Was out for a drive before, on my way home about 10 mins ago and thought id follow the fire engine that overtook me.

I wish I hadn't. As we approached the roundabout in New Brighton - the one with the clown on, I saw a sight that will haunt me. I think it was an Astra, I couldn't even tell - clearly had taken the roundabout too fast heading towards the Floral, hit the kerb and flipped. It was resting on its side, against a lampost, it hardly even looked like a car.

If people have survived that crash then I will be very surprised. I really hope they have.

When will people grow up a bit and realise that they're not rally drivers and family saloons are not racing cars!!! People wonder why cars with big engines cost a lot to insure!!! If they had been in an Evo or something similar, can you imagine the carnage they could cause.

Best wishes to all involved.

Now? Could you make out the cars involved?

Matt, sorry for incomplete post before, I tried to edit and pressed enter or something, I don't know.

As I said above, I think it was a white astra, can't be sure. It was a mess, airbags hanging out of windows, they hadn't even started to cut occupants out as I arrived with the first fire engine.

At least I assume occupants were inside as I can't see anyone having got out on their own.

how horrible just hope everyones ok.

bad that! worst i ever saw was on the m6 near brum, was a couple lying forward in the front seats of a zafira with ther heads covered in blood back end had been ompletely smashed by another car.

I went through a 10 car pile up on the M56 years ago. There was a dead man at the side of the road with his eyes open and his eyes locked into mine as I drove past. I was giving my dad a lift and he just said look straight ahead as apparently there were worst things I didn't see. That made me slow down to the speed limit!

Maybe today's rally stage on the prom gave some people the wrong idea?

Hand on heart I hope those concerned are ok. I just hope its not idiots who think todays rally was ok to drive like a bat of hell along that stretch of road.

Has anyone noticed that the clown roundabout has an almost perfect camber--if you are heading towards the Floral, but in the other direction there are several objects fitted in the pavement that could cause severe damage if a driver mounted the kerb? What about the height of the kerb? Why can't we avoid making more hazards?
And what about the height of the kerb on the roundabout in Warren Drive, just built, again, why so high?

The height of kerbs and any other object on or around roundabouts are there so it is observed as a roundabout. You only have to look at those stupid blobs of concete they call roundabouts and observe how many cars fly over then instead of around them.

But do they have to make them so high, so causing more damage?

It really shouldn't matter even if they were a 3foot wall, one of the purposes of a roundabout is to slow traffic down to a speed so that it can be navigated safely. This is not directed at this accident because i don't know the circumstances, but if anyone hits a roundabout through speeding and careless driving then they deserve all that's coming to them. If roundabouts were easy to navigate, there would be more accidents, self inflicted probably.

Won't be long until they start thinking of putting traffic calming measures there and spoil it for everyone. Unless they use removable speed bumps so the rally can still take place. A speed cam will spoil the look of the place and no doubt would be vandalised ?

I've gone through one set of front dampers and god knows how many top mounts on my car, speed bumps destroy them at whatever speed you are going if you have to go over a road's worth everyday. I'd rather have speed cameras on every road than these evil, horrible things.

Amen to that Violet, I just needed new bushes all round on my Z4 because of the speed bumps I have to go over every day for work and also on the way to my tennis club!

Still waiting for news on this one...

Yeah I drove past this too, was horrific. It was a subaru estate even though you couldn't really tell. The police said that the people involved had survived and were fine although looking at the accident you wouldn't have thought so.

I am not really suprised about crash in this place,because every night "boy racers" speeding on this road try to show off...One time i was sitting by the floral pavilion and 2 drunk guys in jeep speeding on the sidewalk...I can't sometimes sleep at night when boy racers speeding with big fart cans...

At least they survived. Now the rest of us will probably have to put up with more draconian speed enforcement because of these idiots.

it is a bad place 4 boy racers ive had a idoit boy racer in a scooby bounce of my wing on the next roundabout along trying to overtake as i was going round the rounderbout he was easly doing 60+ :s

I was passing this place several minutes ago, and probably this guy hit the roundabout first and rolled into lamp

Yeah thats how it looked to me.

Shocked people got out alive. Unbelievable.

The roundabouts can be hard to see in the dark - if you're going like the clappers! It's sometimes difficult to see parked cars as well! I can't believe you can be 18 and drive an Impreza! It's bad enough a 1.0 Saxo! [/end 'youth of today' speech]
Must've been a bitch tracing the skidmarks after the day!

I wonder if a "Hazard Observation" or a "Risk Analysis" is ever carried out before re-designing these roundabouts?
By the way, I am not a boy racer, but I do thing it is senseless to add hazards to what should be a simple operation like negotiating a roundabout!

I think the roundabouts and the kerb of the pavements should be 10ft tall walls... I don't really but it will make some people think 'shit. that's quite tight I'll slow down a lot...'

I see both sides of the argument in making the roundabouts safer or more imposing. However, safety must come first, and those roundabouts ARE dangerous. Roundabouts can be imposing AND safe.

It may not be aesthetically pleasing, but they could lower the roundabout and put crash barriers on it, like the ones on the motorway etc. They'll hit these and it won't cause the car to flip into a pole doing serious damage. As it is at the moment is poor road design, of which there is all over the Wirral.

Sounds like someone had been watching the rally and thought they would have a go themselves - idiots!

A car will flip hitting those barriers, I've seen it on the motorway, Its all down to speed, take on a roundabout going to fast and your not going to make it.

If you hold a loaded gun to your head and pull the trigger, the chances are you will die.
The sames rules apply to driving a car in an inappropriate way - simples!

When I was growing up, my dad always likened a car to a loaded gun. "Son, gun or car, point it in the wrong direction and pull that trigger and its a lethal weapon" - it's always stuck with me.

Sometimes I drive fast, but I like to think I have some idea of when it appropriate. Fingers crossed its worked for me so far.

Every year people drive like idiots on the prom, just after the rally.

Theres a reason why the people competing pay the high entry fees, and own Rally Licences. They have proven their ability to drive in an advanced way, in a controlled manner. They have earnt the right to compete on this closed road event.

These people havent, all theyve earnt is an excuse to ban them from driving before they kill themselves...or more importantly someone else. Something needs to be done before the rally is banned for influencing stupid behaviour

We need the driving test in Finland, where it shows how little 90% of people driving a car, ar actually in control of it !!!

The problem is, so do most people, be it chavs or anyone else. It's unfair to stipulate that because one is not a chav and doesnt drive a chavved up car, that they are somehow better drivers than chavs etc...

The truth of the matter is, as Craig says, people like himself and Chewy pay a lot of money and earn their licenses to race, to get the feel and adrenaline of high speed driving etc, and they do it in a safe and legal enviroment.

If others want to do this, then they too should pay the dollar and get the appropriate training to do so.

There is nothing wrong with these roundabouts that hundreds of motorists a day can negotiate safetly and without consequence.
All it takes is one pr%^k who thinks they can drive like a rally driver cos they passed a driving test to call for safety measures to be installed.
I for one am all for speed humps in the right place on the right road, ie outside schools and shops etc.

I also think it should be made legal to throw bricks at passing motorists who are speeding, talking on a mobile or generally just being a dick!

Just my pennys worth but then I have had 2 cars smashed into by speeders whilst parked up on the road outside the house and also one 17yr old local tw*t driving at 60 in a 30 zone in the rain spun it, took out a lampost mounted the grass verge (40foot wide) flipped it and left one of his wheels in a neighbours front garden (another 40 foot away). His Daddy bought him another car shortly after!

Gets my vote
Does it have to be restricted to motorists????

Can we also throw bricks at people who post utter drivel on an internet forum?

That's what that suggestion was...

Are we still on topic in here?

Roundabouts that you can drive over are only there to show you how to behave at that point in the road -ie: slow down and give way to traffic from the right.
If the traffic authorities mind you driving across them, they make them uncomfortable for you and your car to do so.So if it`s just a blob in the road, that means,so long as you give way to traffic from the right, they don`t mind you driving across it !
This was told to me by an ex-traffic cop who now earns his living teaching on advanced driving techniques and skid pans etc