Forensic road closures

[Nick Jones]

Obviously any road fatality or life changing injury is a tragedy and needs to be properly investigated. 

However, feels like it’s being taken to extremes in the UK these days.

As I write, local roads are extremely busy because the A303, Ilminster bypass is closed. It’s been closed since 11.30 last night following a collision between car and pedestrian, which unfortunately killed the pedestrian.

I’m really struggling to see why the road has needed to be closed for nearly 12 hours (so far) to deal with this?  I’ve seen two accidents on the diversion this morning, one quite serious and I’ve only been out once and over a short section of the diversion......

Feel that more consideration of the consequences of these closures is needed.

 

[thebrookster]

Agreed!

Up here in bonny Scotland we essentially have two main roads north from the Central Belt. The A82, and the A9. I live just off the A82.

In summer months with normal traffic it is not unusual to have queues of up to 20 miles in length. That's on a 60mph road (and the decent bit at that).

Now, we reckon during summer that on average the A82 will be closed somewhere along its length (which is admittedly Glasgow to Inverness) every second day. Fortunately Police Scotland are reasonably on the ball, and it is very rare that the road is ever closed for more than 6 hours, and often less than that.

Then we also have the Rest and Be Thankful, which is closed more often than it is open 

[Nick Jones]

This seems to have gone about 16 hours.  It was open again about 2.45 this afternoon when I cycled over it but can't have been open all that long as the lanes were still rammed with very frustrated motorists using google maps to try and divert.  Unfortunately traffic from both directions was trying to use lanes than are not only very definitely single track, but also have very few passing places.....  Some of them may still be there.

Local rumour has it that the pedestrian was, errr, "highly intoxicated" and went under a lorry after bouncing off a car.  Goodness knows what he was doing wandering on that bit of road as it doesn't go through villages/towns and there are no road junctions with it.  There are a few footpaths that cross it but hard to find in the day, never mind the night, as they are not well used.

Still unclear why this incident needed a major trunk route closed for 16 hours....

[PeterC]

I suppose long term the findings are used to improve road safety. Or maybe drunks are   being dropped off on a dark, busy road rather regularly.....a disposal scam for unwanted inebriates.

Peter

[Nick Jones]

1 hour ago, PeterC said:

disposal scam for unwanted inebriates.

Got to be a less disruptive way of doing that.  Traffic in this neck of the woods was thoroughly messed up for more than half the day.....  

May be interesting to discover how our man came to be where he was, though we may never know.  Seems one of the local first-responder GPs may have been involved in the original assessment of the victim.   Don't envy him his nightmares 

[Hamish]

It’s a death so the police needs to be robust in such an investigation. It’s a crime after all. And they they normally have the suspects it’s normally a registered vehicle with full od front and back typically not a difficult ID job. Same with speed cameras.

different with stolen vehicles or failure to stop cases. 
 

I also believe that insurance companies access the police investigations,  as you will appreciate it could involve big pay outs. 
 

is it proportionate- no I don’t think so. 

[Nick Jones]

3 hours ago, Hamish said:

It’s a crime after all

It’s a potential crime....

A drunk in dark clothing staggering about in the middle of the night on a trunk road though........ “Crime” is soon obvious. Poor bloody driver(s)!

Drunks trying to get home...... Many years ago, driving up the A30 east out of Yeovil on a winters evening I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a pair of feet sticking out over the kerb.  I was sure enough to make a loop and go around again. Approaching the scene slowly with hazards on in some trepidation, stress levels were further raised by seeing that I had been right and they hadn’t moved much, if at all in the 5 minutes it had taken me to go around. Stopped, got out and looked. Yep, body attached and all.... 

Heart in mouth I prodded it, and it grunted, groaned and sat up..... which was a relief!

Turned out to be a guy who had had a “bit of a session” at lunchtime (reckon it was a long lunch, not much solid content), missed his ride home and set out to walk the 6 miles mid afternoon. He was a bit low on detail, but he’d “stopped for a rest” and next he knew I woke him up.

I took him to his door. He wasn’t fit to walk. He smelled like a distillery and shivered violently all the way even though the car was warm.  Dunno what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped.

[Hamish]

If there is a motorist involved it’ll be a crime ..... we are too easy to ID thus helps their clear up rate