Pedestrian 'shunted 15 feet through the air'

Feb 4 2010 By Polly Manser

FAMILY and friends of a man who was hit by a car on a zebra crossing and shunted "15 feet through the air" say it is notoriously dangerous.

Richard Power was half way over the crossing on London End, Beaconsfield, when he was hit on January 18, amazingly suffering only bruises and a cracked rib.

Now wife Kate, who uses the crossing daily to take her children to school, is campaigning to get the crossing made safer.

And she is being joined by scores of other parents whose children also use the crossing.

Mrs Power, of London Road, said: "Every day I worry about that crossing because there are cars parked all around it and they can't get a good view of you.

"All of us have been talking about this for a long time. It's crazy that people are allowed to park on the pavements. I don't blame anyone in particular, it's part of the culture of the town.

"Richard is OK now, he is back at work, but when the car hit him he was pushed up into the air and we are lucky he didn't land on his head.

"Richard doesn't blame the driver. The crossing is far too close to the roundabout and it needs moving. It's been such a concern for such a long time that I can't not do anything about it."

Mrs Power has written to five councillors, MP Dominic Grieve, and started an email petition on the downing street website.

Allison Hookes, who also walks her two children to Butlers Court School, is so worried about visibility on the crossing that she will only use it in one direction. On the way home she uses a crossing at the other end of London Road.

She said: "Several times I've had to pull my children back before they get hit. The crossing by the Old Swan is a real problem, because there are two lanes. The first car stops and the cars in the other lane can't see you. So now I go to the middle, and when I know the cars have seen me, I call my children to cross. If it's a lorry or a coach I can't look round, I'd get my head knocked off, so I ask them to look in their mirrors."

Chris Schwier, of Buckinghamshire County Council highways dept, said: "The land which these vehicles are parked on is Common Land and therefore not subject to highway regulations, and so we are now liaising with the district douncil to see whether there are steps that can be taken to prevent this parking."

He added: "We will now look at whether there is an issue with these crossing and what action is needed, if any, as part of this we would need to liaise with the police for the full circumstances of this collision."

Reports of a second accident on the Saracen's Head zebra crossing on Tuesday could not be confirmed by police. Parents say one car went into the back of another after the first car stopped suddenly to allow a pedestrian to cross.

 If you've had an accident or near miss on a crossing email pollymanser@trinitysouth.co.uk To join the petition visit http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/zebra-crossing/