordshire’s Roads Policing Unit has also used the cab to identify 15 mobile phone offences and 14 seatbelt incidents, with one driver spoken to about taking
care while driving, and 14 people advised over vehicle defects.
Highways England assistant regional safety co-ordinator, Marie Biddulph, said: “We work very closely with our police partners across the country through Operation Tramline to improve driving behaviour and reduce the number of incidents caused by unsafe driving.
“It is always disappointing to see
people flouting the law and putting themselves and others at risk, particularly those using a mobile phone. You are four times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone.
“Using the supercabs, we want to encourage all drivers to think twice about their behaviour behind the wheel, put their phone in the glovebox, and make sure everyone gets to their destination safely.”
A MOTORIST whose tyre came off and almost hit a pedestrian after he drove through a police stinger finally came to a stop – outside his own house.
Police had pursued Macaulay Smith through the streets of Stoke, Hartshill, Penkhull and Newcastle, before he eventually parked up in Durber Close, Trent Vale.
The 21-year-old was arrested and went on to admit dangerous driving and using a vehicle without insurance.
Now Smith has been handed an 18-month community order at Stoke-on-trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Amiee Parkes said a police officer was parked near the civic centre in Stoke at around 8.40pm on May 16 last year.
“His attention was drawn to two red vehicles which passed at speed,” she added. “They were followed by a Ford Fiesta.”
Smith was behind the wheel of the Fiesta and was holding a mobile phone to his ear.
The police lost sight of the vehicles for a short while.
When they reappeared, the Fiesta was in front. The officer believed the drivers had been racing each other.
He caught up with Smith in his marked police car. But he turned down a side street to try and give him the slip. The pursuit continued through Stoke and Hartshill.
Ms Parkes said: “The defendant had been made aware that other officers had placed a stinger device.
“The defendant’s vehicle mounted the off-side pavement to avoid the stinger.”
Another patrol tried a second stinger device and it caught the car’s rear tyres. Undeterred, Smith drove on as his tyres started deflating. “He continued at 50 to 60mph,” Ms Parkes told the court.
As he led police towards Newcastle town centre, other road users pulled over.
But the Fiesta’s tyres were starting to shred and one of them came off completely.
The object narrowly missed hitting a car waiting at traffic lights, and also the pedestrian. Eventually, Smith stopped outside his home.
He told police the vehicle belonged to his mother and brother, who were both insured.
Arif Hussain, mitigating, told the court: “He wasn’t in a proper frame of mind. He’d struggled to come to terms with the breakdown of a relationship.”
Describing Smith as a ‘very hardworking young man’, he said he had found himself demoted at work and then furloughed, before losing his job.
“On that day, he just wanted to get away from everybody,” said Mr Hussain.
“In some way, it was a cry for help.”
Sentencing him, Judge David Fletcher highlighted how the pursuit had gone past Royal Stoke University Hospital.
He said: “It was the sort of time when people might be visiting the hospital, or people might be leaving who worked there.
“The driving took place over a fairly lengthy time. You continued to drive after the stinger was deployed,and you even lost your tyre, with the wheel of the car falling off and almost hitting a pedestrian.
“You could have been standing there facing something massively more serious.”
As part of his sentence, Smith must complete 60 hours of unpaid work, 40 days of a rehabilitation activity, and a 12-week drug rehabilitation requirement.
He has also been disqualified from driving for two years and until he passes an extended test.