Drivers putting blind New College Worcester students in danger

New College Worcester (NCW) says there have been a number of near misses involving its students on roads near the school, with recent roadworks on London Road only making the problem worse.

One pupil had to be pulled back from the road by a teacher after a car sped down the road while he was attempting to cross.

The school is lobbying for more safety measures to be put in place and has launched a road safety campaign calling for drivers to ‘Kill your speed, not a blind child’.

NCW said a number of incidents have taken place on the pedestrian crossing at the roundabout where London Road meets Whittington Road and Spetchley Road.

The junction is particularly busy at the start and end of the school day as Nunnery Wood High School and Worcester Sixth Form College are also nearby.

'In grave danger'

“There have recently been a number of near misses on roads around NCW where our students who are blind or vision impaired have been in grave danger of injury due to dangerous or thoughtless driving,” NCW said in a statement.

“With recent roadworks on London Road, the issues have been exacerbated with drivers passing through on a red light, being stationary over the crossing or driving over before blind or vision impaired pedestrians have reached safety.

“Along with lobbying the relevant local government departments for greater safety measures on these roads, NCW has also created an awareness campaign so that local residents, schools, colleges, businesses and others using the road can be more aware.”

One year 11 student at NCW had told how he had to be pulled out of the road as a car sped past during a mobility lesson. 

The school says many of its students and some staff members cannot see traffic approaching at all and rely fully on their other senses to detect danger.

They have to trust that drivers will be adhering to lawful speeds and behaving correctly at crossings.

Principal Nic Ross said: “Teaching our students to navigate roads and pedestrian crossings independently is a crucial part of their learning at NCW and it is imperative they are able to learn safely.”

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “We have been liaising with New College Worcester for a while now regarding their concerns about the safety of their students when using the nearby crossing on Whittington Road.

"Last year, after concerns were raised by the college that their visually-impaired students could not distinguish the crossing points due to the poor quality of the crossing surface, we took the opportunity to make the crossing safer for students and the wider community and renewed the footway and tactile paving.

"We have also increased the duration of the green light at that crossing for pedestrians, giving all users of that crossing more time to cross. Through our discussions, we are aware of the college's ongoing concerns regarding speed along what is one of the busiest stretches of road in Worcester.

"We have been supporting them to liaise with their local councillor and our police enforcement colleagues to continue to move the situation forward and look into the best way to improve the situation.”

Temporary traffic lights on London Road have been causing long delays in both directions, with a car crash on Monday night adding to problems in the area.