Advanced Driving Hub

Ref the Edinburgh ‘flight of steps’, I’ve failed to find any images.

Found a few pics of other stranded vehicles from same perspective, like the Beeb’s, but nothing of the actual steps. Google street view predates the changes, showing just a normal side street. I wonder if media misinformation might be at play? Might it just be a single high kerb for example? Just seems odd that a famously cycle-friendly city would install a flight of steps impeding a road where cyclists could previously travel, even if it benefits pedestrians.

Not defending the stranded drivers, mind you. They’ve clearly driven right over a pavement, without even a dropped kerb. The steps (or not) are irrelevant imho, regarding the drivers bad behaviour.

Horse wrote:

Strangely Brown wrote:

Horse wrote:

jont wrote:But if the first vehicle to turn down the steps makes it to the bottom would that confirm that the route is passable and therefore valid?

If it makes it (and doesn't require recovery) then, on a yes/no scale, it was passable.


However, returning to the 'look where you're going' statement.

Have a look here. One road has steps. Does the other?

https://the-ride-info-new.blogspot.com/ ... l.html?m=1

Just looked again on Streetview, and (as per Bill's post) from further down the lane looking back up (with a car driving through!) - their images are from before the steps were installed, so don't show any signing that might be there now.

Another Bill wrote:Ref the Edinburgh ‘flight of steps’, I’ve failed to find any images.

Found a few pics of other stranded vehicles from same perspective, like the Beeb’s, but nothing of the actual steps.

Not defending the stranded drivers, mind you. They’ve clearly driven right over a pavement, without even a dropped kerb. The steps (or not) are irrelevant imho, regarding the drivers bad behaviour.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24040 ... staircase/

Found searching:

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms ... =612&dpr=3


I've just had a look at Streetview for Newbury town centre, comparing the adjacent turnings into Northcroft Lane (pedestrianised) and into a parking area next to Costa. There's no difference in markings or signing.

These are pretty much the same images I was able to find. My point is that none of the modern images seem to show what I would describe as a ‘flight of steps’. There might well be a flight of steps present, out of view, but I’d like to see them before judging the stupidity implied by driving over them, tho stress again - no sympathy from me, as they’ve already driven right over a pavement, which is very clearly defined.

Some of the images look more like a cliff edge, implying huge steps, worse than I could imagine. But if none of the news articles choose to actually show them, I become suspicious of journalistic exaggeration.

jont- wrote:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmmgvnnjgq9o
How is that an acceptable response? If it told you to drive over a cliff, would you?

I wondered how easy it would be to see there's a step so I looked at Google Streetview - in early June of last year, the step was probably being installed - see https://maps.app.goo.gl/hPrBHhWhttNGHW8TA - so up until that point, drivers might reasonably turn into that road. It's quite steeply downhill so, in some circumstances, the step might be difficult to spot especially if, as this driver was, you were used to turning into that road.

Google Streetview of March '21 shows it clearly being a road, with the footpath stopping either side. On the face of it, the council extended the footpath and added one or more steps, possibly to protect people walking 'across' the lane from vehicles coming up the hill.

Maybe they need one of these:

Ignore Stanav 1

Ignore Satnav 2

This article has a video that shows the new layout. Madness that no-one thought this was going to cause problems.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/motors ... burgh/amp/

Thanks for finding that, my thirst is quenched. A flight of steps indeed, albeit a short one.

It also looks to me like it might be a tempting access for pavement cyclists/scooters. I’ve personally a very low tolerance for people who cycle or scoot on the pavement but I certainly don’t want to see them hurt, and these steps may have that potential…

Strangely Brown wrote:Maybe they need one of these:

Ignore Stanav 1

Ignore Satnav 2

And do we think either of these work? Maybe as Horse suggests they need some electronics that instead pops up a message on the drivers satnav/phone, rather than expecting them to do something an onerous as look out the window