Following Retired Hack’s interview with road crash victim Robert Jones last week, he has since spoken with another, more recent crash victim. Ed
Another victim of the Isle of Wight Council’s winter road maintenance policy has told On The Wight how an icy road left him stranded in his wrecked car with severe whiplash injuries.
Shaun Flood, on his way to work from Niton to Newport the week before last, hit black ice and collided with a van on the untreated stretch between Niton and Rookley. After first being advised to stay in the car until an ambulance arrived – a standard precaution when spinal injuries are suspected – he eventually had to climb out and walk to the ambulance because the skating-rink conditions meant the crew couldn’t get close enough to the crash scene.
Icy road not salted or closed
In spite of promises made by the IW Council only days earlier, the road had not been closed. That only happened after the accident, when police intervened.
Shaun spent the Wednesday before last (12/12) in hospital, being treated for severe bruising and whiplash. He was off work for five days – “That could have been five days when I was earning money for Christmas.” His car was a write-off.
Ambulance crew not able to reach the scene
But it was the ambulance crew’s problem in reaching the scene which is perhaps the alarming aspect of Shaun’s experience.
“The ambulance was slipping and sliding about on the hill,” he said. They told me that by rights, they ought to have the fire brigade to cut me out.” But it was clear I’d be there a long time waiting for that, so it was my decision to climb out.”
On the day after Shaun’s accident, On The Wight reader Mike Starke drew attention to the Council’s obligations under the Highways Act 1980, which states that “…in particular, a highway authority are under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.”
The article led a number of readers to share details of accidents, both here and on our Facebook page.
Since 2009, when a national salt shortage led to government restrictions on its use, the IW Council has salted only a limited network, mainly bus routes. It has yet to substantiate its claim that a government “direction” on its maintenance programme is still in force.
Shaun said: “You can’t put a price on people’s lives. God forbid that a more serious accident than mine is needed before something is done.”
*A petition demanding that the road between Niton and Rookley is added to the treated routes has already attracted hundreds of signatures. It can be signed at Norris Family Grocer’s in Niton.
