Hull: Darwin Award Capital Of The World…

The mother of a boy who died after running in front of a bus in Hull city centre wants improved road safety measures.

Well, at least she isn’t asking for buses to be fitted with pedestrian airbags! It’s not entirely clear what she is asking for, though….

The calls come after last week a woman was involved in a collision with a bus on a pedestrian crossing where two countdown timers were introduced weeks previously.

A woman. Not a child, not even a teenager. An adult. Albeit one of those modern adults MacHeath describes, infantile and prone to immediate gratification of their desires, however foolhardy.

And this isn't even the usual excuse of there being ‘no safe place to cross’:

Colette Scholes, whose 14-year-old son Jack Fisher died in April 2008 after being hit by a bus as he ran across the nearby Brook Street junction with Ferensway, said more needs to be done to prevent accidents.

"Even with the new timers, people are still risking their lives crossing the roads," she said. "I think everyone could be doing a bit more to prevent accidents."

And by ‘everyone’, I think you must surely really mean ‘Hull pedestrians’? Because there’s precious little the local council and the bus companies can do that they haven’t already done!

It just doesn't seem to be sinking in, even with people who should know better:

Two years after Jack's fatal collision, pensioner Colin Lyon lost his life at the crossing in Margaret Moxon Way. An inquest heard he failed to look properly before crossing the road.

You can almost feel the palpable despair of the transport chief:

Graham Hall, assistant head of transport and asset management, said: … "I would urge people to take care and only cross when the green man shows as it's for their safety.

"Pedestrians may have to wait a few moments but it's better than being seriously injured.

"The countdown timers have been recently added to give pedestrians a ten-second warning to when the red man appears and traffic will start to move again."

Sadly, I fear they've only provided the lemmings of Hull with a challenge: ‘Beat The Clock!’