Boy hit by truck while walking to school in Ongar

MrMorooka

http://www.thejournal.ie/boy-walking-to-school-hit-by-truck-2607145-Feb2016/

Very sad news here. As a comment below the article mentions, the trucks delivering to Dunnes can be very large and frequently make long reversing movements across the exit from the underpass. Unfortunately an accident may have been inevitable.

chucknorris

It's an awful tragedy.

RainyDay

MrMorooka wrote: »

http://www.thejournal.ie/boy-walking-to-school-hit-by-truck-2607145-Feb2016/

Very sad news here. As a comment below the article mentions, the trucks delivering to Dunnes can be very large and frequently make long reversing movements across the exit from the underpass. Unfortunately an accident may have been inevitable.

Don't know the area, but if there are HGVs doing long reversing movements through a customer car park - it was absolutely avoidable, and was not an 'accident' - more like very, very poor design.

It really should be part of the planning process for retail units to consider deliveries. I saw a Lidl delivery truck reversing across the main road at Ranelagh a few weeks back to deliver to their store. This is a recipe for disaster, and should be blocked at planning stage.

Pacing Mule

RainyDay wrote: »

Don't know the area, but if there are HGVs doing long reversing movements through a customer car park - it was absolutely avoidable, and was not an 'accident' - more like very, very poor design.

It really should be part of the planning process for retail units to consider deliveries. I saw a Lidl delivery truck reversing across the main road at Ranelagh a few weeks back to deliver to their store. This is a recipe for disaster, and should be blocked at planning stage.

You have trucks entering a car park to either turn or to offload as the loading area is so small.

The loading area itself being too small I suspect is in part due to Dunnes using their yard for storage rather than offload. (My opinion is that the original design would have had trucks backing into the yard that is gated off unloading and then driving out without the need to go into the car park to offload or turn)

Compounded by the fact the car park is adjacent to the school and is where parents are parking for school drop off. I'm fairly certain that the school itself was designed and built to enable school set downs but the school car park which doubles as the community centre car park is shut to traffic around school.

So you have a set of circumstances where a number of factors have combined to produce what the parents have been saying for a long time was an accident waiting to happen.

People at this point need to stop passing the buck. At the very least Dunnes could instruct suppliers to not deliver during school drop off / collection times. That's the quickest and safest thing to do.

Edit: There was a fatal accident BTW last year at that very spot in Ranelagh when a bin truck reversing down that lane hit a pedestrian crossing the road.

Larbre34

It is a truly dismal design alright, delivery movements interact with customer traffic and pedestrians, not enough shunting or loading space. But then almost everything about Ongar is very poorly designed.

Best wishes to the little chap for his recovery.

RainyDay

Pacing Mule wrote: »

You have trucks entering a car park to either turn or to offload as the loading area is so small.

The loading area itself being too small I suspect is in part due to Dunnes using their yard for storage rather than offload. (My opinion is that the original design would have had trucks backing into the yard that is gated off unloading and then driving out without the need to go into the car park to offload or turn)

Compounded by the fact the car park is adjacent to the school and is where parents are parking for school drop off. I'm fairly certain that the school itself was designed and built to enable school set downs but the school car park which doubles as the community centre car park is shut to traffic around school.

If the situation is as you describe, I'd have little doubt that Dunnes would be facing a very large payout in Court, given their commercial decision to use their loading space for storage.

Pacing Mule wrote: »

Edit: There was a fatal accident BTW last year at that very spot in Ranelagh when a bin truck reversing down that lane hit a pedestrian crossing the road.

Hadn't heard about that one - this case I presume.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1114/659346-dublin-rtc/

I haven't heard of any coroners inquest yet. Hopefully, they will come up with some recommendation to protect pedestrians and cyclists here. Loads of kids go through that junction every morning.

And not too far away:
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/elderly-woman-dies-after-being-knocked-down-in-bank-car-park-34461708.html

We really have an amazing tolerance as a society to people being killed and maimed by motor vehicles.

Larbre34

I dont think we are tolerant of it at all. Some accidents will always happen and thankfully our national statistics are now among the lowest internationally, but that doesnt absolve people who create hazard potential at design stage, or indeed violations of planning conditions

RainyDay

Larbre34 wrote: »

I dont think we are tolerant of it at all. Some accidents will always happen

Honestly, you've just proved my point.

Phil.x

Does anybody know how this kid is doing.