Fears for future road safety after Thame child hit by car

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A THAME resident has hit out against potential dangers for road users created by the Thame Neighbour Plan, after a school child was hit by a car in Thame this morning.

Park Street resident, Richard Jeffries, said: “This morning a child was apparently hit by a car *which failed to stop* at the John Hampden School crossing (*Ed. This has not yet been confirmed by Thames Valley Police*). I have personally witnessed other near misses when cars failed to stop for red lights. The situation is exacerbated by the low morning sun directly in the eyes of drivers leaving Thame. When Thame had a traffic warden she used to stand at the crossing to give some further enforcement as she appreciated the danger.

“Park Street is a dangerous road, and will be rendered even more so with the increased loading of traffic as a direct result of the ill-thought out Thame Neighbourhood Plan. The traffic safety issues along Park Street have long been raised and ignored by local councillors, yet Ludsden Grove, which is a ‘no through’ road leading to Barley Hill School, already has a 20MPH speed restriction and better signage (than Park Street).

How could this be? “

The ambulance service has confirmed that a child was treated at the scene of a collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle, in Park Street, Thame, but fortunately, did not require to be taken to hospital.

Comments

6 responses to “Fears for future road safety after Thame child hit by car”

03/02/2015

Anonymous

As a witness of the accident I can confirm a child was hit by a car. The driver did not see the red light apparently and did not stop in time. The driver did pull over however and was beside himself. The low winter sun being the main culprit. I personally would like to see the return of a lollipop lady and more signs down park street or on the actual road warning of the school’s presence. In the child’s defence they did nothing wrong, except did not wait until all of the cars had stopped. Something the school has addressed immediately during an assembly. As a parent at the school I have to say on the whole the children are pretty road wary, they have to be! I have seen many near misses so it’s not an exceptional case. It’s a shame that someone to hurt before we realise how dangerous Park Street can be.
03/02/2015

lottie

Completely agree that a lower speed limit should be in place by this crossing and school and Elms Park – I can’t personally see how Park St and Chinnor Rd are going to manage the increased traffic the town plan will bring.
03/02/2015

David Laver

I agree with your original contributor that Park Street should have a 20mph speed limit as should other streets in Thame including the Town Centre. In fact on most occasions with the number of parked cars in Park Street it is not possible to do more than 20mph. I think that the problem outside John Hampden is that some motorists accelerate into that area in order to get past the constriction before the car coming the other way. It’s completely bad driving and I’m afraid there a few careless drivers around the Town. I have noticed that the PCSO is sometimes at the crossing in at the time most school children are crossing and a member of staff also on duty certainly in the afternoon. The primary school children for the most part are very careful in contrast to some of the Lord Bills students who seem to think that they can wander across junctions willy nilly.I think some road safety education for everyone would be desirable.
30/01/2015

james

Yep its a dodgy crossing when the suns low at winter time. Do they not have a lollypop lady?
30/01/2015

Sarah

I completely agree with the other post, whilst I accept that some drivers don’t pay enough attention in rush hour. However I am regularly amazed at the lack of road safety the children have – the other day I was driving down park street and a child was riding his bike the wrong way down park street at 5pm it was dark I had my lights on he had no lights and no helmet. I’ve also had children run across the crossing without waiting for the lights to change outside the school. Perhaps there needs to be a grater emphasis on road safety from parents schools and drivers. You can be the best driver in the world but not stand a chance of a child bolts out in front of you.
30/01/2015

Ryan

Whilst I’m glad no one was seriously injured I think that there needs to be some responsibility on the pedestrian, whether adult or child, for their own safety. A crossing does not automatically mean a car will stop – I’ve lost count of the times in the town centre that pedestrians cross at the traffic lights whether they be green or red.

Getting across the town in the morning whilst children are walking to school is a minefield in itself – twice in the last 12 months I have written to Lord Williams due to students jumping off pavements on their bikes into the flow of traffic, walking out from behind vans, cars and generally assuming that everyone else is responsible for their safety.

It seems that the younger generation are being taught that it is not their responsibility to make sure that they are safe – it is up to everyone else – including the person you’ve never met behind the wheel of a car, who if the lights turn with only a second before you reach the lights had no way of stopping.

Whilst I agree that the level of traffic down park street is unacceptable – it is also one of the main arteries from one side of Thame to another – this will not change – therefore surely the answer is to educate our children, teach them responsibility and that it is not a stranger’s place to make sure they are safe. That responsibility sits with them.