We've been fairly quiet over the summer, monitoring the now near daily chaos on the A303. We now return, but in the saddest way possible, to report a serious road traffic accident.
We don't yet know all the circumstances, but at around 8:45pm of Friday evening, a 37 year old man from the Gwent area of Wales was struck by a west-bound Mercedes 300 driven by a 28 year old London man on the stretch of the A303 between Stonehenge and here in Winterbourne Stoke. The road was closed until after midnight.
The pedestrian is reported this lunchtime as being in critical condition with serious head injuries.
Anyone who saw the accident is asked to call Wiltshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
UPDATE:
Sadly, the individual concerned, Patrick Sturtivant, did not survive. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family.
The more we hear about this incident, the more predictable it all was. In fact, all the recent changes to the road system around Stonehenge, and access to the proximity of the stones, made it all but inevitable.
In the past, westbound traffic, wanting to spend a few minutes getting a "trophy" shot of Stonehenge, possibly the most photographed man-made object in the world, used to pull off onto the A344, a route where the majority of the traffic used the road regularly and where the drivers where used to tourists spilling into the road, thumbs up bums, brains in neutral, thoughts fixed only on taking a happy snap. As a consequence, and quite unwittingly, road safety was policed by local drivers. Of course, the closure of the A344 put paid to that.
The second factor that might have contributed to this accident, again fairly predictably, was the "no right turn" signage on the A303 - attempting to prevent traffic turning on to Byway 12. This was done on the spurious pretext of road safety. Why spurious? Well, unlike many of the small turnings off the A303 to the west of Amesbury, the entrance to Byway 12 is visible from a good half mile in either direction. We suspect the real reason behind the signage is twofold. First, a legitimate attempt to stop the traffic on the A303 slowing and causing congestion and second, a sop to English Heritage's long-held desire to close Byway 12, completely, to force all visitors to enter the World Heritage Site at Airman's Cross. Of course, trying to improve traffic flow by banning right turns off the A303 was completely counter productive. The travelling public did the blindingly obvious - slow, or even stop on the A303 to take that all important photo.
On this occasion, it seems that Mr Sturtivant, travelling west at dusk last Friday, pulled off the A303 at Byway 11, to the east of Byway 12. Not much local traffic here, just long distance travellers, frustrated by earlier delays, simply wanting to get to the West Country for the weekend. No doubt there was a glimpse to the right for a quick look at the stones by the Mercedes driver and then he was at Byway 12...
UPDATE:
Sadly, the individual concerned, Patrick Sturtivant, did not survive. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family.
The more we hear about this incident, the more predictable it all was. In fact, all the recent changes to the road system around Stonehenge, and access to the proximity of the stones, made it all but inevitable.
In the past, westbound traffic, wanting to spend a few minutes getting a "trophy" shot of Stonehenge, possibly the most photographed man-made object in the world, used to pull off onto the A344, a route where the majority of the traffic used the road regularly and where the drivers where used to tourists spilling into the road, thumbs up bums, brains in neutral, thoughts fixed only on taking a happy snap. As a consequence, and quite unwittingly, road safety was policed by local drivers. Of course, the closure of the A344 put paid to that.
The second factor that might have contributed to this accident, again fairly predictably, was the "no right turn" signage on the A303 - attempting to prevent traffic turning on to Byway 12. This was done on the spurious pretext of road safety. Why spurious? Well, unlike many of the small turnings off the A303 to the west of Amesbury, the entrance to Byway 12 is visible from a good half mile in either direction. We suspect the real reason behind the signage is twofold. First, a legitimate attempt to stop the traffic on the A303 slowing and causing congestion and second, a sop to English Heritage's long-held desire to close Byway 12, completely, to force all visitors to enter the World Heritage Site at Airman's Cross. Of course, trying to improve traffic flow by banning right turns off the A303 was completely counter productive. The travelling public did the blindingly obvious - slow, or even stop on the A303 to take that all important photo.
On this occasion, it seems that Mr Sturtivant, travelling west at dusk last Friday, pulled off the A303 at Byway 11, to the east of Byway 12. Not much local traffic here, just long distance travellers, frustrated by earlier delays, simply wanting to get to the West Country for the weekend. No doubt there was a glimpse to the right for a quick look at the stones by the Mercedes driver and then he was at Byway 12...
