Preservation Of Life
Posted: Saturday, October 15, 2011
by MKDS
Storm Multi-Media Technologies Ltd
Summary:
It is one of the best feelings in the world to arrive home and find your Child waiting with open arms to welcome you after a hard day at work. Even better is the feeling of getting home to the waiting smile of your child, when you are only too aware that the school in which they attend has a road where there are no Signs to warn other drivers of the on-coming dangers. So why do many drivers, especially on the Hallfield Lane in Wetherby, not only ignore the limited speeds around both Wetherby High School and St. James Primary School, but also increase their speed when passing?
Few would consider the stretch of road outside Wetherby High School that of a dangerous place to be, unless they were to be there between the hours of 8 am to 9.15 am, and 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm in the afternoon. It is between these times that many drivers take it upon themselves to Race past the two school's that lay just off Hallfield Lane, Wetherby, Leeds.
With more than a dozen complaints and calls to the Council to place some kind of restriction on this stretch of road, the answer has remained the same in every instance, and that is: "There has been no fatalities on that stretch of road", and, that the local Council has not got the funds to pay for any alterations.
As both a driver and a father, the responsibility of being a careful driver on the road, especially near school's is considered a very important responsibility; within that school there is a child like mine who has a family, the very same as there being a child just waiting to come running out of the school grounds to find a Mother or Father waiting to hold them in their waiting arms.
The statistics show
After contacting Wetherby Town Council, who in their wisdom told us that they were not responsible for this area of complaint and that we would have to approach the L.C.C (Leeds City Council), which we did before being then being directed to Highways - we finally got a response.
According to "Statistics" gathered by the Department of Transport and Highways, there is NOT enough "Casualties" on that stretch of road that would warrant any form of device or surface alteration in which to reduce the speed of any vehicle using this road. Only one minor accident has been reported on Hallfield Lane, Wetherby, in the last several years, excluding the recent car that took one of the corners too fast and landed on its roof in a nearby garden. The theory is that the driver must have been traveling too fast to flip the vehicle onto its roof.
Video evidence has been taken by both the residents and a couple of concerned parents whose children attend the schools, but on all occasions the Town Council and Wetherby Police have both declined acceptance of the video evidence. The school's headmaster, Mr Duncan Walsh of St. James's, has been in a constant battle lock for something to be done - again, nothing has except the feeble excuses that there is no money to place Speed Cameras, Sleeping Policemen or any other designated Slow Warning.
With only one sign signifying that Wetherby High School is there and that it is present, no other signs exist to warn motorists that St. James's Primary School is situated just off the main road. Of course this accounts for drivers, including Leeds City Council vans, Patient Transport Ambulances, Wetherby Skip trucks, Tesco Home Delivery Vans, cars and other vehicles to exceed not only 30 mph but upwards to 50 mph - Killer Speeds.
Not happy breaking the law with their excessive speeds, it is now becoming a rising habit for some drivers to mount the pavements because they don't wish to wait until oncoming cars have passed. These pavements adjoin the local vets and residential driveways, and will one day take the life of an innocent pedestrian.
Solutions.
The solution is looking the Leeds City Council right in the face as soon as a vehicle leaves the Morrison’s car park next to Wetherby High School - a signage that there are indeed two schools in that area. For the police, the upholding of the laws of the road where the motorist adheres to the speed limit which is 30 mph - should be dropped to 20 mph outside every school, regardless of the age groups that attend - and would subsequently be Fined, Charged and/or Arrested for not abiding by the laws.
A Sleeping Policeman, Calming Zone, Speed Camera, or even a Police Presence - which was requested and declined for reasons of Cut Backs - between 8.30 am and 9.15 am mornings and 2.45 pm and 3.30 pm in the afternoons would prove the fact that this is one of the most dangerous school associated roads in Leeds.
Final Thought.
It goes without saying that in today’s mitigating world that is highly encouraged by the government, if at any stage of time during our children’s attendance at St. James's or Wetherby High, they succumb to a speeding drivers ignorance and arrogance for driving at killer speeds, then not only will that driver suffer the consequences of Court Proceedings and Prosecution, but too will the three main bodies of Local Government. The problem has been addressed so many times that Negligence would not only conform to the law, but the wake-up call to do the responsible thing and morale correction also.
There is no point putting out Safety Campaigns, if at the end of the day there are no consequences for the ones breaking this law to answer to. Money problems should not surpass the urgency of a life - especially if that life was to involve a member of staff who is a part of the problem's resolve.
© Marcus De Storm 2011
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