Congestion on A15 and near miss Tuesday.

[adderman]

Hi all.
Just a quick request for people to be more careful at Waddo when crossing the carriageway. On of my fellow HGV drivers who knows I'm an enthusiast rang me yesterday in a tizzy. Saying he came close to flattening someone just north of the red and white fence. This guy wasn't paying attention when bypassing the crowd.
Please remember folks that you can step off the road faster than us drivers can stop on it. I understand the police are there but they cannot monitor everything.
Enjoy the flying but stay safe.
Sorry for the rant.
Mike.

[baz1]

Hi all.
Just a quick request for people to be more careful at Waddo when crossing the carriageway. On of my fellow HGV drivers who knows I'm an enthusiast rang me yesterday in a tizzy. Saying he came close to flattening someone just north of the red and white fence. This guy wasn't paying attention when bypassing the crowd.
Please remember folks that you can step off the road faster than us drivers can stop on it. I understand the police are there but they cannot monitor everything.
Enjoy the flying but stay safe.
Sorry for the rant.
Mike.

not a rant just common sense.

[roughcutter]

And sadly it has happened on the A15 before. So don't think it won't happen to you!

[Vulture 01]

Sad to hear about the incident, although I'm not surprised. It seems to me that many people today don't take simple precautions when doing basic things like crossing roads. The attitude seems to be that 'They can see me so they'll slow down...' Maybe drivers do, although the pedestrian only need to get it wrong once! How many f you know about the changes to the highway code covering drivers giving way to walkers (and cyclists) when turning off main roads into side roads? No wonder some to think they are entitled, and immortal!

[Kubey]

As a regular attender during CW this year a big issue has been motorists not respecting the modified speed limits. So far I have been pinged with small pebbles I assume kicked up by fast passing vehicles. Many times each day I have had to brace and face away as a lorry comes speeding past at 40/50mph. It’s not just the potential of being hit by a vehicle but the lorry’s push a lot of air around while they speed past that could even potentially knock a small child off balance.

[colt99]

As a regular attender during CW this year a big issue has been motorists not respecting the modified speed limits. So far I have been pinged with small pebbles I assume kicked up by fast passing vehicles. Many times each day I have had to brace and face away as a lorry comes speeding past at 40/50mph. It’s not just the potential of being hit by a vehicle but the lorry’s push a lot of air around while they speed past that could even potentially knock a small child off balance.

I was there on Tuesday and a lorry cab ignored a red light.

[Discodaz]

I was there friday and saw many ignore the red lights. I observed a queue of 7 go straight through on flashing red. Seems to me motorists these days dont have to obide by any rules of the highway code.

[Mallett17]

As a regular attender during CW this year a big issue has been motorists not respecting the modified speed limits. So far I have been pinged with small pebbles I assume kicked up by fast passing vehicles. Many times each day I have had to brace and face away as a lorry comes speeding past at 40/50mph. It’s not just the potential of being hit by a vehicle but the lorry’s push a lot of air around while they speed past that could even potentially knock a small child off balance.

I was there on Tuesday and a lorry cab ignored a red light.

Small children shouldn't be anywhere near the road. Poor parenting if they are.

[AndyXYZ]

I was there friday and saw many ignore the red lights. I observed a queue of 7 go straight through on flashing red. Seems to me motorists these days dont have to obide by any rules of the highway code.

Following on from the above and another post in the photos section.

While I was at the Wave on Friday 27th, I was crossing the main road with my camera and video in one hand and my little step ladder in the other hand and some pillock in a dark BMW or similar car actually sped up towards me as I was crossing the road, despite me ensuring that there was more than enough space/time for me to cross safely. Then, said pillock thought it acceptable to pip and yell abuse at me as he drove past.

Just be extra vigilant when crossing folks as most of the traffic observed during the day was doing more than 30 mph.

[Supra]

'Situational awareness' & 'Self preservation' are the key words here! In all aspects of life the onus is on YOURSELF to preserve your longer existence. Be that investigating slight chest pain to crossing the road?
Whilst the Highway Code makes recommendations, it remains the sensible thing to be vigilant at all times. Just because the traffic lights are red doesn't mean it's safe to cross, as illustrated above.

Some driver's will always 'make their point' that whilst us enthusiasts are enjoying time at the airfield, they are working & their bitterness is exhibited in multiple ways! If we could be bothered we could go & heckle them when they're playing highly interesting Golf!! Just sad jealousy on their part really.

Probably best not to have your scanner earpiece in place until you are located safely, as you're depriving yourself of valuable hearing function...just like the muppets that run/jog the streets with with ear-pods in place
& run straight across junctions without a rearward glance 'coz they read on Twatter (now Elon X) that the turning vehicle would stop......Stay lucky out there, for a while!

[PR9]

I got a pic of a Tesco lorry driver filming the crowd on his mobile phone while driving past on Wednesday.

[Nighthawke]

Forward it to Tesco and the police!

[AndyXYZ]

Forward it to Tesco and the police!

My thoughts exactly, I wonder how many clubcard points you'd get for the information from Tesco

[Bluesteve]

Will there be access from the overflow car park through to the main WAVE car park without people having to totter along the grass verge on the road? - that is where an accident is going to happen soon...

[reaper493]

No there isn't, the land between the overspill and the wave is farmers field. He's growing something but I'm not sure what, it does just look like grass though.

There is plenty of space on the base side of the A15 to walk a couple of meters away from the road.

[blackbird60]

If and when someone gets killed there,that will be the end for everybody patroling the fence area unfortunatel

[Vulture 01]

Could we please get a bit of common sense back into this discussion?
Let's take a scientific approach:
A person at 90 kgs, and travelling at 3 mph is in contact with a 1 tonne vehicle travelling at 30+ mph.
Who comes off worse?

You are all, more or less, responsible adults. Why put your life in the hands of someone you've never met by chancing it across or near the road?

Before you start having ag go at me for lecturing you, please know this. The youngest member of my family died in hospital two weeks ago. She was just six years old.
Life is precious to all of us. Don't die just to get a file of pictures that you may just look at once, then file away for ever.

Feel free to differ. See you in A and E sometime.

[reaper493]

To give some context of the first week of CW movements.

It was busy early on, Monday and Tuesday saw some kind of volunteer rescue service based in the wave who would drive up and down the A15 and put their Blue! lights on, stopping traffic.

Friends saw at least three near misses (one being a car vs HGV Head on) on Monday alone down to these volunteer / rent a cops. They were dangerous.

Wednesday they were no where to be seen, but an actual police officer was present most of the day parked just above the wave in the pull-in. He was friendly, chatted to most people and just suggested if you were too close to the road to move back. He also stopped people moving to close towards the approach.

The road is much slower at the moment, with a 30mph speed limit in place for about a mile centered on the wave. Now that the rent a cop has gone it is a safe place to be.

There were at least three other police (both RAF and Civi) driving up and down at various points in the day and it all seemed very safe.

The only issue that remains now is people dashing for the car/fence line and getting knocked over - this is the main worry for most.

It's as safe as it can be right now, people just need to be sensible when crossing the road - and i completely understand why some people never leave the wave.

[Bluesteve]

No there isn't, the land between the overspill and the wave is farmers field. He's growing something but I'm not sure what, it does just look like grass though.

There is plenty of space on the base side of the A15 to walk a couple of meters away from the road.

Ah ok, I thought the overspill was next to the main WAVE car park, with an opening between the two which had been blocked off...

[slogen51]

The congestion and crossing of the dangerous A15 has been exacerbated by the closure of the 02 laybys

I don't understand why they do it because it concentrates everyone onto the very busy A15 - daft.