Speeding lorries threat to safety

Oct 22 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

Speeding lorries threat to safety

BLACKRIDGE residents say it is only a matter of time before there is an accident involving lorries working on the Bathgate to Airdrie rail link.

Community council chairman Clark Steele says trucks, which he claims can number up to 70 a hour, are breaking a number of restrictions which Network Rail signed up to in Code of Construction Practice.

Clark claims the heavy goods vehicles are constantly speeding through the town and some, which contain loads of large stones, have not been properly secured.

Clark said: “We appreciate that there is major construction works going on and there will be a bit of disruption for the people of the town.

“However lots of lorries passing through are not observing the speed limit or properly securing their loads.

“Some of these trucks carry loads of large stones and it just takes one of them to fly off the back and hit someone for a major accident to happen.

“The community council is just trying to alert the appropriate authorities to the danger.

“We just want them to obey the law as that is not happening at the moment.”

Independent Councillor Stuart Borrowman has already written to bosses at Network Rail to express his concern about the vehicle movements in Blackridge and Armadale.

He said: “I understand that construction traffic is inevitable but it must observe both codes agreed and be a good neighbour to the village residents.

“I think Blackridge residents have been subjected to months of worry about safety and amenity and this is likely to continue for some time. They are duty bound to address their worries.

“Network Rail is spending £300m of public money in this project and it is accountable for its actions though it seems to believe it isn’t.”

But a Network Rail spokesman told the Courier they are aware of the concerns and have been keeping a close eye on the situation.

He said:”We have been monitoring the situation for some time and we are content they have been keeping to the speed limit and observing the other restrictions.

“People have been physically down in the town to check their speeds and we will continue to do so.

“It is hard to check every single lorry but on the whole they are compliant with the restrictions. The routes we have been using have been agreed with the council and we will continue to work with them for the length of the project to respond to any problems.

“While we can do our best to minimise the amount of disruption we cause we do have a significant amount of lorries in the area each day as it is a huge task in terms of volume of material.”