Road casualties

Britain has one of the best records in the world for road casualties. However, hundreds still die on the roads every year. In 2010, the police recorded 1,850 deaths, 22,660 people seriously injured and 184,138 who received light injuries.

Using official data recorded by police in Great Britain between 1999 and 2010, the BBC has plotted every road collision in which someone died. In all, 36,371 fatalities are marked on this interactive map.

As with any large collection of data, there will be errors that are reflected in this map. These arise as all details of these incidents are generated by the police who fill out a paper form that is then transcribed into a computer database.

Click the picture to find out more...

Beacon Hill

The Problem:

The new road markings at the western end of Beacon Hill have created a potential accident blackspot. Cars can now park on the north side of Beacon Hill from the point where the "pavement" (path) peters out - this is the beginning of the (unenforceable?) 20 minute restricted waiting zone for people visiting the Barnes Wallis statue.

Unfortunately this has unintended consequences. Drivers coming from Herne Bay and turning right to go (uphill) into Canterbury Road have their view of the traffic coming down Beacon Hill blocked by any cars parked by the statue. If they are turning left into Beacon Hill, they then have to swing out to avoid any parked cars on the corner by the statue. The result is that drivers coming down Beacon Hill are confronted with oncoming traffic suddenly appearing on the wrong side of the road!

A Solution:

This is easily remedied by extending the "No Parking" zone on this corner - perhaps as far as the footpath leading to the King's Hall - which would take no more than some paint and a sign.

Unthinking so-and-so's

The seafront of our seaside town has been blighted with a sprouting of parking meters. A bad move, for bad reasons, with unintended consequences and a hidden fact. Canterbury City Council installed 13 parking machines along the seafront and switched them on June 28. They will operate between 8.30am to 6pm every day from April 1 to September 30 with no overnight charge. The machines are solar powered and can be paid for by cash, council parking cards or mobile phone. Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The council has introduced these measures to improve traffic management. The aim is to put long stay parkers into off-street car parks elsewhere in the town and encourage regular turnover of spaces on the seafront. These days, it is usual to pay for parking in seaside towns. It happens everywhere else around east Kent - all the Thanet towns and Sandwich and Deal for example - and this move to introduce charging in Herne Bay brings the town in line with others."

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So having a constant turnover of 17 and 70 year olds slewing their cars to a halt by the meters and then lurching back out into the road within a couple of hours is going to "improve traffic management". How exactly?

So Herne Bay was a little bit different from the other nearby coastal towns, and in a good way - everyone likes free parking. CCC decided that this small but distinctive advantage must be eliminated. Have a look at the vox pop piece to see some reactions - unsurprisingly, some people find it makes Herne Bay a less attractive place to visit. Thank you, CCC, for nailing the lid down.

So where are the signs pointing our visitors to the long-stay off-street car parks? No sign of them anywhere near the Marine Parade parking meters, which is where you would expect them to be, given Mr Davies' argument.

So while the users of all the other sports centres in the district get their parking charges refunded by the sports center they are visiting, the good people of Herne Bay who park on the seafront to use the Pier and gym won't. Part of the reason is that the sparkling new machines don't produce two-part tickets with counterfoils, so the gym bunnies will have a 10 minute, 650 metre trudge to and from the WIlliam Street car park, come rain or shine. Congratulations, CCC, for once again giving HB the short end of the stick.

So here's the rub: the parking fees from the Marine Parade parking meters don't even go to our beloved Canterbury City Council - the fees go to Kent County Council. Marvellous!

HB Gazette 8th July 2010

Vox pop: parking on Marine Parade

New parking machines have been installed along Herne Bay seafront. Residents have welcomed their introduction, hoping that it will reduce the number of cars in the area. But they have also prompted fears that they may have a negative impact on tourism in the town. Until just over a week ago it had been free to park cars along Marine Parade but the council has introduced a series of pay machines along the waterfront. It now costs 60p an hour to park along Marine Parade and parking is limited to two hours. However, visitors to the seaside town were less than happy with the new parking arrangements.

Mrs Mason, 89, said:
"There are advantages to this because I have neighbours who have year-long parking permits and they sometimes can't find spaces. Now, they don't have that problem."

Daniela O'Brien, 23, agreed:
"I live in Beacon Hill and I don't like the idea of people coming down and just parking here all day. At least this way they have to pay and there's a limit to the amount of time they can stay."

Gerald Davies, 69, from Medway said:
"The information about how to use the machines wasn't very clear. We have got used to coming to Herne Bay and not having to pay. Now we are restricted to two hours."

Derek Fisk, 73 from Dartford, said:
"I feel like I have wasted my time. I drove here for a day out and two hours parking is not enough. I think people will either ignore these parking meters or they'll be put off from visiting the town."

Frank Hunt, 74, from Gravesend, feels the same:
"I'm confused. The instructions are not very clear at all, not to mention that last time I visited Herne Bay parking was free so this is an extra inconvenience. You can't make a day of visiting here any more so there's no point in having a day trip out. I just use the parking spaces for nipping to shops now"

HB Gazette 8th July 2010

Pipe dreams

Hastening our roads' decline into little more than cattle tracks sprinkled with asphalt clods, South East Water will spend 41 weeks replacing 5km of cruddy cast iron water main pipes with shiny blue plastic tubes - that's 0.00045 mph in old money. It'll be great when it's over.

Here's what they have to say about it on their website:

Water pipes which were first laid in Herne Bay more than 80 years ago during King George V’s reign are to be replaced as they reach the end of their working life. South East Water is to carry out a £1 million programme of work to replace 22 of the cast iron water mains at various locations across the town.

The pipes have served the town well during their long life time but now needs replacing to bring an end to the interruption to drinking water supplies and traffic disruption the sudden bursts are causing. In total the water company is to renew 5km of water main in Herne Bay over the next year. The new water main is made from modern plastic material which is less prone to bursts. Many of the pipes were made of cast iron, which although a strong material, can corrode over time, especially if they are laid in clay soil like that in Herne Bay.

Access for residents will be maintained throughout the work. The company aims to start construction on the 14th June 2010 and the main laying work is expected to complete by March 2011. The table below gives details of the current proposed construction timetable. This is subject to change and the website will be updated if it does so.

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I'm not sure if this table from SE Water's website is supposed to be in any particular order, but I've turned it into (more helpful?) pictures...

Click the thumbnail below for what's happening where (and in what order):

click it to big it

And click this one for a different look at the rollout:

click it to big it

"Hell on roads" with new Bay Test Centre

A new super driving test centre bringing more than three times as many learner cars to the streets of Herne Bay opens on Monday. The multi-purpose centre in Broomfield is ready for action after the old venue in Sea Street closed its doors last Thursday. There are currently three tests per hour in the town but instructors say this will rise to 10 when the new centre opens.

The Broadstairs test centre also closed last week so novice drivers from Margate, Ramsgate, Birchington, Sandwich and Sheppey will all have to travel to Herne Bay to bag their licence – resulting in more than 300 extra tests a week. Driving Instructor Diana Dooner, of Diana's Driving School, will be attending an open day at the new centre today but says others may boycott it. She said:

"I can see a lot of instructors not turning up because they're not happy with the new centre. We've been kept completely in the dark by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), who appear to want to keep the whole thing low-profile. I only found out about the opening date after reading a notice on the wall at the Broadstairs centre. It seems they've chosen to open in the winter because it's the quiet season, but come the summer the roads will be hell."

As well as driving tests, the new centre off the Thanet Way will cater for learner motorcyclists after the closure of facilities in Broadstairs. Diana says the opening could lead to a backlash against learner drivers and instructors, and fears the problem will only get worse.

"We're already being targeted by locals as a menace on the roads despite the fact we live here and pay our taxes like everyone else. There are literally hundreds of illegal cars on the streets of Herne Bay and the owners are the menaces who should be targeted. We already get grief when there are three tests an hour so imagine the hostility when this increases to 10. And I'm pretty sure the DSA will be looking to close Canterbury's test centre in the near future because it falls within the 20-mile travelling distance criteria. This will mean even more tests, more lessons and more cars clogging up the roads."

Driving Standards Agency spokesman Chris Lee said it had no intention of closing the Canterbury centre:

"The multi-purpose driving test centre in Herne Bay will offer new and improved facilities to learner riders and drivers by offering a modern, purpose-built and energy efficient building which is fully Disability Discrimination Act compliant. It also has off-road parking and an enclosed hard surface area to conduct new test manoeuvres for riders. Motorcycle testing will change substantially when a new test is implemented from March 30. A European Community Directive introduced major changes in the way we test learner motorcyclists. These changes include new manoeuvres which must be undertaken at speeds of 31mph. For road safety reasons these manoeuvres can not be carried out on public roads. Public consultation recommended, and it was agreed in 2002, that the DSA would find a network of suitable sites to conduct the off-road elements at new multi-purpose test centres. There are no plans to close the Canterbury test centre."

DSA Chief Executive Rosemary Thew said:

"The new motorbike test will contribute to road safety and the multi-purpose test centre in Herne Bay fits into our overall vision of improving facilities for riders and drivers across Great Britain."

thisiskent 21st Jan 2009