Major crash on the A20

J.J. wrote:

I travel this part of the road daily and it is a very dangerous piece of road.

My friends son was killed here 3 years ago by a young woman who did a u turn to get to the car cleaning company on the other side of the road, she said she did not see him.

In my opnion the car cleaning company is a contributing factor in these accidents, cars queue on the road in a hatched area (illegal as far as I am aware)queing right back towards Bearsted.

People doing u turns in the caravan park entrance to turn round to get to the car cleaners (complete blind spot!)

I have reported this several times to the police but nothing has been done.

Yes speed does kill, but all these other factors have to be taken into account.

we have to look at the whole picture, too many cars, too many bad drivers, people using mobiles,foreign drivers who don't know know the roads or understand the signs, too many young drivers (age limit should be raised)

The list is endless.

Sadly this will not be the last accident there, how many more accidents and fatalities do there have to be before something is done.

Of course we know the answer, there has to be more before the authorties will act!

The gentleman that was injured has survived and I hope and pray he has a full and good recovery, sadly my friends son never stood a chance.

16 Jun 2010 9:55 AM

Report Abuse

Ano wrote:

i had a serious crash here 4 years ago, tried my hardest to get the road sorted a camber in the road made me and roll 4 times. Both me and my friend were rushed to hospital, we were both lucky to walk away with no serious problems.
i think something needs to be done im not sure speed is the issue i was doing 40mph!

14 Jun 2010 4:57 PM

Report Abuse

sam wrote:

just read the comments below,first it is sad that some innocent bystander got injured.but also people are very quick to blame people for mistakes.we all do them when driving,so by saying she should never drive again i think is very jugemental.

13 Jun 2010 9:44 AM

Report Abuse

P.C. wrote:

Simple-Simon, you generally find that the incompetent drivers you speak of don't speed anyway they are too busy shouting at the kids, talking on a mobile, looking at and talking to their passenger, etc etc to drive any faster than 20mph. Conditions dependant you are legally entitled to drive that stretch of road at 60mph and their is no reason why modern cars should be unable to negotiate that bend at that speed, the main accident factor once again is poor driving skills. why do you think accidents happen on motorways when everything is going in the same direction and the same 70mph speed - bad driving, not looking before changing lanes crawling along in the middle lane at 40mph, the list is endless. Don't just blame speed when there are far more proven factors.

12 Jun 2010 7:55 PM

Report Abuse

Jo wrote:

Best Wishes for a good fast recovery Rob. I agree other factors other than speed can be responsible for crashes however, speed is a major factor casued by people using phones/shouting at kids etc. Quite frankly I am fed up with people using the mobiles still around Bearsted while driving with kids in the car!! I see them everyday the fine should be instant ban & £1000's of pounds fine not a £60 fine & 3 points. Most people spend more than the current fine on a night out.

12 Jun 2010 1:50 PM

Report Abuse

Richard wrote:

I have Read all the post before mine, but I must say that although we do not know the full reason for the accident, there is one thing that everyone knows.

Whatever the capability of the driver it will be the speed that of the car that seriously injured Rob.

It does not matter the reason for losing control of the car, the fact of the matter is that if this woman was travelling at a speed condusive to regaining control of an out-of-control car this would not have happened.

12 Jun 2010 11:56 AM

Report Abuse

J wrote:

A message for 'Father in Law' - My thoughts are with you and your family and hope your Son in law does not have to endure too much! (I was once a victim of someone speeding/driving carelessly, luckily I managed to pick my (then) two year old daughter up at head height and possibly save her!) With very best wishes, J

12 Jun 2010 11:50 AM

Report Abuse

Simple-Simon wrote:

P.C. I agree with you, there are other factors causing accidents. My point is that they are less serious at low, reasonable speeds. The primary factor is incompetent drivers. Who defend fast driving as you do. It's rather a "laddish" attitude, rather outmoded today.I realise it's a "Masculin" thing? More on the "speed kills" banwagon = less in the mortuaries.

12 Jun 2010 8:08 AM

Report Abuse

Caring Lane Resident wrote:

This is a notorious accident spot. I have numerous photos of previous accidents at exactly the same spot. Residents have tried unsuccessfully to get the speed limit reduced to 50mph on this dangerous stretch of road. There has already been one fatal accident of a young girl going to work in the morning. Perhaps other people will now write to KCC to try and get the speed limit reduced. It is not an accident waiting to happen, it is accident after accident occurring at exactly the same spot. Something must be wrong somewhere.

12 Jun 2010 1:35 AM

Report Abuse

Father in Law wrote:

The specialists have said that it will probably be a year or more before he is able to walk unassisted, but that is a conservative estimate.

They cannot operate on him until Monday at the earliest as the surrounding tissue damage is so severe that the next step cannot currently be comprehensively evaluated.

The poor guy has now got to spend a weekend in agony before discovering what happens next.

We need some sleep now, it's been a tough day for the whole family.

Thanks for the messages of support

12 Jun 2010 12:46 AM

Report Abuse

P.C. wrote:

Glad Rob is in a stable condition and hope that he improves really quickly.

11 Jun 2010 11:55 PM

Report Abuse

Father in Law wrote:

Update...we were misinformed.

We have finally heard the full story from the 'horses mouth'....well from our daughter which is good enough for us.
She wasn't there, Rob was on his own and simply waiting for her car to get a once over.

Thank heaven for small mercies. Had she actually witnessed the event, it may have haunted her for the rest of her life.

Rob is awake and stable, it looks like we may be doing a lot of babysittingover the next few weeks.

Why is it that the good guys always suffer such misfortune? I'm not a religious man by any means (despite the references), but if I were... I would be seriously doubting my faith.

11 Jun 2010 11:44 PM

Report Abuse

LS wrote:

No one knows why it happened at the momment so please don't automatically say she was driving carelessly! Accidents happen for all sorts of reasons!

11 Jun 2010 11:43 PM

Report Abuse

P.C. wrote:

My point is that every first comment to every accident on these pages immediatly blames speed for the problem. If the standard of peoples driving was raised to an acceptable level this would have a significant effect on this type of accident.

11 Jun 2010 11:41 PM

Report Abuse

kc wrote:

I hope Rob makes a speedy recovery, especially being an innocent party in all this! Poor bloke was only waiting for his car to be washed on forecourt and this happens!Hope this woman gets her licence taken away and feels guilty for what she has done to such a lovelly family!

11 Jun 2010 11:16 PM

Report Abuse

v dub wrote:

i am lucky to have a mind at all let alone a narrow one having been nearly killed by a speeding car that lost control i think that it is a bigger factor than most people think.
modern cars are so smooth at faster speeds that people dont always realise the speed they are going and think they can stop at the last minute.
i do agree that several other factors can contribute and mostly they can be minimised if we are honest about our capabilities.
however one person i witnessed was drinking out of a cup in one hand with a mobile phone on one ear and elbows driving and turning a corner crazy!

11 Jun 2010 11:00 PM

Report Abuse

Father in Law wrote:

ps....I agree with P.C. on this one. I see it so many times with a certain genre of driver.

It sickens me that many must suffer for the incompetence of this particular group

11 Jun 2010 10:59 PM

Report Abuse

Father in Law wrote:

The man in question is my son in law, my daughter witnessed the whole event and is devastated. I don't yet know whether the grandchildren were there. I hope to god they weren't.
Rob is going to be in hospital for a while as he has serious leg injuries, but we must be grateful that he is alive.

I hope the woman responsible never gets behind the wheel again.

11 Jun 2010 10:55 PM

Report Abuse

P.C. wrote:

Once again the narrow minded members of the "speed kills" club jump on the smallest opportunity, what about all the other alternatives like talking on a mobile, lack of concentration, shouting at the kids in the back. More often than not it is poor driving skills that causes these type of accidents, speed is merely a secondary factor.

11 Jun 2010 10:40 PM

Report Abuse

Simple Simon wrote:

Don't be silly Gavin, cars don't roll over and end up mangled piles of steel at 30 miles an hour. SPEED KILLS.

11 Jun 2010 5:47 PM

Report Abuse

Jo wrote:

Still whether it had an affect or not for this accident people speed round here at 70mph or above. It has been an accident blackspot for years.

11 Jun 2010 2:55 PM

Report Abuse

Gavin wrote:

Jo, the speed limit is just that, a speed limit. It doesn't mean you have to drive at that speed. Drivers should drive according to the conditions. This driver could have been driving at 30mph and still had an accident, the report doesn't detail the cause.

11 Jun 2010 2:24 PM

Report Abuse

JO wrote:

How many more serious crashes are going to happen on this corner several happen here every year. The 60mph speed limited should be cut to 40-50mph. Hope the car cleaners who do a fantastic job are ok??.

11 Jun 2010 2:20 PM

Report Abuse