On 8 October 2022 TACC organised a protest to call upon Somerset West & Taunton Council (SWT) to make the road surface on the Market House roundabout safer. TACC thanks all who supported this.
People have been hurt
The roundabout hasn’t been properly maintained since it was built in 1996. It is unfair that people are being hurt due to the Councils’ breach of duty of care at the junction. We know that crashes happen on this roundabout. Fiona Lewis referred to her injury in the Gazette (August 2022): “I had a nasty accident there on my way to work a few years ago – on a wet day, when a bus driver, having looked to check he was safe to pull out, decided an upcoming cyclist was something to ignore. As soon as I tried to swerve to get out of his way I was off – thrown in the air and landed on my helmeted head. I was wearing hi-vis, I was using sensible tyres. I was concussed for two days, which was a lucky escape.”
Independent advice
TACC has been contacted by Euan Clayton who is an independent safety consultant. He has been giving us advice on this issue. Given that SWT worry that their original scheme to improve the surface might need to be ‘ripped out’ in a couple of years, he has suggested a low cost interim scheme. Clayton has suggested a primer and powder which is applied to the required area, and this fills in all of the actual grooves, after which a high friction surface can be applied.
This would cost between £10,000 and £20,000 compared with the original budget of £1.4 million to improve the surface.
Duty of Care
In case the Council is sued for a breach of duty of care, compensating one slight injury could cost SWT money, valued at approximately £25,000 in 2020. The value of a serious crash with a lasting injury is estimated at £217,000. These amounts are substantially higher than the spending on improving the road surface.
We would very much welcome a face-to-face discussion with Councillor Mike Rigby to find a low cost interim solution. Possibly deferring the proposed replacement Goodlands Gardens crossing, given that a crossing already exists here.