Near-misses and drivers swerving: What I saw at Walsall's 'chaotic' roundabout of cones

The roundabout near Junction 10 of the M6 in Walsall is in place instead of traffic lights while roadworks are carried out.

Walsall Council is installing a new pedestrian and cycle crossing at the junction of Bentley Road North and Wolverhampton Road West as part of its 'Connecting Bentley' scheme.

However locals are unhappy about the temporary road layout.

Earlier this month two vans collided, with one rolling over, while others have expressed fears about the safety of the junction.

One said the roundabout had improved the flow of traffic, but warned it had "greatly reduced the safety of crossing the junction and using the nearby side roads", with motorists no longer have a reason to slow down and "often speed up if there is a gap".

The lack of lights to control the flow of traffic has prompted concerns from drivers over the layout of the road and that people are travelling too fast. While traffic lights appeared on Wednesday evening, they were gone the following day with the authority suggesting they were in place "for a period of hours while specific work was undertaken".

So I spent an afternoon at the roundabout causing all the headlines, to see what was going on at the junction.

The roundabout is no longer just a bunch of cones, but has railings in the shape of an actual roundabout. The railing and newly-placed road signage seem to have brought some sort of control to the flow of traffic, and it is not as 'gung ho' right now.

Some drivers are a bit hesitant when approaching the roundabout, whilst some are still a bit over-eccentric in how they approach the junction, and are going way too fast.

I drove around the roundabout several times myself to see what it is like, and I had no issues. Using common sense and sensible driving skills such as braking when approaching the roundabout, staying aware of oncoming traffic and whilst it may be obvious, but using my indicators when entering and leaving the roundabout made it a smooth process for myself.

Whilst parked up observing the roundabout, I witnessed numerous near-misses, with drivers taking unnecessary risks when leaving the roundabout despite having vehicles heading towards them.

The general feeling is that when drivers are using the roundabout correctly and safely, it is not that bad but when even just one driver takes a risk, it has possible knock-on effects on other drivers and can potentially cause chaos.

Every so often there is a driver taking a chance which causes a near-miss. The sounds of horns blaring, and seeing vehicles swerving out the way happened too often, but again it came from drivers taking unnecessary risks, and so driving skills are a huge part of the problem. I even saw some cars just driving straight through the junction without stopping or braking, and without any consideration for other road users. However, I would say that these kind of drivers were in the minority.

I spoke to a business owner nearby the roundabout who was very critical of the whole roadworks project.

They said: "The whole roadworks project has been a shambles. There has been over 50 accidents since Christmas alone, and probably at least one a day. One day in January I saw seven accidents in a day, which is horrific. Seven accidents in one day is not normal. There has been no signage for drivers, traffic is chaotic and it is just unsafe for everyone.

"I don't know who drew up these plans and passed it because it is chaos every day. They obviously aren't from around here to know how bad it is for drivers and us with businesses by the roundabout.

"My business has been affected, and I am greatly concerned because bus routes have been affected, the bus stop in front of my shop has gone, the crossings have gone, and so there is almost no way for my regular customers to get to me. I have regular elderly customers who cannot get to me now, because of the lack of a bus route and bus-stop, and the lack of crossings for them to walk to me. The road is not safe for anyone walking by with no safe crossings or pavements, and especially for the elderly.

"A lot of money has been spent unnecessarily on this project. Money that could have been spent somewhere else where it is actually needed.

"We had no correspondence to be told of what was going to happen. The project has been chaos, especially for us local businesses."

A resident who lives near the roundabout said: "If someone sat and watched the roundabout all day, they would definitely witness at least one accident happen.

"It is everyday. People are always taking risks and it either causes an accident or very nearly does.

"The roadworks project, the rushing drivers and the new cycle lane which was totally unnecessary, has made it worse.

"Sometimes buses and lorries struggle to go past each other due to the narrow lanes.

"I walk and sometimes have to take extra long routes in the wrong direction just to get around the roadworks, because there are no safe walkways or crossings. It is just chaos."