Shock as drivers take to pavement to avoid roadworks
8:00am Thursday 13th September 2012 in Latest News By David Wiles
YouTube footage of cars driving on the pavement at Victoria Road
RECKLESS motorists filmed illegally driving on the pavement to get around a road closure in Old Town have been condemned by police and Swindon Council.
Victoria Road was blocked off at its junction with Stanley Street on Monday to eanble work to be carried out to repair a portion of collapsed sewer. Motorists are able to drive up to the cordon on either side, but should not be able to get past.
However, a video published on the website YouTube on Tuesday, shows a stream of cars coming up the hill and then mounting the kerb to squeeze through a gap between a wall and the barriers.
The footage, posted by Nigel Scott, is captioned “How drivers in Swindon deal with a road closure” and shows eight cars, including a taxi, taking the short cut in just 80 seconds.
“At one point, a pedestrian is on the pavement with cars both in front and behind him.
Inspector Steven Cox, the head of roads policing at Wiltshire Police, said: “Officers have viewed the YouTube footage and were appalled to see such bad driving.
“The motorists who mounted the kerb and edged along the pavement were acting very irresponsibly and could potentially have put pedestrians at risk of serious injury.
“The film shows a pedestrian walking along the pavement in between cars driving along it. Motorists must abide by the closure signs while the sewer repair work is underway.
“The motorists recorded on the You Tube footage can expect contact from Wiltshire Police in the very near future.”
A Swindon Council spokes-man said: “We were alerted to this issue on Tuesday and immediately contacted the contractors asking them to install more robust kerb-to-kerb barriers, which has been done.
“Driving on pavements to avoid road closures is extremely irresponsible and dangerous. It is also illegal.
“The closure was advertised prior to the works and advance signage was placed at either end of Victoria Road.”
Coun Dave Wood (Lib Dem, Eastcott) said: “This is quite shocking behaviour by drivers. On the video you can see pedestrians walking in among the cars to try to get through, which is very unsafe.
“There is an issue of diffused responsibility here. Everyone seems to be doing it so everyone then thinks it's OK to follow the herd.
“You can get quite far up Victoria Road without realising there is a closure, so I think the Council should have made it more obvious."
The recommended diversion route from the top of Victoria Road takes motorists along Devizes Road, Newport Street, High Street, Cricklade Street, Drove Road and Groundwell Road. The route for traffic travelling from the bottom of Victoria Road follows the same diversion.
The work is due to be completed by Sunday.
Watch the video by clicking here
Comments(40)
Davey Gravey
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8:16am Thu 13 Sep 12
Inda UK
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8:47am Thu 13 Sep 12
BBC copy of video: http://goo.gl/Y1Ilx
Melgee
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8:48am Thu 13 Sep 12
So don't state the bl ** ding obvious Inspector Cox do something about it instead of just talking about it!
Old_git
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9:01am Thu 13 Sep 12
om/watch?v=-AnN3yVmp
DQ&feature=youtube_g
data_player
1 2 Could B
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9:29am Thu 13 Sep 12
I'm on telly
nobody
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9:32am Thu 13 Sep 12
RichardR1
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9:52am Thu 13 Sep 12
Lets us hope all those whose numbers are clearly visible are indeed prosecuted, and this goes viral so their family and friends know how dangerously irresponsible they have been.
SlantedView
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10:25am Thu 13 Sep 12
swindondad
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10:48am Thu 13 Sep 12
However if it is safe to drive right upto the barriers on both sides and the digger could have been better parked why was the road not just closed on one side with traffic light control alternate lane working as they have done on county road.
A little PPPPPPP,perhaps
Ringer
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12:52pm Thu 13 Sep 12
1 2 Could B wrote:Oh dear, there's always one... and it always tends to be 'I Too' - or one of his many other login names.
Yey! I'm on telly
taffy888
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4:17pm Thu 13 Sep 12
RichardR1
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5:32pm Thu 13 Sep 12
woolster0
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7:02pm Thu 13 Sep 12
Sir Fawn Maker
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7:28pm Thu 13 Sep 12
I'm just surprised its not covered by cctv there anyway - busy road and weekend night drinkers route
timt1964
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8:49pm Thu 13 Sep 12
semitonic
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9:42pm Thu 13 Sep 12
Watch the police pass cars with four wheels on the pavement every day along Commercial Road, never a problem.
Calm down people.
jmostfc
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9:52pm Thu 13 Sep 12
Moth
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11:30pm Thu 13 Sep 12
semitonic wrote:Excuse me but I drive a 4x4 and have done for the past 10 years.
Driving or even parking on the pavement isn't normally a problem for 4x4 or BMW drivers - why the sudden alarm?
Watch the police pass cars with four wheels on the pavement every day along Commercial Road, never a problem.
Calm down people.
I DO NOT park on pavements or grass verges.
If I have need to visit anywhere in Commercial Road, I park the car in the nearby carpark.
As for these people driving on the pavement they are brain-dead morons who can't work out an alternative route before their journey. The Vic Hill closure has been well publicised so there is NO excuse for this bad driving whatseover.
John Smith II
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11:38pm Thu 13 Sep 12
John Smith II
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11:42pm Thu 13 Sep 12
1 2 Could B
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1:09am Fri 14 Sep 12
Ringer wrote:I'm not really on there.
1 2 Could B wrote:Oh dear, there's always one... and it always tends to be 'I Too' - or one of his many other login names.
Yey! I'm on telly
Stalker, I just wanted to see which login you would use to make a snipe with.
Nobody's going to elect you ollie
greenpacer
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2:35am Fri 14 Sep 12
RichardR1
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10:01am Fri 14 Sep 12
1 2 Could B
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10:10am Fri 14 Sep 12
RichardR1 wrote:Do you think it will be any different in Portsmouth?
I do find the attempts at justifying these highly irresponsible actions quite worrying.
Ringer
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10:14am Fri 14 Sep 12
1 2 Could B wrote:Nutter.
Ringer wrote:I'm not really on there. Stalker, I just wanted to see which login you would use to make a snipe with. Nobody's going to elect you ollie1 2 Could B wrote: Yey! I'm on tellyOh dear, there's always one... and it always tends to be 'I Too' - or one of his many other login names.
1 2 Could B
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10:33am Fri 14 Sep 12
Have you stalked my facebook page yet?
I'll bet you've been all over it like a rash.
RichardR1
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11:26am Fri 14 Sep 12
Clear enough for you. As for it happening in Portsmouth, have no idea but would never rule it out, most towns have drivers who seem devoid of the 'little grey cells' when getting behind the wheel of a car.
John Smith II
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12:12pm Fri 14 Sep 12
greenpacer wrote:If a driver managed to undertake you were you definitely driving in the correct lane, or were you 'hogging' the road by driving in the right hand lane when the left hand one was clear?
How many of you who have commented here never parked on a pavement at all ?He who cast the first stone ? Plus I would like the driver who undertook me today doing well over the 40mph speed limit to get caught and prosecuted !. He/she was gone in seconds I'd guess doing 60 if not more. This was on Great Western Way near North Star close on 1pm.
I have assumed the left hand lane was clear for you to drive in, if another vehicle subsequently managed to undertake you.
Ringer
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12:28pm Fri 14 Sep 12
1 2 Could B wrote:You wish.
If you say so. Have you stalked my facebook page yet? I'll bet you've been all over it like a rash.
Disco20
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1:22pm Fri 14 Sep 12
John Smith II wrote:Good point.
greenpacer wrote: How many of you who have commented here never parked on a pavement at all ?He who cast the first stone ? Plus I would like the driver who undertook me today doing well over the 40mph speed limit to get caught and prosecuted !. He/she was gone in seconds I'd guess doing 60 if not more. This was on Great Western Way near North Star close on 1pm.If a driver managed to undertake you were you definitely driving in the correct lane, or were you 'hogging' the road by driving in the right hand lane when the left hand one was clear? I have assumed the left hand lane was clear for you to drive in, if another vehicle subsequently managed to undertake you.
Undertaking, lane hogging, not indicating and diddering are all dangerous and stupid things driver in Swindon love to do.
Obviously, this list now includes driving on pavements..
I drive a BMW and contrary to belief, I actually adhere to the rules or the road and use my indicators...
SN3 ZZ
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2:58pm Fri 14 Sep 12
Most of Swindon driver's use the path to park on, anything from the wheel closest to the path all the way over to the off side wheel touching the kerb. Most people seem to think that "pavement" means "high speed cycle lane" anyway. So surely this is just the next logical step? Neither the Council nor Police seem interested, but then again until someone gets injured or killed nobody ever does.
Ringer
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3:00pm Fri 14 Sep 12
Undertaking is also something that is usually encouraged by drivers who believe they are 'safe' when they hog the middle/outside lanes at speeds significantly below the speed limit.
p]
Move to the left as soon as is safe to do so, which any half-decent driver does as a matter of course, and nobody will physically be able to undertake you.
In any case, the fact that people are so scared of undertaking just demonstrates how little notice they're taking of other road users around them. Undertaking is entirely legal on US highways, which can often be four or five lanes wide, and it does not cause an issue because people check their mirrors and don't tend to middle-lane hog like they do here.
1 2 Could B
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5:42pm Fri 14 Sep 12
RichardR1
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6:39pm Fri 14 Sep 12
1 2 Could B
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6:53pm Fri 14 Sep 12
Mark86
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7:31pm Fri 14 Sep 12
I have been driving for 7 years, and have a clean driving license, I also consider myself a good, safe and careful driver, yet I am actually one of the drivers on this video...
I was leaving work and dropping a colleague home, so this was not my usual route. Upon reaching the traffic lights (from clarence st), I waited there behind 5 other vehicles. With the lights green, i proceeded to follow all these cars up the hill, and at no point did me or my passenger or evidently the other cars around me see a road closed sign (If it was there is was considerably well hidden). So now you can imagine from my dismay how I would have felt and reacted to find a digger parked sideways across the road, with no direction or diversion signs, it just appeared to be dumped there.
So the cars in front of me begin to drive slowly onto the curb (hardly recklessly, as it's been stated so many times), to drive around on the pavement. I admit at the time this felt crazy, however without direction given from the roadworks, i wrongly assumed I had missed it and this was 'the' way around. On reflection it seemed silly, and there was a sense of sheep mentality, but when you're faced with this, and no option of turning around (cars behind me were already positioned to go towards the curb, blocking any attempt at this), and there being a complete lack of signage/direction from the council, it seemed the only option. Also... it's not as if we all barrelled through at top speed, I was literally going 2 mph, being very careful.
So I know wait in fear of how much the police will over-react about this, and what to expect. Honestly I'm shocked that it has gotten to the point of police and newspaper involvement. On reflection it was simply poor misjudgement on my part, but hardly a reckless act of defying the law... :(.
1 2 Could B
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7:54pm Fri 14 Sep 12
Sir Fawn Maker
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10:02pm Fri 14 Sep 12
BTW I came up from Groundwell Road as far as Hunt Street that afternoon and saw a road ahead closed sign by the Jewel in the crown and a road closed sign by hunt street
and
when I walked up Vic Hill about 7.00 the main danger was from all the cars doing 3 point turns and u turns to go back down the hill, including an empty stagecoach bus presumably heading for Eastcott garage
FedUpPubGoer
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6:50pm Sat 15 Sep 12
umpcah says...
8:13am Thu 13 Sep 12