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A couple of moths ago I contacted our County Council to point out that a high proportion of traffic islands either had lights not working or if they were of the reflective type were so dirty that they did not reflect at all.
Their response was as below :
"Thank you for your email received yesterday regarding the condition of bollards across local Essex roads.
Please be assured all roads are subject to routine inspections during which new defects are recorded and previously reported defects are monitored. Additional ad hoc inspections are also made in between routine inspections upon receipt of a customer reporting a defect. Every issue that is reported to us is investigated.
However, should you wish to report any of these issues, please report them using our online tool at http://www.essexhighways.org/transport-and-roads.aspx for them to be assessed by a Highways Inspector in due course. The assessment will determine the level of severity and the risk to public safety, and any necessary action will be taken. You will be assigned unique reference numbers for each issue you choose to report, which you can use to track any actions taken to resolve them.
Please be aware that all issues reported are assessed and prioritised accordingly and the majority are considered low priority. Low priority issues will not receive action in the foreseeable future. We are unable to provide further information on this issue therefore please view the online tool for updates once you have reported it."
In other words they are not bothered and expect the public to do the inspecting and reporting and even then may do nothing.
Last week one of the traffic islands near us which had defective lights for months was run over by a vehicle, presumably with damage to the vehicle and possible injury to the occupants. So much for their "regular inspections".
The other thing becoming more prevalent is the number of vehicles with one headlamp not working. Last night I easily counted nine in a ten minute four mile journey across town. Presumably people only get them fixed for the MOT (assuming they have an MOT).
I can understand people only driving in cities not bothering but we are in a largely rural location and driving on one headlight on country roads is asking for trouble!
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agree entirely Brian about the "one eyed" monsters out there...
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I'm horrified at the number of road signs hidden by foliage.
It's not too bad in the winter, but in Autumn, half the signs on a 3 mile run couldn't be seen.
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For over a year I have been concerned by two signs on either side of the busy ring road (40 mph) close to a fire station, which warn drivers to stop if lights are flashing (to allow fire engine out). Both signs are absolutely filthy and if you didn't know they were there by being local, they would be virtually invisible in the dark and illegible in daylight.
I even made a big effort to speak to the firemen about the signs, once when one was picking up snacks from a shop I was in, and then by going in to the fire station to mention the dirty signs. The firemen told me they would look into things but nothing was done!
I phoned the council about the signs two weeks ago. To date the signs are still dirty. Maybe when an accident occurs they will do something but by then it will be too late!
Lizx
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