KINNINVIE was once a quiet hamlet on a crossroads in Teesdale with a curious name. Now it is noisily notorious, probably the most infamous accident blackspot in County Durham.
It was “turbulent, loud and smoky”, says Annette Kaye, of Middleton-in-Teesdale, after she became the latest driver to be caught up in an accident there.
Hers was the tenth serious one in 20 years. The force in these accidents is such that cars are flung off the road into a nearby property. It has been struck three times in six years, and now the homeowner, Jen Horton, feels unable to use her dining room for fear of getting caught up in the fourth time.
A couple of accidents ago, in February 2023, Durham County Council introduced stop signs, additional road markings, high-friction surfacing, extra warning signs and a vehicle-activated sign.
"Legally speaking there's everything there that needs to be there, which is all very well and good, but people are getting hurt,” says Ms Kaye. “There just needs to be more.”
The B6279 that runs west to east through the hamlet is far more than an ordinary, twisty b-road. It is straight, drops downhill with the prevailing wind behind it and speed is too easily acquired before the deadly kink at Kinninvie is encountered.
The council says it will continue to monitor the junction and consider whether any further measures are appropriate.
Drivers so often feel the authorities are against them with speed limits, bumps, lumps, rumble strips and cameras. No one wants to see any more restraints applied than are strictly necessary.
However, surely radical further measures are appropriate at this crossroads that has such a horrific accident record.
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