Casualties . . .

There's a letter in the latest BMF 'Motorcycle Rider' magazine, from someone concerned about the proliferation of signs, "X Casualties on this route' etc.

The writer asks whether they're beneficial, and contrasts the benefit with the need to take your eye off the road to read them! He also asks whether they'll be updated?

I'm not sure about the benefits of them, many drivers have trouble with the current level of signs, without giving them more to ignore!

But a few days ago I was driving along the A595 in Cumbria, at Yeorton Brow, close to Sellafield, no, hang on, 'Windscale' . . . er . . . no 'Seascale' - well, whatever it's called - and saw a sign which stopped me in my tracks. Not literally, of course. But it had the stark message - which by the time I'd read most of it I'd mentally gone back to the top to check and remember the figure, so I don't know the timescale - of 1245 casulaties.

Yup: 1,245 casualties on that stretch of road. Now, I'm assuming that doesn't mean animal roadkill (especially if the rare red squirels which inhabit the area) and I don't know the length of the stretch involved, or how many fatals, or serious, or minor casualties, or over what timespan.

But it's still a lot!


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