Woman critical after being hit by van (From Wandsworth Guardian)
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Woman critical after being hit by van in Tooting
3:21pm Thursday 12th April 2012 in News By Alexandra Rucki
Woman critical after being hit by van
A 75-year-old woman is in a critical condition after being hit by a van in Tooting.
An ambulance crew were called to the incident, in Upper Tooting Road, just after 11am.
Upper Tooting Road is closed both ways between Ansell Road and Beechcroft Road, with buses 155, 219 and 355 on diversion.
It is believed the accident took place as the van attempted to overtake two parked buses.
A witness said her shopping bags were left strewn in the road.
The woman was rushed to the major trauma centre in St George's Hospital, in Blackshaw Road.
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said: "They are making every effort to treat the patient."
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Comments(11)
QPR4Me
says...
9:49pm Thu 12 Apr 12
Diod you see the accident? If not, I would suggest that you keep your opinions to yourself. It is all too easy to blame the diver and not the pedestrian. Calling for silly low speed limits doesn't make sense, when the chances are that the victim was the possible cause of the accident. You never know, she might have walked out frm behindone of the two buses mentioned in the article.
At the end of the day, when you cross a road, you are responsible for your own actions.
I hope all concerned in the accident recover, both the victim and the driver concerned, as well as any witnesses to the incident.
muskaat
says...
10:18pm Thu 12 Apr 12
muskaat
says...
10:21pm Thu 12 Apr 12
Jon_events
says...
2:25pm Fri 13 Apr 12
QPR4Me wrote:QPR4Me / muskaat
caro-h
Diod you see the accident? If not, I would suggest that you keep your opinions to yourself. It is all too easy to blame the diver and not the pedestrian. Calling for silly low speed limits doesn't make sense, when the chances are that the victim was the possible cause of the accident. You never know, she might have walked out frm behindone of the two buses mentioned in the article.
At the end of the day, when you cross a road, you are responsible for your own actions.
I hope all concerned in the accident recover, both the victim and the driver concerned, as well as any witnesses to the incident.
I'd draw your attention to Highway code rule 206:
Drive carefully and slowly when:
in crowded shopping streets, Home Zones and Quiet Lanes (see Rule 218) or residential areas
driving past bus and tram stops; pedestrians may emerge suddenly into the road
Blaming the victim as you have done is all too common. Drivers are licensed to drive, and have a responsibility to other vulnerable road users. If the driver was travelling at a lower speed, stopping distances are much lower and so the chances of a collision reduce dramatically.
http://www.direct.go
v.uk/en/TravelAndTra
nsport/Highwaycode/D
G_069858
At the end of the day, when you get into a car/motor vehicle you have the ability to easily injure/kill others. It is not a responsibility to be taken lightly, people should drive with greater care around our streets. Too many lives are blighted and lost because of careless driving.
muskaat
says...
5:00pm Fri 13 Apr 12
Jon_events
says...
7:05pm Fri 13 Apr 12
At present we don't know the details of what happened, it may be like the 90 year old who was decapitated at Tooting Bec by an HGV a few months back that they lady wasn't seen by the driver. That is another problem with large vehicles on our streets which have a lot of people on foot using them.
I've seen people accelerate to over 30mph along Tooting High Rd only to have to abruptly stop as they reach the next set of cars/lights.
As the Highway code mentions its the responsibility of the driver to look out for pedestrians/vulnerab
le road users. The reasoning being they can cause much more harm driving their vehicle into a person than a person can walking into a vehicle.
Even when a driver ends up killing people through lack of attention, use of mobile phone it is rare for them to get a prison sentence or even lose their license. Lots of people are still driving around London with over 12 points on their license, our justice system seems incapable of taking their license to drive away. It's shocking.
Anyway, I'm rambling now, we can probably agree that ideally we wouldn't have these people being injured/killed on our local streets. It's just how we manage to create a safer environment where we may differ on solutions.
muskaat
says...
12:18am Sat 14 Apr 12
caro_h
says...
9:54am Mon 16 Apr 12
You misunderstood me muskaat. I didn't say that either of them was at fault, and it makes no difference to me which side the error of judgement was on, neither party deserved what happened to them.
What I am saying is that the consequences of a small error like that are much more serious than they should be. Do you really think that a 20MPH limit would slow you down on that stretch of road? you have to stop at the red lights at Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway anyway, and sometimes at the 3 other sets of lights between them, no matter how fast you go between them.
On a busy shopping street like that children will always behave unpredictably from time to time, pedestrians will try and cross roads where it suits them, people will get distracted when driving occasionally. The consequences of what should be a small lapse are currently massive and they could easily be reduced, with very little inconvenience/change to anyone.
As far as I am concerned the speed limit and road layout there are as much to blame as either party, as you cannot see far up the road/footpath with parked cars everywhere and busses popping in and out of the traffic flow, it gives you no reaction time in an area where it is not unlikely that people will step out in front of you.
As an aside too, If I were you I would hesitate to ask for metal railings between the footpath and roadway, they are a crushing hazard for cyclists like yourself.
Thanks.
caro_h
says...
9:58am Mon 16 Apr 12
I just think that with the number of people on that street, there are more than fit on the footpath on weekends, you have to expect some to cross the road and drive/cycle accordingly.
Cheers all.
caro_h
says...
9:58am Mon 16 Apr 12
I just think that with the number of people on that street, there are more than fit on the footpath on weekends, you have to expect some to cross the road and drive/cycle accordingly.
Cheers all.
caro_h says...
4:23pm Thu 12 Apr 12
The woman, her friends and family, the driver of the van, the London Ambulance Service, the major trauma centre in St George's Hospital, all the motorists and pedestrians delayed by this collision.
A blanket 20mph speed limit in shopping/residential areas would have saved ALL THESE PEOPLE so much bother and heartache, and potentially a life. Look at it in terms of a life, or peoples time or money if you must but it makes no sense to run traffic at 30MPH+ between the traffic lights on that stretch where cars have to keep stopping anyway, and when it makes such a difference to the severity of these collisions when they occur.
I live around the corner from where this accident took place and I regularly see driving that could easily have the same tragic consequences.
My thoughts are with the lady and her family, and also with the driver of the van who has learnt a terrible lesson today.
Please drive carefully when passing through my neighborhood.