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PostPosted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 20:01 
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[Edited to add link]This is a newspaper article about the sad death of a young person but the reporting and comments seem a little out of the ordinary, to me, in this age of what seems to be.... "speed was a contributing factor" or "mobile phones are dangerous", summing up of accidents.
I've blanked out names and locations but what do others think?

Shrewsbury driver's death a tragic accident
By?Dani?Wozencroft
A woman who died in a car crash in xxxxxxxx could have glanced at her phone or been avoiding an animal in the road, an inquest has heard.

XXXXXXXX, died after she was struck by a wooden stake from a picket fence that smashed through her windscreen when she crashed into a tree on the Bxxxxx.

The inquest, yesterday, heard that she had received a text message just one minute and 40 seconds before the first emergency call was made.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner xxxx said it “clearly was an accident” as Miss xxxx had not been using her phone.

The crash happened at xxxxx, at about 10.40am on February 2.

PC xxxxx told the inquest that neither alcohol, drugs, the condition of the car, the weather or speed was a factor.

He said at the time Miss xxxxx lost control of her Seat Ibiza she was travelling at between 49 and 60mph.

There were tyre scruff marks on the straight road for 49 metres which indicated that the car had gone over the kerb, on to the verge and back again before spinning around and hitting the fence and tree.

PC xxxxx, overseeing the investigation, told the inquest that police found an iPhone by the hand brake.

He said: “A text message had been received at around the time the collision had taken place. That text message would have shown up on the screen even if the message had not been opened.”

Forensic analysis showed the message was received at 10.40am and two seconds. The first 999 call was made at 10.41am.

PC xxxx added: “It could be she just looked down for a second, not using her phone, or that an animal ran across the road.

“This could cause a distraction prior to losing control. While there is no evidence that the driver hit an animal, there is a lot of animal movement in the area.”

Miss xxxxxxx, suffered chest and neck injuries.

No-one witnessed the collision.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 21:26 
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Someone on here has vociferously, fervently, controversially, attacked "unnecessary distractions" because driving is, or should be, more important than ANYTHING else. Speeding is way down on my list if they are driving responsibly and safely.

Leave the mob turned off, ask your passenger/s to get it or completely ignore the f :censored: n thing.

Nuff said...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 23:58 
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Likewise Tone- phone is last thing to bother with . If mine rings on a trip, I hand it to Mrs. Call from kids/G kids , she can deal . anything else get's bined or told to FOQ .

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Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 04:53 
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Looks like a case of we can't explain it, lets clutch at straws rather than come out and say we don't know.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 00:17 
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Whilst they imply that she might have been looking at it, I think it good that they have not just stated something that they cannot be sure of.
That is right and proper. However they do hint that they see it as contributory.
Clearly the more detailed investigations my add more to this case, later.
Perhaps there were mechanical failures ?
It's hard to know with such limited description of the incident, if the tyre marks are before the spin of are included in it. The fact that the car went over the kerb might imply that she drove where she looked (trying to avoid an animal) and they do state that there are animals in this area.
We should not jump to conclusions no matter how much more mobile phone use is.

I do agree they can be a serious & sometimes fatal distraction.

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