Accident on dunstans road this morning (4th Jan 2016)

[XxNikkixX]

Today there was a accident outside my house on dunstans road between a car and a cyclist. I know the man on the bike was taken by ambulance with head injurys I hope he is ok. But also want to know how the lady in car was I know her name is Amy I was the one sitting with her trying to keep her calm as she was in a awful state of shock whilst other passers by was trying to help the guy with injurys. Just hope they are both ok

[amylamontfitness]

Hi Nikki,

It was me. A friend told me about your post on here. I was going to call by later this week to thank you for all your support. The cyclist was conscious and although he needed to go to hospital, he is ok. He also admitted that he thought he had right of way and failed to stop or even slow down at the junction. He was going downhill on Underhill road very fast and hit me at the side of the car out of nowhere with no warning or preparation.

I was in such a state and very confused and I can't thank you enough for your kindness. It has shaken me beyond belief and will take me a long time to get over. I am so relieved that the cyclist is ok and to be honest, am relieved that he admitted it was his fault. I wasn't driving fast but when something like that happens, you automatically look at what you did or didn't do. Thank you for your message, I really needed someone at that moment and you were there for me. Your kindness will stay with me forever as will the horrible memory of the accident.

Thank you - Amyx

[jacks09]

This is great foruming.

[DadOf4]

Amy - I feel for both you and the cyclist.

Sometimes accidents are just that: an accident.

Well done you for openly sharing your thoughts. Hopefully he will make full recovery and you can both put this behind you

[tomskip]

This is such a dangerous junction because people travelling up or down Underhill often don't take any notice of the road markings at the junction which shows they should give way, and that people travelling along Dunstans have right of way. I've often had to slam on my brakes there. Are there even any Give Way signs? I can't remember. Hope you are getting over it Amy, sounds as though Nikki was just the sort of compassionate person you need in a horrible situation like that. Very pleased to hear that the cyclist hasn't been seriously hurt too.

[Sue]

It isn't intuitive that Dunstan's has the right of way, because Underhill feels like the more major road.

And I may be wrong but I think the right of way was changed at some point, can't remember when.

Very lucky nobody was badly hurt, and very sorry for the car driver :(

[robbin]

I agree it is a dangerous junction - mostly because of the speed you can get up to coming down the hill, but it is signposted clearly and there are also clear road markings. I suspect the problem might be that people are concentrating more on bike handling at the speed they are going and less on the road signs (and they have less time to see them and to stop in time).

Those excuses can only really work for the first time you come down the hill though! After that you really ought to be careful and obey the rights of way. I'm always very conscious that I will have to stop after coming down the hill, although it is a shame to lose the 'free speed' from the hill!

[Siduhe]

I live nearby and agree with what's said above. Oddly enough, I don't find this an unsafe junction to use as a driver, because of the speed bumps, the build out where the bus stop is and the parked cars, it's difficult to get up any speed travelling up to this junction on Underhill. I guess it helps that I know the road layout and that I have to give way to Dunstans so that's my automatic mindset (that I have to stop). However, I have seen cyclists and motorcyclists (scooterists mostly) take the junction (travelling on Underhill, crossing Dunstans) at speed. The hill and the ability to avoid the bumps mean that they can get across a lot faster than a driver can. I do think though that the road markings are pretty clear about where the right of way is.

[solar]

Yes Sue you are quite right. The priority at this junction was changed some time ago, probably to stop people speeding down the hill.

[Nigello]

On a side point - and this in no way casts aspersion on anyone mentioned in this post - I travel to work very early and amazed at the number of pedestrians and cyclists who don't wear any form of pale-coloured clothing, let alone reflective gear. It is really hard to make them out from inside a vehicle.

As for this road, I too have seen speeding coming up to the junctions.

[Jane23]

Very sorry to hear about this and I hope driver and cyclist are ok. This is a dangerous junction and agree that the priority of Dunstans Road doesn't feel right, which can lead to a lot of near-misses.

I cross this junction on foot twice a day with my daughter to get to Goodrich. I don't know why there isn't a lollypop man/woman on this very busy junction given there are at other busy junctions around SE22. Does anyone know?

On a similar point - and sorry for going slightly off down the road if not exactly off topic, Underhill Road junction with Barry Road is very dangerous - sightlines into Barry Road from Underhill Road both directions are very tricky, so often you have to inch your way forward. I do this journey by car several times a week with a child in the back and it can be terrifying. There was a white van that was parked nearly every day on Barry Road just by this junction on the white diagonal lines (i.e. illegally) which only made it worse, but the last few times it seems to have moved, so maybe the police/Southwark parking have finally caught up with this.

When I asked James Barber about this junction four years ago, and why there were not speed bumps on Barry Road (there are bumps on Underhill Road to help with sightlines) he said TFL would not allow it because it would slow down the bus timetable, but that the council would keep an eye on any accidents. I would be interested to know whether the number of accidents has increased/decreased in the four years.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Sorry to hear about your experience Amy, I hope you can put it behind you. Glad everyone's OK.

[Penguin68]

I think that one of the problems with the Underhill/ Dunstan junction is that the roads are not at right angles, Dunstan?s actually curving (like a shallow U) across Underhill so that, if travelling south (towards Forest Hill) Dunstan actually curves back away from Underhill ? so that it is difficult, particularly if the corners are parked up) to see much oncoming traffic (conversely, from the other side, crossing towards Whateley, you can see well down both sides of Dunstan?s). This means that travelling south you often have to pull out into the road before you can see that it is clear to cross ? and this can cause problems to any fast(ish) moving vehicles, particularly motor bikes, travelling along Dunstan?s ? particularly as there is no reason for them to slow down. The next crossing up (north) from this (Upland) is laid out as a roundabout (again the roads do not cross at right angles) and this is much easier to negotiate as traffic on both roads must slow to check it is safe to go ahead. Maybe reconfiguring the Underhill/ Dunstan?s crossing as a roundabout would aid safety here. The problem is exacerbated in sunny winter mornings when the sun can be directly in drivers' eyes crossing towards to the south.