South Wales Guardian Opinion (From South Wales Guardian)

South Wales Guardian Opinion

6:20am Wednesday 25th April 2012 in News

OUR readers will be sadly familiar with the accidents – some of them fatal – which have happened on the stretch of the A48 between Cwmgwili and Pont Abraham.

Both theGuardian and road safety campaigners labelled it “the most dangerous road in Carmarthenshire” – a tag borne out by sets of grim statistics.

Indeed, the dual carriageway gained such a bad reputation it was eventually decided to instigate costly safety improvements – principally by blocking off junctions to prevent traffic from crossing the busy road and running the gauntlet of fast-approaching vehicles.

Yet in Carmarthen magistrates’ court last week, a motorist clocked at 113 mph here escaped a ban after magistrates decided there were special reasons why he should retain his licence. He was fined £700 instead.

Yes, some will undoubtedly applaud the bench for what can be seen as an act of compassion. The driver concerned apparently learnt his pregnant partner had been taken ill.

Yet only minutes after this case was heard, another driver found with two defective tyres on an A48 slip road was fined £300 – almost half the amount faced by the motorist who admitted exceeding the speed limit by 43 mph!

Where is the consistency in that?

● RESIDENTS of Ammanford’s Margaret Street will not be alone in applauding the county council’s decision to extend the Co-op car park toilets’ opening hours to 5pm.

Closing these public conveniences at 2.30pm – and the ones in Ammanford Park at the same time – was sheer lunacy and resulted in some desperate individuals spending a penny in nearby gardens.