Car hit by bollards in Watford town centre just days after bus was struck

A black Volkswagen was left damaged and stranded after it was stuck by a rising bollard near Watford Palace Theatre on Friday - even though cars are banned from that section of the high street.

It happened just four days after a bus was left partially wrecked on Monday – a collision which saw a female passenger taken to hospital.

A bus was left stranded and its front wheel wrecked last Monday

Watford Borough Council is adamant the bollards, which were installed towards the end of last year, won’t be going, adding they have acted as a “successful” deterrent to drivers who want to use the high street as a cut through

Although the cause of the collisions haven’t been confirmed, it has suggested by the council that it is a result of tailgating.

The bollards are timed to only allow one vehicle through a time. The driver must wait for the green light, whilst the bollards sink into the ground.

Clarendon Road leading into High Street. This picture was taken between Monday's and Friday's incidents

But what seems to be frequently be happening is a second or third vehicle follows the one in front, and as they travel through, the bollard rises. This is despite clear signs which say only one vehicle should proceed at a time.

A Clarendon Road worker said it was “guaranteed” there will be a “fourth incident” this month after the Carousel bus collision and he was proven right.

He says a level crossing gate should be installed to prevent these crashes from happening while others have called for the bollards to be removed altogether.

He also added that people see the green light as a traffic light which means they think it is safe to proceed.

However, Sam Lambert, who regularly uses the buses to travel into Watford town centre, believes the bollards should stay.

He said: “Car drivers should not be using the high street as a shortcut because they are too lazy to travel around the ring road. The road between the bollards is now much safer. It is buses too. There should be a guard at the bollards or the bus companies should be told about them properly."

The bollards in the town centre have proven to be unpredictable even without vehicles hitting them. The ones at the junction of Market Street suffered a power failure last Tuesday morning while it was reported snow stopped them working later that evening.

This was the scene on Tuesday night where the bollards reportedly stopped working during the snow

The bollards at the Market Street end, pictured, suffered a power failure on Tuesday morning leaving buses trapped in the High Street

When the bollards are out of action, it leaves buses either stuck or stacked up outside.

Before Friday’s incident, the mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “The town centre is a much safer and more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists. We’ve had really positive feedback about these changes.

“The very small number of people who are tailgating buses to get by past the bollards are acting illegally and extremely dangerously.”

Get in touch! How would you solve this issue? You could say the bollards have done its job here, but is this becoming too frequent? Leave a comment below or let us know on our socials.