SDR CRASH: Senior Newport councillor tells of SDR concerns

9:38am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Yesterday's crash on Newport's SDR CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Yesterday's crash on Newport's SDR

A SENIOR Newport councillor revealed his concerns over the safety of Newport's SDR in the wake of yesterday's accident.

The chairman of the the council’s overview and scrutiny committee for street scene, regeneration and safety, Councillor Roger Jeavons said he has concerns about the safety of the SDR.

Cllr Jeavons said the committee is concerned by the number of accidents on the road and said it is in initial talks with Morgan Vinci, which operates the road, and has invited them to make comments.

Cllr Jeavons said that as a ward councillor he has also concerns about the SDR’s roundabouts in the Lliswerry ward, their lineage and the inability for certain vehicles to move around them.

Simon Higgins, area manager for the Road Haulage Association, said there are several reasons why lorries may topple over.

But he said lorry crashes are “few and far between” and that it is only because they have more impact than a car crash, depending on what they are carrying, that we hear more about them.

The lorry crash closed the Southern Distributor Road during rush hour yesterday – making it the third crash of its kind this year.

This time a lorry’s container toppled over not far from the Ebbw Bridge roundabout and the Office of National Statistics in Newport. The driver escaped uninjured but the road was closed for around four-and-a-half hours in both directions. It caused chaos for drivers, who were advised to avoid the area.

The Accelerate Freight Limited lorry was travelling eastbound towards Newport city centre when the trailer overturned at 9.50am. The heavy load of scrap metal, which included washing machines and tyres, was recovered by a JCB at about 11.45am.

Newport-based firm Chris Spiteri and Son also helped with the recovery of the lorry and the road reopened at around 2.20pm.

The crashed lorry’s owner told the Argus: “It’s just one of those things that happens.” The Argus has reported on more than a dozen lorry crashes on the SDR since it opened in December 2004.

There have now been three similar incidents along the SDR this year. This includes an oil tanker overturning near Spytty Retail Park on July 23 and a lorry overturning by the retail park in June.

Comments(13)

crosskeysgirl18 says...
12:06pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Am I reading this right? Finally a Newport Councillor has taken a step forward to raise his concerns about the SDR? This wouldnt have happened if the accident didnt happen yesterday. Shocking!

Report this post »

njskiff says...
2:43pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Why not put a big clock on a roundabout nearby or something??

Report this post »

Radio Wales says...
5:53pm Wed 12 Sep 12

crosskeysgirl18 wrote:
Am I reading this right? Finally a Newport Councillor has taken a step forward to raise his concerns about the SDR? This wouldnt have happened if the accident didnt happen yesterday. Shocking!
Yes, you are reading it right, said Councillor has simply taken out insurance against being accused of complacency. The shortcomings of the SDR have been widely known and acknowledged for years, so don't be misled into believing that anything will happen as a result of it! It just means he can say "Told you so!" on the occasion of the next accident at a SDR roundabout - Hopefully, it will not be at a time when the M4 is blocked too.

Report this post »

Manley says...
6:59pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Isn't the problem that all the roundabouts were originally marked for and presumably designed as two lanes only? They have now been remarked as three lanes but simply were never designed as such.

Report this post »

Riley2012 says...
9:56pm Wed 12 Sep 12

I would say the worst roundabout on the SDR is the one by Nash Tech, the roundabout is not even round, as with most of the road's in Newport they need sorting out and get rid of the bus lanes and that crazy stupid mess at Cardiff Rd Bellevue Lane let the traffic move for Pete's sake.

Report this post »

Euwan Usami says...
10:09pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Riley2012 wrote:
I would say the worst roundabout on the SDR is the one by Nash Tech, the roundabout is not even round, as with most of the road's in Newport they need sorting out and get rid of the bus lanes and that crazy stupid mess at Cardiff Rd Bellevue Lane let the traffic move for Pete's sake.
Absolutely right on the Nash roundabout, try taking the middle lane on that one and you take you life in your hands as drivers drift across lanes or trucks struggle to keep to them. It has always annoyed me that it's called the SDR and is seen as a back up should they shut the m4. It's not a bypass or alternate motorway route. It's a main road with busy, badly designed roundabouts and umpteen traffic lights that cross multiple main road through the city. When traffic gets diverted through it there is absolute gridlock throughout the area. Bad idea badly executed. Nuff said. (Feel better now) :)

Report this post »

Welshman76 says...
10:21pm Wed 12 Sep 12

People should drive to the conditions. I've never had an accident on the SDR road and I'm guessing that speed is probably a factor in these accidents judging the amount of bad driving and speeding I see daily. It is not difficult to negotiate this road at the correct speeds. A lot of people are also ignorant of road markings and signs or ignore them as they are in a rush, - how can you not know which lane to be in to use the colda roundabout? Bad driving in my opinion causes accidents!

Report this post »

fudge1969 says...
2:14am Thu 13 Sep 12

Welshman76 wrote:
People should drive to the conditions. I've never had an accident on the SDR road and I'm guessing that speed is probably a factor in these accidents judging the amount of bad driving and speeding I see daily. It is not difficult to negotiate this road at the correct speeds. A lot of people are also ignorant of road markings and signs or ignore them as they are in a rush, - how can you not know which lane to be in to use the colda roundabout? Bad driving in my opinion causes accidents!
really how can every eta be blamed on speed.. its not always bad driving its how roads and round abouts are planed..

Report this post »

chrisbart says...
7:47am Thu 13 Sep 12

It's about time someone took action on the safety of the SDR, so lets hope this leads to positive action. There are many drivers who drive badly, so it clearly isn't all the fault of the road. It would be interesting to find out how it compares with similar dual carriageways elsewhere, but it cant be denied that there are a number of issues with layouts and lane markings that can catch out the unwary driver (Nash roundabout is the worst!); also the traffic lights by Lysaghts get hidden behind road signs and a lampost.
The quote that 'its just one of those things' is not acceptable, and surely its a matter of time before someone gets killed when a lorry turns over?

Report this post »

crosskeysgirl18 says...
10:38am Fri 14 Sep 12

Welshman76 - Are you serious??? Its the way the road is. Its nothing to do with speed or poor driving!

I can see a fatal accident happening on this road. Maybe not now but sometime in the near future. Council need to get on with making this road safer for road users! Some people are like idiots on that road but that's got nothing to do with speed. They should get rid of the one lane and just have 2

Report this post »

crosskeysgirl18 says...
10:38am Fri 14 Sep 12

Welshman76 - Are you serious??? Its the way the road is. Its nothing to do with speed or poor driving!

I can see a fatal accident happening on this road. Maybe not now but sometime in the near future. Council need to get on with making this road safer for road users! Some people are like idiots on that road but that's got nothing to do with speed. They should get rid of the one lane and just have 2

Report this post »

lord iron of shumg says...
12:39am Sat 15 Sep 12

It's the roundabout they're rubbish and the by the Nash college is dangerous . They need to be replaced with trafficlights ,the only two that they can't do to is the roundabout by the transporter bridge and the roundabout before you get to Newport retail park that also goes off to that housing estate , just take them out and only have have sdr and move the junshon somewhere else , it's not if you block off the road . It just means it will take longer to get there !!!!

Report this post »

lord iron of shumg says...
12:39am Sat 15 Sep 12

It's the roundabout they're rubbish and the by the Nash college is dangerous . They need to be replaced with trafficlights ,the only two that they can't do to is the roundabout by the transporter bridge and the roundabout before you get to Newport retail park that also goes off to that housing estate , just take them out and only have have sdr and move the junshon somewhere else , it's not if you block off the road . It just means it will take longer to get there !!!!

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree