A car accident on Caerphilly Mountain road which led to four people being hospitalised has prompted fresh calls for speed restrictions.
The accident on the A469 involved three cars and happened at around 1pm on Friday January 10.
Investigations into the crash are still ongoing and it is unclear at time of press whether speed was a factor.
The crash though has prompted a call from a local resident for action to make the road safer.
A resident living on Mountain Road, who did not wished to be named, said: “This sort of incident is unfortunately all too common on this stretch of the road.
“Either side of the mountain the speed limit has been reduced to 40mph, however the speed limit on probably the most treacherous part has remained at 60mph.
“How many more people have to be killed or seriously injured before those in power will listen and make changes to the speed limit?”
A spokesman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “When information on this incident is made available we will review it to assess what the causes were and whether or not any remedial measures are appropriate. This is part of the duties we undertake as the Highway Authority, and periodically we review collision data from the police, where there is personal injury, with a view to reducing casualties on our highways.”
What nonsense, speed is not an issue on that road, infact then Cardiff side should never have been reduced to 40. The whole road is perfectly safe for 60 mph
I agree with the previous commentator. The article states that it is "unclear whether speed was a factor" and yet there are calls for a speed limit reduction. I use this road 6 days a week and do not find it a dangerous road. Crashes normally occur on this stretch because of bad driving in poor weather or driving under the influence of alcohol.
There is nothing inherently dangerous with this well designed and maintained road. But, drivers need to realise that it is several hundred feet above sea level and, like all high altitude roads, drivers can encounter fog banks, ice and snow.
I too am in agreement. The road itself is suitable for 60mph. However, the accident was on a corner and a number of people take the corner very wide. I was once driving and had to mount the side of the road just to avoid a car who was on my side of the road when taking the corner. It's possible to safely turn the corner at 60mph provided you are concentrating. Coupled with extreme weather I can see why these collisions are common. I have also seen people drive the stretch whilst eating, drinking, smoking and on their mobile phone. Sometime, we need to blame the individual drivers for driving poorly before we blame the orads.
I too am in agreement. The road itself is suitable for 60mph. However, the accident was on a corner and a number of people take the corner very wide. I was once driving and had to mount the side of the road just to avoid a car who was on my side of the road when taking the corner. It's possible to safely turn the corner at 60mph provided you are concentrating. Coupled with extreme weather I can see why these collisions are common. I have also seen people drive the stretch whilst eating, drinking, smoking and on their mobile phone. Sometime, we need to blame the individual drivers for driving poorly before we blame the roads.
I was one of the drivers involved in this accident driving the audi from Cardiff doing approx 30mph. The driver of the corsa was possibly DUI on cannabis and traveling at 40+mph.
You want to try having a vehicle come down the mountain road at 110mph and land in your back garden, then you comment on this
How ridiculous to say speed is not a factor! Those of us that live on this road have witnessed these accidents first hand! It seems someone needs to be killed before the dangers are addressed. If speed is not the issue and commuters are happy to take the risk, give us residents crash barriers to stop them landing in our gardens and putting our children in danger!!!
Couldnt of said it better myself. We have children living and playing in our gardens. If people want to speed down that road or take the road 'wide' as you say, then why cant wr have barriers to protect us residence that pay a tax to live her. Its disgraceful. Twice we have had cars knock our fences down and landed in the same garden and twice it has been ignored. I fear it is going to take a life for someone to wake up and smell the coffee.
My house backs on to the bottom of the Mountain Road and in the last 6 years 2 cars have crashed into mine and a couple of my neighbour's back fences taking a few of the fences out each time. Both times there were young children playing in our gardens and luckily they had just gone inside as they would have been killed. Both cars were driving too fast down the mountain and lost control and apparently the drivers had not been drinking yet the council refuse to put a barrier in place to protect our gardens. The cars are constantly speeding down the road and my neighbours and I are too petrified to let our kids play out anymore. I'm sure if any of the above people commenting had nearly lost their children to irresponsible drivers then they wouldn't be calling for a 60mph limit!!! We have asked the council to do something to protect our children but they said they have not got the funds to spare….especially after paying out for a decorative wall at the top of the mountain.
I can't imagine a car that could do 100mph+ on that road, but any other road car with a sober driver should be able to manage 50-60mph with ease.
I wrote to my local councillor 6 times after the first 2 incidents. I finally had a response after the 6th attempt, funnily, days before the local election was due. Apparently he and the council had done a survey and ruled the road isn't dangerous enough to erect a safety barrier to protect the residents of the side of the mountain road. This was because they only had records of 1 accident in a 5 year period. If they did the survey when I first emailed then the 2 incidents would have been in a 5 year period. Hopefully they will now do this survey again and find that this road is dangerous enough to protect the children who play in these gardens every day during our summer months.
I just prey something can be done before someone these accidents are more serious.
So why are there barriers 200 yards up the road!? I'll tell you why, because theres a steep drop from the road. So in effect the council have made every effort to protect drivers on that road but cant find it in their budget to do the same for those people who have had TWO cars ploughed into their gardens! Nice one Caerphilly Council! Useless!
It's interesting that you all mention "cars speeding and crashing into our fences"
What good do you think a lower speed limit do? Reckless drives will ignore it and continue to crash into your fences.
The only solution to prevent such an event is the erection of a barrier. It won't happen anytime soon though. After all…the council are too busy spending the money on higher salaries and pointless schemes to promote the Welsh language. The latter having as much use in modern life as a blown lightbulb.
Mrs R Williams, Mrs J Harris and Emm, are you all the same person?
Your comments were posted at similar times. Your names follow the same, unusual style/format and the writing style is similar using similar modifiers and verbs. It's as if you wrote one comment and then immediately wrote the next under a different name to add credibility to yours.
Think, what are the odds that two residents from Caerphilly with the same writing style happen to live next door to each other and both happen to comment on the same article within 5 minutes or so. Furthermore, they both say pretty much the same thing. It's all a bit fishy…
They are probably similar as we are all really good friends as well as neighbours (J Harris lives between me and Emm btw)and this article was just posted on one of my friend's facebook wall and we are all equally fuming. All we want is a crash barrier behind our fences and then the drivers are free to drive carelessly and just kill themselves and not our kids.
…Unfortunately I cannot add photos to my comments as I would have added pictures of the front page of the Echo when they ran a story on the first crash dated Friday 23rd May 2008 and the title was about a baby playing in the garden moments before and photos of some of the damage. That's why we are all equally angry as the council refuse to help and these accidents keep happening.
Dean-Ha, ha! Hillarious! I can assure you we are not the same person. My neighbour posted this article on her facebook page and tagged us all in. This is why we are all commenting on this article at similar times. I admire your speculation however!
Sam. You have made a very valid point. Why do the crash barriers stop? Why do the houses at the bottom of the hill, have less protection to those of the top???
Its sad really as none of this will help, it is going to take an innocent life to be taken before a glimpse will be taken again by the traffic police. I just pray to god its not one of our children as then there will be a problem!!
Anon above is also my husband and was the one interviewed in the Echo. And thank you Jeff above as it was your Facebook post that was shared and I was able to see the article. Dean…we've been told we can't have a crash barrier so we want the road as safe as possible and if you lived in one of our houses and was too scared to let your kids play in the garden you would understand where we are coming from.
I would say that changing the speed limit on that road would not make much difference, unfortunately if people want to drive fast they will regardless of the limit. The road needs to be made safer I.e. Better barriers etc..
I totally agree with the residents living there the speed limit should be dropped .
There are some crazy drivers on the roads , the other day when the weather was really bad and visibility was poor I had a driver right up my backside flashing me to go faster I DID NOT when the driver passed I noticed it was a woman with a child in the back of the car crazy stupid woman.
Have they got a speed camera there? If not lower the limit and put a speed camera there .
Caerphilly council once again saying they ain't got the funds don't they make you mad ?they got plenty to waste on other things that suit them.
The massive pay rises they gave themselves and some Caerphilly councillors are a joke getting paid for doing nothing.
I hope someone sees sense and something is done soon before someone is killed.
The residents of Mountain Road should ask their Councillor to help them .
Why do people need to travel so fast anyway?
CAERPHILLY COUNCIL DO SOMETHING NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE ,WE AINT GOT THE MONEY IS A LIE.
I drive over this mountain road 5 times a week and, on the whole, most people drive carefully but you do get idiots who pass cyclists at the wrong moment causing people on the other side of the road to swerve. The mountain road does have a very different weather pattern to anything else on lower ground such as sudden fog, heavy rain etc but people don't use their lights in limited visibility and definitely drive too fast when it is dangerous to do so.
I've seen one driver intimate others by driving so close to their bumpers I had flash my lights and beep at him until he stopped. One clip and both of them would have been off the mountain! I've seen him do it so many times I now recognise his car and numberplate but can't report him. 🙁
I think there should be warnings to alert drivers to cyclists and extreme weather and I sympathise with all residents who have had cars fly into their gardens. Lowering the speed might help (especially around the Travellers Rest) but if you can't have barriers then you should petition together to the council with every incident that has occurred to find a solution. I'm sure you have records and photos to put a case together. Drivers need to take responsibility for their actions but the council should support you too.
Thing is look at the damage on your car Jeff after driving at 30mph. Imagine the impact if you had been driving at 60mph. And if it had occurred at the bottom of the hill and crashed into our gardens and one of our babies was out there…they wouldn't have stood a chance. Yes the other driver was on drugs but if you had been driving even faster i'm sure it would have been much more serious. I thought when you posted the article its because you agreed…not showing off your car because it was in the paper. There's a reason for a speed limit. We won't feel 100% safe til we have a barrier but a speed camera would be a start. People may still speed but I'm sure after a fine and a few points on their license they'll think twice about doing it again.
Thank you for everyone who has supported this article. As a mother of 3 who lives on this road and experienced a wreckless, over speeding driver plough through my garden, I can assure other people who are commenting that it is a living nightmare for us residence. We have contacted councilors. There has also been a speed test carried out with the result showing that the speed limit is now set to 40. But we have no means of monitor ing this speed. No camera, nothing! This also leads on to the very valid point of weather conditions and careless drivers. We have nothing to stop these vehicles coming into our property. You only have to sit out in the summer to hear how fast the cars come down that hill. I think its already been mentioned but to add insult to injury, not long after we had the 2nd car accident into our gardens the council built a man made wall at the top of the hill to welcome visitors. Absolutely shocking. They had the money and time to build a pretty wall but no time or money for a crash barrier to save lives. Where do your priorities lie caerphilly council?
Residents of Mountain road get in touch with your local Councillor to help you.
Of course Speeding kills I cannot understand anyone who thinks otherwise.
It makes me laugh Caerphilly Council can't afford it come on people don't accept that as an excuse it's lies.
The building that cost millions to house CCBC is a joke why the hell did they need such a fancy building with all glass and fancy floors ? It's a office not a posh five star hotel.
I am waiting to see a Councillor come forward and represent the people that's what they are paid for I thought.
Like it was said earlier put speed cameras up there and lower the limit and crash barriers.
http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/application.aspx?s=l… Let's see if any of the councillors will help.
Thank you ron for your symapthy. We have had dealings with jthe councillor for this area,but unfortunately due to wrong information given on his part the traffic department have only been given information on one accident. We have emailed him numerous times but nothing back. He only replied around election time which was laughable. We have had no help from him what so ever and feel very let down. The traffic department have said no barrier will be put up as test have been carried out. I cannot see how much more evidence they need. We have had too crashes in a five year period. Both times our fences have been taken out.
I dont know who sees these comments but I agree, funny hiw no councillors have come forward. It doeant suprise me however, after this experience.
It is a sad fact that despite the speed limit of 40mph, many drivers travel in both directions at well over that. Those of us living next to it are, rightly, anxious about the safety of our children playing in the back gardens. As others have said, twice my neighbours a few doors up the road have had their gardens invaded by cars who have lost control. It is obviously a safety issue and I do not understand why there are barriers further up and not continued on the bend at the bottom where there have been crashes. All we want are barriers to offer some protection from those who insist on driving recklessly.
https://www.facebook.com/mountainroadcaerphillycr…
I use this road 4 times a week. I pull out from castle view and then have people travelling from nantgarw hill right up my backside trying to force me to drive faster. I refuse to do so. Unfortunately I don't think changing the speed limit will help. However I do agree there should be cameras. Only yesterday I had someone in a red Audi crawling all over me as I drove down towards castle view. As I indicated to pull over I checked my mirror & they were going to try to overtake me! If anyone on here wants to start a petition I will sign it. Maybe we could ask tesco or poundstretcher to have one in their stores so Castle View residents can sign.
Mrs R Williams I have liked & shared this on my fb
Thank you Ron for the list of Councillors. We have contacted Mr Fussell in the past but I've emailed him again and some other Councillors that hopefully can help. Thank you Kathryn for sharing as well…we need all the help we can get.
Please sign this petition to get a barrier constructed along the side of the road where the cars have gone through twice
http://www.change.org/petitions/caerphilly-county…
I live on mountain road, and anyone who drives along it at 60 mph is an idiot. The reason speed cameras exist is because of the overwhelming evidence that speed is a deciding factor in serious road accidents. Can anyone who doesn't advocate lowering the speed limit please justify their position? How many seconds would be shaved off their commute if they drove at 60? At best you're talking seconds. The only reason they don't want the speed limit to be reduced is so that a camera isn't put up there so they don't get flashed when they're bombing down it when it's clear. They think they're great drivers, and they'll continue think that until they plough into a cyclist or a pedestrian or a wall, when it'll be too late. I'd love to think that drivers will use their common sense and drive at a sensible speed, but even some of the people posting here prove otherwise.
Where is the support from the local councillor's in this?
I am very surprised at Councillor Richard Williams comment .
I hope that a speed camera put there,yes it might slow peoples journey down a bit BUT who cares as long as it saves lives.
I read the front page of the Caerphilly Observer today and can tell Rhiannon Williams before she goes any further she is wasting her time arguing the the Highways Dept. I assume Bob and Dean who have posted comments above are the same Bob and Dean that I have been arguing with about the safety issues on Sunnybank Road in Blackwood which they stubbornly refuse to accept. We have a dangerous road too, (but Highways Dept say we don't) and though I have managed to get this to Police level through a local petition and sensible argument, once the Police refused to accept it because we had not had THREE FATALITIES, they are just not interested. They don't care that as a resident you will have to tolerate your problem, just as they expect us to put up with lorries and over 5,000 vehicles a day (thanks to their brilliant new link road and Chartist Bridge). As I have told my local Councillor, CCBC is not 'for the people' – it is just good PR on their part to make you think they are. I hope you get further than I have in 7 years of debate – I wish you luck because you will need it.