Manorbier.com
Cllr Wales again seeks publicity in the Western Telegraph dated 20th September 2007 by commenting on the road accident outside his house on the main Jameston to Tenby road. The article by the reporter Ms Davies needs to be looked at objectively bearing in mind the fact that the crash occurred in the early hours of the morning on a straight stretch of road and did not involve any other vehicle. Ms Davies' reporting clearly requires examination as to its content inclusive of statements provided by Cllr Wales. Had Ms Davies conducted an independent analysis into the factors that potentially affect the safety of road users on that particular stretch of road she would have identified that road users on the stretch outside Cllr Wales' property are affected by hazards that stem from Cllr Wales' property. The hedge that Cllr Wales has on his property next to the road has a definite impact on road users. Cllr Wales' hedge has encroached somewhat on to the boundary thereby forcing large vehicles to move to the centre of the road, endangering pedestrians walking on the narrow main road and also restricting traffic flow in respect of vehicles passing in the opposite direction who have to deal with the road users pushed onto their side of the road due to Cllr Wales' hedge. Cllr Wales also has also constructed his entrance on to this narrow stretch of road with poor visibility for drivers entering on to the highway as they have to protrude blindly out for four or five feet before they can see oncoming traffic. By allowing his shrubbery to grow Cllr Wales has restricted the visibility to a greater degree as drivers on the main road cannot see vehicles entering the highway from his premises.
Cllr Wales revealed that drivers approaching the 30 mph signs before Jameston apparently react differently to those in other parts of the country when approaching 30 mph signs and only reach the speed limit halfway through the village. The law is the same in Jameston as in other parts of the country and that is you reduce your speed to comply with speed limit at the position of the sign.
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Cllr Wales complained only recently about a similar accident on this stretch of road and that was at night when no one else was on the road, so obviously road safety is of great concern to him. It is a shame that the landscaping around his property does not reinforce this expressed concern.
Cllr Wales in the past has described himself as a caring and concerned councillor as well as an environmental consultant and as such rectifying any hazards that stem from his property should be his prime concern. His concern for the community at large and safety of road users whether they be pedestrians or motorists is admirable however he has the opportunity to remove or reduce hazards that would increase the safety of those road users who travel on the stretch outside his house we can only hope that he will make use of this opportunity.
According to the report in the paper Pembrokeshire County Council has been asked to look at the situation along this stretch of road, perhaps their first port of call should be the cutting back of the roadside hedge owned by Cllr Wales to allow traffic to use the full road width and also the viability of the entrance from Cllr Wales' house which consistently causes problems for passing vehicles. It is noted that Cllr Wales, a Labour Party official, has stated that he would be enlisting Nicholas Ainger MP in his campaign to improve road safety on this stretch of road. Perhaps Mr Ainger will encourage Cllr Wales to firstly remove any potential hazards to road safety that he has direct control over at no cost to taxpayer through demands on the public purse. Cllr Wales' suggestion that drivers fail to see the sign from a distance is in any event spurious as motorists have a duty to ensure that their eyesight, even if assisted by glasses or contact lenses, is of a standard to allow them to see standard road signs.
Cllr Wales has again jumped to conclusions regarding the accident without a report from the police as to the cause of this accident. If the accident was the result of a mechanical fault with the vehicle or trailer it would have resulted in an accident wherever the vehicle was driving when the mechanical fault occurred. The Western Telegraph's reporters should investigate these matters to their fullest extent if as a responsible newspaper they wish to base their reporting on substantiated opinion rather than wild speculation.