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Driving can be a joy, but sometimes those in charge of our roads seem determined to make it as difficult as possible. You would have thought that the aim would be to encourage safe driving and produce safe roads. It seems not. Here are some road markings on the main route into London from the South West, on the A316 soon after the Whitton Roundabout and before you reach Richmond. Here's the scene, as you approach what is known as the St Margarets Roundabout, which is controlled by a series of traffic lights.
The two lanes at the bottom of the picture broaden into three lanes at the first set of lights, with the right-hand lane allowing for traffic to turn right at the roundabout. But this right-hand lane also indicates that it is suitable for going straight ahead, over the roundabout. There is another set of traffic lights on the roundabout itself, and the arrows on all three lanes indicate straight ahead. It is obviously still possible to turn right, this being a roundabout, but it appears that any of the three lanes will allow you to proceed ahead safely. NOT SO. Here's a close-up of that second set of lights, with the three lanes indicating straight ahead. But what's that which suddenly confronts you at the exit of the roundabout?
Well, this (pictured below) is what confronts you. Only the left and centre lanes allow you to safely proceed ahead. The right-hand lane has now become a dedicated lane for turning right at the roundabout.
Traffic that had assumed it could safely go straight ahead from the right-hand lane now finds it can't. Even worse it might suddenly be confronted by queueing right-turning traffic held up by those red lights. Much squealing of brakes and fuming of drivers as three straight-ahead lanes become two in the space of a few yards. And when traffic is flowing round this roundabout, it flows fast… (The speed limit here is 40mph.) I shall try to find out who is responsible for road markings on this route and deliver a simple EastEnders-style message: SORT IT. UPDATE at 18th June 2007and 1st March 2008 I found out that the road is a Red Route and that the road markings are the responsibility of Transport For London. They responded to my enquiries and I received an email from them on the 17th of May. It came from London Streets Customer Services, Transport for London, Surface Transport Communications. I was thanked for my email and told that my concerns had been forwarded to the Road Network Management to investigate and take any necessary action to try and alleviate the problem I described. I took this picture on the 18th of June, 2007, but the view hadn't changed. In fact, nothing had changed eight months later!
It's not difficult to put right. Just make sure that the arrows in the right hand lane indicate a right turn only. Couldn't take long. Clearly it's not a priority. Clearly making driving safer is not a priority. Much better to spend time and money on congestion charging, ludicrous parking restrictions and all the other ways that motorists are hounded. That's easy, of course. Thinking matters through and doing the correct thing is clearly much too difficult. I hear from another source that the road management side of Transport for London is understaffed and under-financed. You can understand that, of course; much more important for our Ken (Livingstone, not this Ken) to hop off on his globe-trotting jaunts. I'd be delighted to report that the matter has been resolved properly. I'll keep an eye on it and report any change.
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