Please adjust mirror!

Sun 3 Nov, 17:17

Thank you, Christine, Brian and Helen, for your replies.  If the mirror is meant to be for the benefit of motorists pulling out of the shared drive on the blind corner, it should also benefit pedestrians crossing just above that point.  What puzzled me was the way in which it's angled slightly differently from the two previous mirrors on that site, with less good visibility than before. I find that I can just make out oncoming traffic on The Slade when it's some distance away, provided it has headlights on, and then just before it rounds the blind bend, but not continuously.  I realize, however, that the hefty (and no doubt necessary) warning notice just underneath the mirror may make adjustment impossible.

Sun 3 Nov, 08:20

It was installed at private expense and not for the benefit of pedestrians.

My recollection is that the original mirror - there have been several over the years - was installed and paid for by the Burchetts who owned and lived at Sandford Mount. (It was there when we moved in 1990). There is a little group of houses that share the driveway that exits onto The Slade opposite Dancers Hill and we used to live up there.  It was a potentially dangerous manoeuvre to pull out of the driveway. The mirror was positioned to assist the visibility back down The Slade. It wasn’t usually a problem if people observed the (then) 30 limit - sadly however this was rarely the case. Many years ago, an elderly neighbour twice had accidents attempting to pull out. She ended up giving up driving.

Fri 1 Nov, 22:55

Brigid, While I do not know about permissions needed to erect a mirror, I think you are perhaps missing the point of the positioning of the one in question and it is likely to be for motorists rather than pedestrians. Whilst pedestrians can walk a short distance to ensure they have a better view of the road and any approaching traffic, motorists do not have that opportunity. Alternatively, you could of course lobby for a second mirror, mounted on the same post but angled to suit pedestrians. 

Fri 1 Nov, 12:46

Brigid, Have you checked with the landowner about whether s/he put up the mirror? It should have been the landowner! 

Google shows that there has been a mirror on the corner of Dancer's Hill since July 2009 at least, and there are no images before that date. Councils are these days wary about erecting mirrors in case they are sued following an accident. It seems a shame, but no doubt to be expected.

Might the Safer Roads Unit for Thames Valley Police have had a role in the erection of the previous mirror? They certainly had a role in erecting visibility mirrors in the past, including in Stonesfield. Maybe contact Wesley Smith to see if he knows anything about the replacement. In Stonesfield that unit of TVP provided the mirror and the Parish Council paid for it. The online records of Charlbury Town Council minutes don't go back far enough.

TVP is still concerned with road infrastructure and safety, so perhaps follow it up with them -- or via the Town Council.

Thu 31 Oct, 14:19

Sorry to keep returning to this topic. Somebody (not OCC, not WODC and not Charlbury Town Council, I've ascertained) has put up a mirror on Sturt Road, opposite the end of Woody Lane.  Previous mirrors were angled so that they reflected traffic approaching the blind bend on The Slade.  This does not, so it's not helpful to people crossing from Woody Lane or the nearby driveway to see whether traffic is about to appear round the bend. If, as now seems likely, a private individual put this up, please would they adjust the mirror so that it's as useful as the previous ones. The warning notice attached to it is unsigned.