Problems with dangerous driving

by GD Wed 03 Mar 2010, 5:47 pm

Are drivers in Jersey dangerous behind the wheel?

Most people will admit they've gone above the speed limit at some point in their driving career, even if it's just by a few miles per hour.
But what about driving too close and too fast by pedestrians and cyclists?
Secure in your metal box, weighing several hundred kilos do you think about how your driving impacts on other road users?
Cally Noel from St Saviour said dangerous driving has caused her son to be nearly hurt three times in a week.
Cally called BBC Jersey to say dangerous driving in the island has put her son's life at risk while riding his bike.
"He's got his bike which he is cycling to work daily and unbelievably he came home shaking like a leaf because he had been coming up St Saviours Hill and twice had been overtaken by a car going on the outside of him and nearly run over.
"Yesterday he came home at 6.20 again and said 'you won't believe mum but it happened again'.
"He has his helmet, high visibility jacket, he's got his arm out to indicate he is turning right and this four wheel drive went round him, overtook him on the wrong side again," said Cally.

Problems with dangerous driving _47408889_-5

Should more be done to help cyclists in the island?

Cally said that drivers will need to be much more careful when approaching cyclists or things could get a lot worse.
"Drivers are going to have to take much more care with cyclists, I can't believe it. We were discussing another route he could take because coming up St Saviours Hill is just too dangerous," said Cally.
Constable John Refault of St Peter, has been vocal about keeping speed limits at 20mph in some parts of his parish but he thinks there is more to it than just speed.
"Speed limits is only one aspect of it, what we have here is an example of appallingly bad driving. That is something totally separate to speeding.
"People now have a total lack of awareness of the impact of their driving and their driving standards on the people around them," said Constable Refault.
The Constable gave an example of people driving through tape put up around flooded areas of Sandybrook.
"Some of the residents were telling me the road had been closed off with red and white barrier tape across the roads.
"Drivers were just driving through it and when they were driving through they were creating a wave and flooding people's houses," said Constable Refault.

We say to them that when it is a busy or dangerous junction to get off their bike and cross as a pedestrian. Problems with dangerous driving End_quote

Philip Blake, Road Safety Officer

The Constable said that he had been told this is something very common by the Honorary Police - who see people drive through closed roads all the time.
"Whenever they put up road signage to do diversions they will always get the road drivers who think they don't apply to them and force their way through.
"This is an example of bad driving habits people get in to, I think some of it is to do with speed because people aren't leaving enough time for their journeys.
"They are rushing between two points which makes them think more about getting to their destination on time than on the impact the way they're getting there on time is having on the people around them," said John Refault.
Phillip Blake is the Jersey road safety officer and he said there was a general lack of regard for other people in some cases.
"One of the things that has always struck me is that when I run cycling courses for adults, they have forgotten what it is like. There is a lack of regard for other people, there is this race to get places.
"I get lots of phone calls from schools where the parents are dropping off the children or picking them up and whilst they are doing that they drive quiet well.
"But once they've done it they completely forget about everybody else's children and drive quiet recklessly sometimes," said Philip Blake.
Philip said that there had been several ideas floated to make the driving test more useful for people driving on the islands roads.
"There have been several ideas raised to make sure that when people are learning to drive they have experience of driving at night and in wet weather conditions.

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Who should have priority on the roads in Jersey?

"If people learn to drive in July and August they probably learn through beautiful sunny weather conditions then as soon as the rain starts in September they struggle to find their windscreen wipers.
"They shouldn't do that but they're brand new and things happen to them and while they're doing that they take their eye of the road and go into the car in front of them," said Philip.
He said that, although you need to be prepared to go through a lot of paper work to report bad driving or a traffic incident - it was worth the effort.
"If you wanted to report it then report it but you're going to need a J number, times of day, you might need to make a statement and you might even have to go to court.
"It is worth reporting because without people reporting things you don't know what the trends are.
"The only thing that people like me use is where people get hurt. Where people get hurt it gets recorded and I can see where the general trends are," said Philip.
As for cyclists - Philip said that the best thing would be to avoid cycling in dangerous situations - to get off and cross as a pedestrian instead.
"Whenever you are turning right off a major road into a minor road. When we teach young cyclists we ask them not to do that turn
"We say to them that when it is a busy or dangerous junction to get off their bike and cross as a pedestrian," said Philip. (from BBC)