Hi all,

My mum had an accident today (no one hurt, just a written off car) and ran into the car in front of her. She happened to be on tram tracks at the time.

We are fairly sure that braking failed due to her tyres being on the tram tracks. I'm sure she's not the first person that this has happened to. Has anyone here had any experience of this sort of accident? How do you think the Council would respond were she to complain?

The traffic was only crawling along and she is a safe driver.

Ta
Adz

Hi Adz,
I rode along and across loads of tram tracks today on my motorbike, and it was dry and clean. I'm sorry to hear about your mum's car but I think that she'll have trouble claiming against the tram operators due to the good weather.

No excuse imo, don't drive on them.
Its easy to tell when you are on them.

The recommended method is to drive with your wheels straddling the tracks, not ON them, as there is a huge difference in the traction the wheels get on the metal of the tram track, and the tarmaced road.

this is especially vital if it's wet, or been raining.

PT

I'm sure the Council would respond by saying "Sorry.. but tough luck".
this is especially vital if it's wet, or been raining
Hence the frequent warning signs peppered around.. 'Slippery When Wet'.. the picture of the little car skidding in the warning triangle.. :rolleyes:

There have been accidents in the past when cars have lost control on the tram tracks.

They are particularly dangerous when it is wet. It did rain this afternoon and if the tracks were wet when she braked then this may be the reason the brakes were not as effective as they should have been.

I tend not to drive in areas of Sheffield where there are a lot of tram lines, but I think i've seen warning signs about them being particularly dangerous when wet? I'm sure someone on here will correct me if i'm wrong. You have to drive and 'straddle' the tracks whenever you can.

If I were your mum, i'd write to the council and explain what has happened. Whether or not they have any sympathy is another matter. They should be made aware of any accidents so that if necessary, they can add further warning signs if nothing else. Glad no-one was hurt.

some comment here http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15736

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2669227.stm

You can certainly feel the difference while driving on/off the tram tracks. Whether it has been raining or not you do not have the same control over your vehicle as if you were driving on the road. For people like myself that are used to having to straddle the tracks it becomes "natural" to try and avoid them. BUT......does that make it right when accidents still happen? Just because there are warning signs does that make the driver of a car responsible for an accident while driving in a tram area? I hate the feel of these tracks beneath my wheels. Sometimes you find yourself directly on the tracks through no fault of your own, and it feels very dangerous! Anyhow.......I thought that the tracks were supposed to be anti skid now. I just pray that I never have to do an emergency stop while in a tram track area!

Not long after the tram lines opened on Holme Lane, there was a lot of conern for the safety of drivers on tram tracks. The police were very reassuring, telling people that it was perfectly safe as long as you stuck to the speed limit etc.

Then a police landrover skidded on the tracks and took the front of a shop out. Oops...

Originally posted by spiffymonkey
Not long after the tram lines opened on Holme Lane, there was a lot of conern for the safety of drivers on tram tracks. The police were very reassuring, telling people that it was perfectly safe as long as you stuck to the speed limit etc.

Then a police landrover skidded on the tracks and took the front of a shop out. Oops...

And a lad from High Green was killed when his car skidded :(

Originally posted by rothschild
Just because there are warning signs does that make the driver of a car responsible for an accident while driving in a tram area?

I get a little bit tired of phrases such as this. Of course the driver is responsible - its about time we got back to taking responsibility for our own actions instead of adopting this 'blame' culture.

Its not rocket science - as has been said, straddle the tram lines rather than driving on them. If you do have to follow them for a short while, then slow down, leave a bigger gap between you and the car in front and probably most important of all, pay attention to whats happening in front!!

Glad your mum's OK, Adz.

Thanks for the replies guys.

It is difficult to stay off the tracks at times, especially when you're going round a corner. As my mam found out, you don't even have to be going fast to lose a bit of control on them.

Didn't know about the police land rover losing control on Holme Lane. That's where it happened yesterday, maybe she won't feel as stupid when I tell her that!

Originally posted by Adz
Hi all,

My mum had an accident today (no one hurt, just a written off car) and ran into the car in front of her. She happened to be on tram tracks at the time.

We are fairly sure that braking failed due to her tyres being on the tram tracks. I'm sure she's not the first person that this has happened to. Has anyone here had any experience of this sort of accident? How do you think the Council would respond were she to complain?

The traffic was only crawling along and she is a safe driver.

Ta
Adz

I believe the council receive a lot of complaints regarding tram tracks. i came a cropper on my bike - caught my wheel in them. I didn't feel I had any right to complain tho as they are pretty obvious! Don't drive on them, problem avoided, same goes for bikes - don't ride in them.

Its about time we got out of the blame culture. It just impedes progress - look at america where they'll take anyone to court for anything. This is how you end up with "WARNING - HOT" written on your hot drink. Everyone has to cover their backs.

try catching the tram...problem solved

Originally posted by tim_rutter
I believe the council receive a lot of complaints regarding tram tracks. i came a cropper on my bike - caught my wheel in them. I didn't feel I had any right to complain tho as they are pretty obvious!

I once got stuck in the tram line on my bike coming down Middlewood Road. I was being sensible and avoiding them. Unfortunately, the pedestrians at Hillsborough appear to be blissfully unaware that things called 'roads' separate the pavements and will wander about on them.

On this occassion, someone did just that, so I drifted over to the middle of the road, making sure that I was not going to get in the path of any cars or further pedestrians. This was the problem, my front wheel plopped into a tram track. I was on a racing bike, so the wheel didn't stop, but I couldn't steer! There was traffic coming up behind me so I just had to keep going until it was save to oik the front (and after a while, back) wheel out of the groove.

It was very scary, because although I would normally just jiggle the front wheel up and out, the knowledge of impending buses from behing impeded my ability to escape.

Originally posted by Saxon
I get a little bit tired of phrases such as this. Of course the driver is responsible - its about time we got back to taking responsibility for our own actions instead of adopting this 'blame' culture.

Its not rocket science - as has been said, straddle the tram lines rather than driving on them. If you do have to follow them for a short while, then slow down, leave a bigger gap between you and the car in front and probably most important of all, pay attention to whats happening in front!!

Glad your mum's OK, Adz.

I'd just copied exactly what you've quoted, to say exactly the same thing - it always seems to be someone else at fault. You can't blame the surface you're driving on - "Oh, it was the rain's fault for making the road slippery" - whatever next?

Hmm, here's a thought. A car, as well as being a form of transport is also A LETHAL WEAPON. Sadly there's enough posts on here to justify to that. As such I see it as the drivers responsibility to stay in control of their car. Alright accidents are going to happen but I feel these days a lot of people expect the world to be without any danger and therefore don't personaly think about the dangers of the situation they're in. If you're tyres are running on steel not tarmac, then take precautions, drive a bit slower, concentrate on using smooth contol inputs and so on especialy if the road is anything other than completely dry.
Think about it this way. In this case no one may have been harmed but that's down to chance. An out of control car can go anywhere and as such hit anything or worse anyone.
As far as bikes go, heres a tip. If you have to ride accross the tracks for some reason, just concentrate on crossing the rail at an angle by turning early and further out than you need to (traffic permitting). You'll get over it no problem.

Supertram runs on standard gauge because there are stretches of line where old railway tracks were used.

It's pretty simple to straddle the tracks. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to drive on the rails, adjust your speed/distance from the car in front to suit. Doesn't take a vast amount of common sense to realise that if something's slippy, it'll take you longer to stop.

You wouldn't go down a 30 limit road at 30 on ice and then try to sue the council if you had an accident!

hope your mum recovers from the trauma- it can be unnnerving.
i drive on the tram lines most days & am still amazed at the number of drivers who do follow the lines as though it's scalextric.
most axle widths today are of similar dimensions on cars ,so it can be unavoidable to hit the track on most cars whilst cornering.
i'm afraid its an unavaoidable fact thatsomeone will have an accident.

Originally posted by rothschild
Just because there are warning signs does that make the driver of a car responsible for an accident while driving in a tram area?

Too right. Why should anyone have to be responsible for their own actions whilst behind the wheel of a 1 tonne hunk of metal?

Where there's a blame...