A SIX-YEAR-OLD has spoken of how she was taking her life into her own hands every morning on the way to school after her mother said the crossing was “an accident waiting to happen.”
Poppy Smith and mother Charlotte Smith, from Bellerby near Richmond in North Yorkshire, must brave a blind bend every morning on their walk to school.
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However, as the bend is on the route out of the village, the family find that many cars are speeding up as they come round the corner, making it “very hard” to cross.
The pair attended a campaign outside of North Yorkshire County Council’s headquarters to encourage the council to enforce a 20mph default speed limit on all North Yorkshire highways.
Ms Smith said that most of the time the pair were listening for cars instead of looking for them, which can sometimes be hard, and it’s about getting “people to slow down.”
She added: “We have to cross to go to school right on the corner, so you have to listen, which is hard when you’re with the little one or it’s windy.
“We find it very hard to cross the road and go to school don’t we it’s a bit dangerous.
“So we wanted to do something to get people to slow down, because people come to the corner and they think they’re out of the village and they put their foot down.”
According to Ms Smith, many of the children in the village are supporting to the campaign, and agree that it’s about “getting people to slow down.”
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She added: “It’s bad when it’s windy and on a morning during school times, listening out, you have to literally just stand or listen or alternatively you can walk along the road to find a place to cross better, but there’s no footpath.
“The two speed zones are the 30 coming into the village, or the 60 to leave the village, are adjacent to our own drive.
“On foot is hard but pulling out of the drive is hard as well, the amount of people that come round the corner and put their hands up because they think you’ve just pulled out.”
Ms Smith stressed that she has gone to the council about the issue but “they look at their statistics and there’s nothing.”
She said: “And when you have a near miss, you really don’t think the first thing you’re going to get home and phone the police.
“So they don’t have a record at their end, but we are trying to do something before there is an accident and not afterwards.
“If people came and sat where we are for an hour they would see, but unfortunately they just go off statistics. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Ms Smith added: “There was a case a few years ago, Colin Wystyrk in Constable Burton protested to get a speed limit in Constable Burton because there wasn’t one.
“The speed limit only came in after he had gotten ran over and died, and it’s that kind of thing you’re trying to stop.
“He was walking from the pub, and he protested for a long time to get a speed limit because it was 60 and it didn’t come through until after he’d been ran over.
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“It’s things like that, we’re not just saying these things, little things to reduce peoples speed because the difference between 20 or 30 being hit by a car is a lot."
Karl Battersby, Corporate Director of Business and Enviornmental Services, said: "The safety and accessibility of our roads is a high priority for us, so we are always keen to hear from people who have concerns over traffic speeds and reports from residents are one of the ways we find out about them.
“In Bellerby, concerns about speed were reported to us in 2017. At that time, a survey showed mean speeds of 30 and 31mph, so further action was not considered necessary.
“Nevertheless, if residents feel circumstances now warrant a further assessment by the York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership, they can submit a report online at www.northyorks.gov.uk/speed-limits-speeding-and-road-safety-concerns Our Richmondshire highways team would be happy to guide them in making their submission, and can be contacted at Area1.Richmond@northyorks.gov.uk
“Parishes can also request temporary vehicle-activated signs, which alert drivers when they are exceeding the speed limit.
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“A revised 20mph speed limit policy is currently going through its approval process following a review by a task group set up by the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The County Council’s Executive is expected to consider the policy early in 2022.
“The task group resolved that it is not appropriate to apply a countywide default 20mph speed limit.
“However, the draft revised policy seeks to offer greater flexibility and a focus on place and community, particularly around schools.
"While decisions must be led by facts and figures, we recognise the need to consider any wider benefits a 20mph zone might bring.”
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