Story: Saleema Imam
Several serious accidents are making local people increasingly concerned about their safety and the difficulties of using new road crossings.
One local resident told us,
“Crossing Catherine Road at the junction of Burngreave Rd means you have to look behind you, to the left and right and then scuttle across quickly and beware of fast moving cars. On one occasion, I saw a car come up Burngreave Road, turn right and hit a cyclist coming down Catherine Rd head on. The car driver had not slowed down. Since this event, I have noticed the white lines on the road have been re-painted.”
On 8th March, a 92-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries when a heavy goods vehicle hit his mobility scooter on the pelican crossing near Firshill School.
Another collision on Barnsley Road left a 52-year-old woman driver with serious leg, chest and spinal injuries. It happened shortly after 9am on Wednesday 15th February, near the Lime Tree Nursing Home, when a red Citroen travelling up Barnsley Road collided with an oncoming First Mainline bus.
Anyone who could assist the police, including the four passengers on the bus, is asked to call 101, quoting incident 366 of 8th March 2012 or 207 of 15th February 2012.
Burngreave has the third highest number of accidents behind Central and Darnall wards. To reduce these figures, Dave Lawson from the Council’s Road Safety team told us,
“We deliver road safety sessions to all age groups in all the primary schools in Burngreave and to years 7, 8 and 9 in Fir Vale Secondary. We also run sessions aimed at young drivers at Longley College and youth training organisations including Sheaf Training.
“Over 40 driving instructors around Burngreave have been trained to deliver road safety as part of their lessons. This number will continue to increase.”