Reckless driver costs CaRT £30,000
A CAR crash at Bridge 15 on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal has cost Canal & River Trust £30,000 in repairs.
Yet again the Trust is calling for motorists to slow down when crossing the old canal bridges, with this incident that happened sometime on Monday 9th December, causing extensive damage to the brickwork and a repair bill of at least £30,000.
Careless drivers
Careless drivers cause over £1million of damage every year to historic canal bridges in England and Wales. In most cases these are ‘hit-and-run' accidents, leaving the charity unable to recoup its cost from drivers' insurers, and diverting vital funds away from more important work.
Florence Salberter, Heritage Adviser at CaRT explained:
"Hump-back bridges are synonymous with our wonderful canals, connecting us to our past and to a slower pace of life. Each time a bridge is hit a small bit of history is lost and it is heart-breaking for us to spend so much time and money caring for these amazing structures just to see them smashed to pieces because some drivers won't slow down. It is just such a waste.
"We work with local authorities to improve signage and road markings, but frankly, if motorists just slowed down a bit and took more care and attention then they would stop this vandalism of our heritage. It really isn't rocket science—if you see a hump-back bridge then slow down. You will save yourself and us a great deal of expense and aggravation and, more importantly, do your bit to help preserve our wonderful waterways for the future."
Three times
Bridge 15 has been crashed into three times and was only recently rebuilt after it was last damaged by a careless driver. Unfortunately whoever hit the bridge hasn't left any contact details so the Trust can't recoup the cost of the repair from the driver's insurance and will have the pay for the repairs.
Anyone who may have seen this accident or can provide the Trust with any more information please call on 030 30 40 40 40 or email: