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Call for action on A59 after Mellor Brook man's death
4:53pm Monday 12th May 2008
A FATAL accident has underlined the need for action to improve safety on one of the area's most notorious roads, according to an MP.
The death on Sunday of 67-year-old cyclist John Whitaker, from Mellor Brook, on the A59 at Sawley, has prompted Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans to call for tougher restrictions on the road.
And he believes that the latest tragedy proves his calls for action should be heeded by county council road chiefs.
Mr Whitaker died at around 1.45pm when he collided with a black Ford Focus. Both he and the car were heading in the direction of Clitheroe and his death brings the number killed on the East Lancashire stretch of the A59 to three this year.
Mr Whitaker was born in Baildon, Yorkshire but had lived in Lancashire for the last 40 years. He was a retired businessman and had worked in the motor trade all of his life.
He leaves a partner of 20 years, Sharron Hennessey, 41; daughters Kim Whitaker, 37 and Rachel Whitaker, 32 and his grandchildren, Lilly, three; Jack, seven months and Faith, 18 months.
The latest tragedy follows the death in March of a 34-year-old Blackburn man close to BAE Systems, Samlesbury, and a fatal crash last month close to the Ribchester turn-off which claimed the life of a 59-year-old man from Cleveleys.
Mr Evans has long campaigned for a roundabout at the road's Sabden junction, but said the latest death crash highlighted concerns right along the A59.
He said: "Every accident or injury on the road should be prevented and I believe that the huge sums of money from speed camera fines should be invested in to improving road safety on the A59.
"There are certain points which are extremely dangerous. The crashes at Samlesbury, Ribchester and now Sawley in this year alone have highlighted that fact."
The last decade has seen more than 40 people killed on the A59 and almost 2,000 injured.
And Mr Evans believes the Sawley junction is a particularly dangerous point of the road.
He added: "The council should be spending more money on making dangerous junctions and stretches of road like that one safer."
Lancashire County Council has previously said that there was not enough funding to carry out the work called for by Mr Evans, in particular the roundabout at the Sabden junction.
A statement from Mr Whitaker's family said: "He had always worked as part of the Evans Halshaw Group in both Chorley and Preston, retiring about ten years ago as Managing Director at the Preston Branch. Following his retirement, his passion for the motor trade didn't fade and he soon returned to work part time at Otley Motors (Yorkshire), where he was part owner.
"He was a keep-fit fanatic and was a member of the Virgin Active gym where he would go every day. He was a keen cyclist and runner and regularly cycled in the region of 60 miles. He loved his golf and was a member of Pleasington Golf Club and also was a keen skier.
"He was known for his dry sense of humour and a cheeky grin and he was a generous person who was very organised. He was a very young man at heart and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him."
Your Say YourTelegraph
kim, croston says...
9:36pm Tue 13 May 08
mick, great harwood says...
4:24pm Tue 13 May 08
a couple of feet more room when passing can make all the difference to a cyclists safety.
Geraldine, clitheroe says...
10:41am Tue 13 May 08
Sharon Hennessy, Mellor Brook says...
9:06am Tue 13 May 08
yoda, milleniumfalcon says...
10:07pm Mon 12 May 08
mick, great harwood says...
9:55pm Mon 12 May 08
the police can't win whatever they do nowadays.in fairness to the driver, he couldn't give us 2m but he could have given us another 2 feet.
it would help if cars would give a gentle pip on the horn when they are a couple of hundred yards behind. that gives us time to single out (contrary to popular belief we are allowed to ride 2 abreast) to make it easier for them to pass, we don't need conflict on the road, if people would realise that and work together things would be a lot safer and a lot less stressful..
Adrian Shurmer, Great Harwood says...
9:38pm Mon 12 May 08
In my day, even the basic police standard driving course was for five/six weeks. Now, its a matter of days by a civilian instructor!!!
Financial restrictions again
Think about it. A police officer is a referee. What do you think about a referee who doesn't keep to his own rules?
A hypocrite of the worst kind - with the authority to fine members of the public for something that they do themselves.
Do not ever take example from others.
Stay within the law but take responsibility for yourself.
You cannot change the world and there's no consolation in being either seriously injured or dead and in the right.
mick, great harwood says...
9:21pm Mon 12 May 08
far less than 2m.I'd guess more like 2 feet.
as for "cycle lanes" ,they aren't, they're there to make the road seem narrower in a failed attempt to get motorists to slow down, they, again, seldom get swept and because cars don't use that section of road as much get full of grit and other debris which would normally be removed by the passing traffic. they are in my opinion a waste of time and money which could be better spent..
Adrian Shurmer, Great Harwood says...
9:08pm Mon 12 May 08
If you need a cycle lane to prevent you from hitting a cyclist, you shouldn't be allowed on the road in the first place.
And here's some more food for thought. In Police driver training, a cyclist IS ALWAYS given a minimum 6 foot (2 metre) gap cos they wobble. They wobble for debris and standing water; they stand on their pedals whilst climbing a hill; They wobble when it's windy. THEY WOBBLE!
If you can't allow a cyclist a minimum 6 foot gap you DON'T pass em!
Why then do the authorities build cycle lanes all over our roads which are only 3 feet wide?!!!!
It's the authorities, perhaps more than anyone else, who need an education.
The police won't tell them the truth because of political and financial pressure.
I tell them. I ain't afraid. The police trained me and I won't shut up.
No wonder approximately 9 people are killed and 120 are seriously injured every day on our roads. Road safety is in the hands of non-thinking numbties.
Matthew, Chatburn says...
9:05pm Mon 12 May 08
mick, great harwood says...
8:50pm Mon 12 May 08
then theres the crossing of the A59 twice to use it.hardly the safest of things to do on this road.
it may be usable on a mountain bike but on some sections it's not very pleasant on a narrow tyred road bike.
asif khan, blackburn says...
8:21pm Mon 12 May 08
"may be a cycle lane could be created"
asif khan, Blackburn says...
8:13pm Mon 12 May 08
There are far too many cars on the road and they do go speeding pass you.
We as cyclist cant really ride on the pavement as its illegal also there are predestrians and cars that are parked.
May be a cycle could eb created on the A59 or something.
mick, great harwood says...
7:00pm Mon 12 May 08
i was riding home from a good days bike ride with my son up into great harwood when
some moron of very low intelligence decided to drive past us at about 60 mph 12 inches from my arm blasting his horn as he did so.( not very clever making a cyclist jump at that distance)
this is just sheer stupidity, it's not good or skillful driving it's almost attempted murder.
morons like this need educating though with such a low level of intelligence as a starting point i doubt very much anything could possibly be done.
if i had got a full reg c18 *** Grey car I'd have reported you, though i think you'd see that as some sort of achievement.
why on an empty road do you feel the need to demonstrate your stupidity in this manner, does human life mean so little to you?
Adrian Shurmer, Great Harwood says...
6:05pm Mon 12 May 08
We have experienced three recent tragic fatal crashes on the A59, and three on the A680 and here we have a Conservative MP coming up with pure Labour Party non-thinking dogma.
It isn't the road that's dangerous, it's the driver.
So let's put some thought into what is being said in this article. We want to build hazards in front of drivers who are already colliding with hazards!!!
If we stop all vehicles there obviously won't be any more crashes
Brilliant!
(I use my words carefully insomuch that there are very few accidents as there is nearly always a degree of (wrong) assumption by somebody.)
Let's get into the real problem.
The missing ingredient is that it's driver attitude (psychology) problem and until there's a proper system of education, unfortunately crashes will continue on a daily basis.
Put your mind to this Mr Evans and make a real difference.
The present system is a complete failure.
Unless the driver problem is addressed (with firm law and order - plus enforcement) a 'Wasted Lives' campaign becomes a 'Wasted Time' campaign.
M, says...
6:01pm Mon 12 May 08
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Geraldine, Clitheroe says...
8:56am Wed 14 May 08