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Resident calls for action after seven crashes outside his home
From the Gazette & Herald, first published Thursday 5th Aug 2004.
GAZETTE & HERALD: HOUSEHOLDER Tony Pearce fears it is only a matter of time before a driver is killed on the road outside his cottage, where there have been seven accidents since last August.
Mr Pearce, 60, only moved to Pillars Lodge, on the A3102 between Bromham and Calne, a year ago but says the dangers of the road are taking a toll on his health.
He has been pressing for action to be taken to improve the road's safety, but is worried it is going to take a fatal accident to make Wiltshire County Council sit up and listen to him.
The final straw came three weeks ago when a driver crashed his car into a bush at the roadside early in the morning.
Mr Pearce, who is retired because he suffers from epilepsy and shares his home with his carer, said: "I've been campaigning for something to be done since about September but I'm getting nowhere. We'd lived here a month when there was the first crash.
"Someone will be killed there before long so something has got to be done.
"It's very scary. All seven cars have either ended up in bushes or fields and upside down."
Mr Pearce has told Wiltshire County Council about his concerns, but it said it couldn't do anything about the road because of lack of Government funds.
"The more pressure we can put on them the better," he said. "I've never seen anything like it, there are skid marks on the road to this day from accidents that happened months ago."
Mr Pearce moved from Bournemouth to his cottage because of the beautiful countryside. He said: "It's a tranquil road and we thought it would be lovely but I've never seen anything like it.
"Because of my illness I can't get very excited, anxiety and stress can cause a fit. I need my sleep. I don't want to hear bangs in the middle of the night.
"It's affecting my health. I felt scared when I heard the skids and bangs at 6.50am because I knew a car had crashed and I fear finding a tragedy. I was shaking with fear. You just imagine the worst."
Mr Pearce would desperately like to see some positive changes made to the road. He said: "We need speed cameras or sign posts warning people about the bends or if the council don't want to spend much money or can't afford it then just a solid white line down the middle of the road so drivers can't overtake.
"You're always hearing skidding and there are so many near misses. It's like a racetrack. They see how fast they can go round the bends and they're always on the wrong side of the road. One day there will be a head on collision."
Even a police officer, who attended the accident on July 20, stressed to Mr Pearce the need for a speed camera on the stretch of road to slow drivers down.
Mr Pearce said: "There are two schools very nearby and children cross there all the time. I fear for them and my own grandchildren when they come to stay."
Mr Pearce always rushes out when he hears a crash and does what he can to help. He said: "I've had to help young lads out of their cars and then bring them into my house for coffee because they're shaking too much to drive. I shouldn't be doing that."
A Wiltshire County Council spokesman said: "We monitor carefully the number of reported collisions that have led to someone being injured across the county and we target the available resources carefully to tackle those sites with the worst accident problems.
"The latest figures available do not show a particular injury accident problem at Pillars Lodge on the A3102. The length of road is in a good state of repair, has clear road markings and reasonable forward visibility.
"It is the responsibility of all drivers to drive safely and we would urge them to drive at a speed that is appropriate."
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