Cambridgeshire councillor defends the hole in the ground
Scores of motorists have fallen victim to a so-called ‘car trap’ in a bus lane in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.
Locals say up to five people a week are falling into the hole in the road, but Cambridgeshire County Council says it is only aware of 60 incidents since the trap was installed 12 years ago.
The trap consists of a 30cm-deep trench in the road, the width of which is too small for a vehicle narrower than a bus to cross without falling in.
Along with ‘no entry’ signs accompanied by the words ‘Except guided buses’, there are road markings to that effect painted on the road. These are in addition to the ‘Car trap’ and ‘no through road‘ signs.
The daughter of one of the motorists who has fallen into the trap told the Daily Mail the incident had left both her parents ‘shaken and traumatised’.
Another motorist, who was visiting the area, said: “The signs were totally inadequate. Motorists were driving up to the junction while we were waiting for the recovery.
“If we weren’t there, they would’ve made the same mistake. The abuse and awful language people were shouting as they passed us was also shocking.
“It left us with a very bad impression of St Ives afterwards.”
Defending the car trap, Cllr Kevin Reynolds from Cambridgeshire County Council said: “If people driving along that road cannot see a big hole in the ground in front of them then I would argue they wouldn’t be able to see a small child.
“I would question whether they should be behind the wheel at all.”
One enterprising YouTuber has created a video of motorists getting caught in the trap:
Source: Daily Mail
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