Mudbound road closed due to dangerous drivers in Broughton Gifford
9:07am Thursday 18th October 2012 in News By Adam Care
Motorists driving dangerously down muddy country lanes prompted police to close off a road in Broughton Gifford last Sunday.
Melksham Lane was closed to the public following reports of cars driving too quickly along the stretch between the junction of the B3107 and The Street.
David Mortimer, owner of Norrington Gate Farm, had displayed temporary traffic signs warning motorists of the increased mud on the road as he harvested maize from a nearby field, but called the police when it became clear cars were still driving too fast in the potentially dangerous road conditions.
He said: “we had the signs up as we always do, but I couldn’t believe that people were just ignoring them.
“I rang the police as I could foresee problems here, with cars coming past at 40 to 50 mph”.
Wiltshire Police closed the stretch of road to allow Mr Mortimer to finish harvesting and wash the road clean.
The police advise motorists to always drive to suit the current surroundings, and that under some road conditions driving at the speed limit can still be too fast.
Mr Mortimer added: “It’s not a problem when the fields are dry, and no farmer wants to get mud on the road, but when we have got the signs up, a little cooperation is all that’s needed.”
Comments(4)
Mrs Donnyfly
says...
1:19pm Sat 20 Oct 12
Welcome to the Police State my friend.
Mrs Donnyfly
says...
1:21pm Sat 20 Oct 12
...and that under some road conditions driving at the speed limit can be too slow.
squeaky1
says...
8:49pm Mon 22 Oct 12
All I am saying 'my friend' ....is that someone is providing these road conditions to make it an issue!
Having said that, I drove along 'said road' today and was pleased to see it was a little cleaner than before, which was just before I suddenly came across what appeared to be the 'black hole of Calcutta' right outside of Mr Mortimer's factory!
Hence.... new tyre.....
Should this be another invoice to him?
squeaky1 says...
9:46pm Fri 19 Oct 12
I have jist been on the NFU website & it states this:
''Do everything possible to prevent mud being deposited on the road. This includes cleaning mud from vehicles, as far as practicable before they are taken on the road''
I have never seen a farmer cleaning tyres when exiting a field!
I understand that they have a job to do but it just seems ok for the police to close the road as people are driving at 40-50 Mph which 'appears dangerous' .....on a national speed limit road!!!!
I frequently drive along this road and as an example, if I had thrown a 'McFood' package out of the window I could be prosecuted, but it seems ok for farmers to lay a 'mile of danger'!!!
Because of this I am £15 down for car cleaning!
Should I send the receipt to Mr Mortimer?