This afternoon, while walking around Cambridge, I saw an impressive bit of driving.
Cambridge is filled with rising bollards, allowing only tagged vehicles (usually buses, taxis and emergency vehicles) to lower and cross the bollard. The unfortunate driver of this tractor-towing supposed-offroader was a bit of an idiot not to notice that he didn’t have the required tag, causing the road to be closed for the afternoon.
Just click on the image to see the full-size version and savour the damage and ridicule of the situation. Even the policemen nearby were drinking tea and sniggering at the idiocy of the driver. They didn’t even seem to mind me (and many others) taking photos with our camera phones!
Moral of the story is that the roads are full of clueless people. Me not driving makes one less of ’em! … I mean, Cambridge is a dangerous place to cycle OR drive!
[Update 16/05/06 11:30am: Cambridge News have announced that the driver of the vehicle, a man, aged 55, died after being taken to hospital for his injuries following this crash. True shame that a moment of distraction may have led to the death of the driver.]
C’est peut-être un touriste canadien!!
Avec une remorque ??
Maybe he wanted to actually use his 4wd off road for once…he got half the car of the road at least. Only two wheels to go.
Wow, 10 points for a pedestrian, 100 points for a cyclist (50 on mill road as its too easy)… now hitting a rising bollard – not sure thats even on the scale.
It looks a little bit like he tried to ram the bollard to get through… muppet!
Seems driver did not die of injuries received; but had heart attack possibly while trying to right the tractor on the trailer
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The bollards will let you though if you wait. However, they have to reach the top first. Your registration plate is photographed if you proceed through, if you reverse and leave it isn’t. Of course, if you try and rush them then you’ll get impaled on it. There’s been loads of accidents all around Cambridge regarding these bollards, it’s just a combination of greedy, dumb, blind and stupid drivers who seem to get caught by them. I cycle through Cambridge, as a student, going from College to College, it’s the only sane mode of travel!
No Karen, I don’t believe the bollards are meant to let anyone through who isn’t a taxi or bus.
And if you’re a cyclist down Mill Rd, I’m hoping you’re a conscious one, and don’t stick in the middle of the road or randomly forget to indicate where you’re going. I sometimes wish I could run the students over….
What the hell? I’ll never have reason to complain about speed bumps in the USA again! Good lord.
A skilled bit of driving. What do you think of these bollards then?
It happens. Bollards are there for a reason.
People will do dumb things. If someone doing a dumb thing around a bollard results in his death that is wrong. These bollards are killers and there are better methods to control traffic than putting citizens’ lives at risk.
Killer bollards.
As a few people are, five years on, taking offence in my commentary of the event, I will be closing the comments.
I must stress that this blog post was written when no information was available – even the police were amused by the fact that someone wedged a car with a trailer there and admitted it happens too often. There was, at that point, no hint that anyone had even been lightly injured.
My heart goes out to the family of the driver, and I’ll be closing comments so that no further readers can comment on this unfortunate incident.