News

Warning signs to be added to notorious Charvil ford

By Jon Nurse
October 08, 2012

A notorious ford will get four flashing signs this month to warn drivers of its deceptive and dangerous waters.

The signs will be on either side of the Lands End ford in Charvil, where another car was trapped last Tuesday.

Posts have been set in preparation for the signs, which are costing around £20,000 and will be only be the third of their kind in the UK.

Flashing signs get green light at Charvil ford

Matt Davey, head of highways and transport for Wokingham Borough Council, said: “The fire and rescue service was spending so much money going out to help people there.

Ford continues to trap drivers

“If we can reduce the accidents by just 25 per cent then the signs will pay for themselves in a few years and hopefully they will be even more effective than that and almost bring it to a halt.

“It’s an extremely dangerous ford to go into when it’s in flood. It’s very deceptive – you can’t see the bottom to realise how deep it is.

“The current may not look strong but again it’s deceptive.”

Flooding has trapped more than 80 vehicles at the ford in Park Lane in the last two decades.

Van driver stuck in ford

The two sets of signs, which are scheduled to be in place by the end of the month, will detect the level of the river and be activated when the water level rises to a height set by Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The first warning motorists will find is a vehicle activated sign that will flash up a flood warning.

Drivers would then be faced with a flashing sign displaying the message ‘warning – this ford is only passable at low water levels – check depth markings’.

Steve Collier, landlord of the Lands End pub which overlooks the ford, said: “Anything to try to stop people getting stranded is a good move. Flashing signs could make a difference but we’ll only find out when it happens. The council have put signs up but people have ignored it in the past.

“The last car got stuck in their last week under the cover of darkness. One of the youngsters came into the pub asking for a breakdown number. The car was two thirds covered, though it had gone off the road which puts a few more inches on it.”

Mr Collier has been impressed by the number of deterrents put before dozy drivers this summer.

“This summer the council has been on the ball – they’ve been quick to react to block the entrance with barriers,” he said. “It’s been the lowest number of getting stuck since we started seven years ago.”

Station manager Jess James, from Caversham Road fire station where RBFRS’ water rescue unit is based, said: “We have attended numerous incidents over the last few years at the Lands End ford.

“These often involve drivers who have got into difficulty because they attempt to drive through the ford when the water level is too deep. This not only puts themselves and other occupants of the vehicle at risk but having to send resources to such incidents means that our crews are unavailable to attend other emergency calls.

“We have worked with Wokingham Borough Council on looking at how to improve safety at the ford and welcome any measures which will reduce the number of incidents in the future.”

| Submit Comments | View Comments (14)

« Previous Story | Next Story »

Most recent user comments 14 of 14

Hugh J, Reading, or how about a moat?

N Tropy
09/10/2012 at 12:17

C8H10N4O2 - Manual gates or a simple bar across the road would be cheaper and just as effective.

Hugh J, Reading
09/10/2012 at 12:16

C8H10N4O2, but different vehicle use the ford, from farm vehicles to sports cars.

I think the current depth markers could be augmented with a sign saying something along the lines of, "123 vehicles stranded in river since 2000 - check the depth now! Recovery charge £500."

As I said once before on here, I know someone who failed their driving test, at least partly because they didn't know what a ford was other than a make of car. They're not thick, just from London and not familiar with our quaint rural ways where we have roads going through rivers. If the road sign question hadn't arisen they probably still wouldn't know.

N Tropy
08/10/2012 at 22:15

Gates triggered to close when the level is at a set level would be the simplest solution, as well as cheaper than the rescue services being called out ad nauseum.....

C8H10N4O2
08/10/2012 at 19:17

Maybe the signs should say:

£15,000 recovery fee in operation for stranded vehicles

:-)

Fed up, Lower Earley
08/10/2012 at 16:11

Idiots will still try and cross even if sign said the river was 15o feet high.

The Racing Snake
08/10/2012 at 15:30

Well, if the signs read "Beware. Idiots Crossing" then I applaud the decision.

IB Fudger
08/10/2012 at 12:08

It will not make a difference

The ones who drive through there are the same morons who ignore all other sings on restricted roads etc, as they think they are above the rules on display

Except in this case Mother Nature makes the rules and punishes those who ignore them by flooding their cars

In town you just get a fine – much cheaper!

A Concerned Local, Reading
08/10/2012 at 11:46

Why not just build a bridge for the stupid people to drive across?

Hugh J, Reading
08/10/2012 at 11:13

If idiots are stuck in the ford then at least they can't cause a danger to others elsewhere ....

Peter Turner
08/10/2012 at 10:54

Why is this ford still open? It would be cheaper to add gates to close it

NotJohn, Reading
08/10/2012 at 10:10

How stupid do you have to be to drive your car into 3 feet of water?

I mean, I just can't fathom the thought processes of somebody who looks at a deep, fast-flowing body of water and thinks: "I'm going to drive my car through that!" But apparently people DO think this, regularly!

Daniel in Reading
08/10/2012 at 10:01

Spoilsports!

N Tropy
08/10/2012 at 09:51

There are warning signs already. There are clear depth markings already. I'm not sure that new signs are really going to change the situation much.

What I believe would be more useful, and more effective would be electronic signage further back from the ford - on Park Lane where it comes off the Old Bath Road, and on Whistley Mill Lane where it comes off Lodge Road. It's the best part of a mile off the main road each side of the ford - I think drivers get there, and think, I can't be bothered to turn back (which is tricky anyway as it's a single track road), and try and get through. A clear warning (perhaps with live depth information) on the junction from the main road would allow drivers to make an informed decision, before they've committed themselves by going down Park Lane/Whistley Mill Lane.