'We could've died on Carlton Road, now we want change'

BBC News

9 hours ago

"It just feels like we're being punished all the time," says Louise Chaplin, who suffered brain damage and permanent knee damage in a car crash.She and her husband Darren were involved in a collision on the B686 Carlton Road two years ago, a road that residents say is consistently dangerous.The couple, who said they could have died, have joined a campaign to improve safety on the road, which runs through Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Police have urged residents to report all crashes that happen on it.Councillors accepted Carlton Road residents have "justifiable anger", but Nottingham councillor David Mellen said that statistically, the road is not the most dangerous in the city.
Mr Chaplin said he has been left traumatised by the incident and has frequent nightmares.Mrs Chaplin said she has had to give up her driving licence because of the brain damage she suffered in the crash."It's just horrible, I've got no recollection of the accident, but living the aftermath every day it just feels like we're being punished all the time," she said."Nothing's been resolved for us and every time we hear of [another crash] my fear is that somebody else might not be as lucky, and die."The pair attended a meeting of residents last week to demand action from the local authorities and the police force.Attendees spoke in favour of potential changes including the installation of speed cameras, a lower speed limit overall, and improvements to the Porchester Road junction.
Katie Sarah Keating, who organised the meeting, said she has "personally witnessed and heard" many of the crashes on the road."The problem is we know there's a lot of speeding drivers that have evaded prosecution because there isn't the evidence to prosecute them," she saidShe has been campaigning to get improvements for two years, but laments that potential solutions are held up by their costs."Nothing seems to be happening because no-one's got any money," Ms Keating said."A fix is not going to happen overnight, I'm not an idiot, but if we'd started doing something two years ago, when I was banging the drum, we'd already be a little bit further to sorting it out."
City councillor David Mellen, whose ward covers part of Carlton Road, said he would work to see what was financially possible."We've recently had money for Mansfield Road and other roads in the city, there might be more coming out and when that happens I want to lobby for my ward," he said.However, he said the road was not statistically the most dangerous in the city so resources may need to be prioritised elsewhere.
Police 'thin on the ground'
County councillor Jim Vernon, whose ward covers a different part of the road, said there was a lot of "justifiable anger" from residents."At [the county council], this whole team has been working hard on issues around improving roads and highways issues that fall within the county," Mr Vernon said."[I've got] permission to support the organisers to manage an effective campaign, and advise and feedback any findings for consideration where [we] have responsibility."Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Nottingham Police at the meeting acknowledged that safety data could under-report crashes, because the force only records those in which people are injured.They advised residents to get involved in the community speed watch."I've been to a lot of RTCs on that road, it is a massive issue, and we'd encourage you to keep reporting things to us," the spokesperson said."We are very thin on the ground, and we'll get out if we can, but the community speed watch is probably the way forward."