Traffic Flag Chaos: Police say there could have been serious injuries

Wednesday 06 May 2015

The Police have defended the decision to close Victoria Avenue yesterday over loose flags, saying flying aluminium bars flapping in the wind could have caused serious injuries.

They say it was only luck that no-one was hurt – and that if children had been in the back of a car that was hit by a loose bar flying in the wind that smashed through a rear window, there could have been serious injuries.

And now they say that Health and Safety officers are investigating to see if any crimes have been committed.

The closure of the road brought traffic chaos to Islanders heading into town from the west – bus passengers were told to get out and walk because of the tailbacks, which stretched as far as St Aubin by 11 am.

The reason given was that decorative flags put up for the 70^th anniversary celebrations on Saturday had been damaged by the strong wind – police say that around eight had broken free and were flapping into the carriageway.

States of Jersey Police Acting Inspector David Turnbull said: “The decision to close the carriageway was not taken lightly and I was aware of the disruption that would be caused due to the time of morning but I had to weigh this up with the risk presented to the public, which was high.

“It was fortunate that the earlier incident had not resulted in serious injury to the male driver and I dread to think what would have happened had there been children in the back of the vehicle.”

That decision was made in conjunction with the Jersey Fire and Rescue Service, who say it was the right thing to do. It took them four hours, with staff from TTS, to take down all of the flags from Bel Royal to West Park.

Crew Commander Laurens from the Jersey Fire and Rescue service said: “It was a joint decision to take down the liberation bunting as it was quite hazardous; the metal ties holding the bunting in place had started to fail on many of the lamp posts, resulting in short lengths of aluminium bar flying around.

“It was bad timing for the Avenue to be closed at rush hour, but with a high risk of further damage or worse it was the best and safest option. Blue Watch responded with two pumping appliances initially and were joined by a third crew of on call firefighters as well as a cherry picker from a local company. All worked together to complete the task as quickly as possible.”