Fury over market place accident
Jason Rudolph has blasted Fenland Council after he had his first ever
car accident in March Market Place, when he collided with an electricity socket box.
A shocking accident
Rudolph claims that the council should have done a better job of hiding the raised box, which is used to supply power to market stall holders and is usually stored in the ground.
Mr. Rudolph, of Badgeney Road, hit the coloured yellow container and then waited for a recovery vehicle to arrive in order to remove his damaged van, but watched in amazement as four other vehicles did exactly the same things.
He explained that the socket had been coned off by four cones and a bit of tape, but the lay-out of the car park and the obstruction placed where it was meant it was invisible to drivers as they negotiated the horseshoe bend.
He claimed that his visibility was impaired due to a bright, low sun and his vision was also obscured by a parked car in a disabled bay.
Mr. Rudolph, who works for QC Data Ltd, has been driving for nearly 15 years and drives an average of 400 to 500 miles a week and had never had a road accident until now.
He could hardly believe what had happened to him when he drove his work’s van round the car park and was brought to an urgent stop by the electric socket.
Mr. Rudolph said: “There was just no-way of seeing it before you hit it. I think the council should have either cordoned off the disabled parking bay so that the cones were clearly visible or closed off half the car park.
"I immediately went to report the accident at the police station, but was told it was nothing to do with them because it had happened on council property. I reported it at the council's One Stop Shop and they said they would send out an engineer.”
He then commented on the other car accidents that occurred whilst he was waiting for assistance: “I then waited for the recovery van and as a I waited a woman in a Fiat Punto hit the box and it raised the back wheels of her car right off the ground. She was very badly shaken and it caused a lot of damage to her car. I made sure she was all right and went back to the council shop to tell them what had happened.”
Mr. Rudolph suffered from whiplash injury as a result of the accident, and witnessed a further four vehicles hit the box. So could this electrifying experience be the new ground for whiplash claims in the county?
It could be hard to prove a whiplash claim, because a Fenland council spokesman said that there had been no car accidents prior to those on the day Mr. Rudolph had his crash, and believes that the box was clearly marked. Also, any further obstructions have been moved, as the disabled zone has now been cornered off.
Updated on 1/28/2009