Rosher.Net

This is a continuance of a previous blog entry, which I wrote on encountering Toby Bollards for the first time. Do read the initial post to get the full… impact… of this one.

This post consists mostly of three photographs, which speak quite clearly for themselves. They were taken soon after the incident on Clarence Road in Bristol, where Bristol City Council installed a series of concrete Toby Bollards as a protection for cyclists, and in doing so reduced the road width for vehicles.

I received these pictures in an email, after the person who arrived on the scene shortly after the incident and took the pictures read my blog. I understand the incident occurred at about 18h20 in the evening of 12th October, in heavy traffic, and the driver claims he was doing about 10 mph at the time. The inference is that he was forced over by oncoming traffic and unable to avoid the bollards.

You’ll note the obvious damage and that the front tyre is ripped open. What you might not notice is that the airbags have gone off. Often that will mean the vehicle is a write off. That there is sand there suggests the bottom of the engine suffered damage too. You pretty much know all I do now, so here’re the photo’s.

You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking. It is absurd to endanger the life of one person in an attempt to save another. It is possible Bristol City Council are already retreating from the use of Toby Bollards, although they form a part of the proposed design for Temple Gate. If a car was so damaged in striking one of these low tomb stone like obstructions, how would a biker come off? And finally, if a cyclist was actually cycling past at the time of the incident, do you think they would have been protected from traffic by the bollard or seriously endangered by it?

To clarify. I have no known association with the driver or photographer aside from his email and permission to use the shots (from which I’ve obscured the numberplate). I’ve had emailed discussions with various people over these Toby Bollards and I am a member of the Motorcycle Action Group MAG.