Yet another lorry crash at notorious roundabout, as councillor suggests solution
A NEW Forest roundabout notorious for lorry accidents has seen yet another crash - and a Waterside councillor says he may have a solution. The lorry left the road off Rushington Roundabout at the junction of the A35 Spicers Hill and the A326 Marchwood bypass at around 11.30am on Saturday. No one was said to have been injured, according to Hampshire police, and Spicers Hill was partially blocked until the scene was cleared nearly two-and-a-half hours later.
The latest lorry crash on the Rushington Roundabout at Totton
The lorry crashed on a 'third' side of the roundabout (picture: Cllr David Harrison)
This latest incident came nearly three weeks after a lorry tipped over on the south side of the roundabout - opposite where others had overturned - on 13th October.
It crushed a central reservation, and the driver, who was pulled out of the cab by passers-by, suffered minor injuries. Hampshire County Council had only recently completed safety improvement work on the south side. Town, district and county councillor David Harrison had lobbied HCC for about 10 years, during which time five lorries had overturned.
The revamp included raising an adjacent footpath, which is widely used, particularly by pupils of nearby Hounsdown School, and moving it away from the roundabout.
Kerbs were also heightened, and there was resurfacing to reduce the camber.
The last time a lorry tipped over on the Rushington Roundabout at Totton, on 13th October (picture: Cllr David Harrison)
Cllr Harrison saw the 13th October incident and, having seen the aftermath of the latest crash, he spoke of his surprise that it happened on a different part of the roundabout. "We've had incidents on three sides of the roundabout now, so I'm now just waiting for one to happen on the fourth," he told the A&T. He added: "The fact that this accident has happened is obviously a symptom of the number of lorries using the roundabout, which has increased exponentially over the years."
The rise in lorry movements was attributed by Cllr Harrison to factors including increased use of the port at Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre, and the continued business of Marchwood Port. Rather than focusing on the roundabout, he suggested finding ways to reduce lorry movements could help cut crashes.
Cllr David Harrison would like to see reduced lorry movements
"Associated British Ports, who now operate the sea mounting centre, I would like them to consider having as much freight moved by rail as possible," Cllr Harrison continued. "It's also a much greener method.
It's not always possible, but where you can I think you should."
An HCC spokesperson said: "A Hampshire County Council highways officer was already on site when this incident occurred at Rushington Roundabout on Saturday 2nd November.
"The officer called the emergency services to attend to the driver and arranged for temporary traffic management measures to be installed so that the incident could be responded to safely."