Car Marooned on Pedestrian Island on Elmstead Lane travelling at a claimed "21mph"!
We ask does Chislehurst & Mottingham have a speeding problem?
At around 8 pm on Saturday evening (27th June), a car collided with the traffic island at the junction of Broadheath Drive and Elmsted Lane. Fortunately, no one was injured, although the driver - a woman believed to be in her 30s, wearing blue hospital scrubs - did admit to feeling ‘nauseous’.
The front end of the car had wrapped itself around the lollipop light on the island, which now sits at a 45° angle to the ground. The first plastic bollard was completely destroyed, while the second cushioned the fall of the lamp post, and somehow, still remained lit.
A large traffic jam ensued, until cars and buses began squeezing by on both sides thanks to the management of local police.
When questioned, the driver, who was spotted removing green “P plates” from the crippled bonnet, insisted she had been travelling at between 21 and 22 mph when the incident took place. Police later remarked that it was simply a standard road traffic accident (RTA) with no further action being taken.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) attended earlier in the evening, placing sand over spilled oil, but chose to leave the vehicle stranded on the island, having been informed that the driver was “sorting their own recovery”.
One passer-by, commenting onLFB minimal contribution, joked: “Their tea back at the station must’ve been getting cold!”
Another passer-by commented: “At least we’ll get a new lamp post.”
This is not the first time there have been dramatic traffic incidences at this junction. On Tuesday, 17 August 2021, there was a three-car collision at the same island, resulting in a “slight” injury to one of the drivers. On 13 September 2024, there was another “serious” incident a little further down the road involving two cars and a motorcycle. One Sunday morning earlier this year, a car also managed to flip over while travelling down the hill between the roundabout and Elmstead Baptist Church. As far as we know they were not running late for the service. According to crashsite.co.uk there have been 92 slight and serious incidences in the locality in the last 5 years.
The Elmstead lane traffic island is also not the only one to have been flattened in recent weeks. Chislehurst Observer is requesting information on what happened to the island at the junction of White Horse Hill and Mainridge Road, which, after a major collision. It has lost both plastic bollards and possesses a sawn off lamp post at an even smaller angle to the ground, suggesting a higher speed collision.
Whatever can be said of Chislehurst drivers, what is certain is, despite what we may tell ourselves and others, we don’t travel at 20mph!