Fed-up farmer wants to put the brakes on careless drivers
A SELKIRK farmer told this week how he has had to fork out more than £3,000 during the past eight months repairing fences damaged by careless drivers.
And Wattie Coltherd, who with his racehorse trainer son Stuart has tenanted Smedheugh Farm since December, is calling for speed-calming measures to be introduced on the sweeping right-hand corner between his farm and the top of Selkirk golf course.
On Monday he asked the community council to press Scottish Borders Council, which maintains the region's non-trunk roads, to carry out measures to slow Selkirk-bound traffic on the A699. He claimed the lives of other motorists are being put at risk with livestock straying on to main roads through the resultant damaged fences.
"Since taking on the tenancy, we have had seven cars or vans crashing into the new fences we erected," said Mr Coltherd. "Only three days after the fence went up, a car crashed into it, causing considerable damage."
The accidents all involved Selkirk-bound drivers failing to negotiate the bend.
"Most of these incidents have happened at night and are not discovered until morning, and only three of the seven drivers involved have actually owned up to doing it," said Mr Coltherd. "The fields are stocked with sheep and cattle which have strayed on to the road, posing a serious risk to road users."
He said that, with fencing contractors charging 30 an hour, each repair had cost him 500. In addition, in the three incidents in which the police had been involved, he has had to pay 60 for a full accident report.
"Once, when I approached a driver stuck in my field, it turned out he came from Hartlepool and the car was neither taxed nor insured. I mentioned this to police and was warned on no account to approach drivers in the interests of my own safety."
Mr Coltherd was accompanied at the meeting by Alec Telfer of Broadmeadows in his role as vice-chairman of the Selkirkshire branch of the NFU who said his members were fed up of having to pick up the tab for damage caused by speeding motorists.
"This affects every farm with fields next to A or B roads when speeds tend to be excessive," said Mr Telfer.
"It is perhaps true that there are no bad roads, only bad drivers, but the fact is that in these difficult economic times farmers across the region are spending thousands on repairs with little chance of any recompense from a motorist's insurance, especially when drivers are often long gone before the accident is discovered and livestock are wandering all over the place.
"As the roads authority, SBC has a key role in minimising this cost, not to mention the overarching priority of saving lives on our roads, by ensuring sufficient warnings are in place at key farm locations," added Mr Telfer.
Community councillors agreed to write to Scottish Borders Council asking for traffic-calming measures to be considered at Smedheugh.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Selkirk
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North west
