Lorries are ignoring warning signs and entered Iwade village

by Hayley Robinson

These lorry drivers must be regretting following their sat navs - after finding themselves in a tight spot when they drove into a small village.

Despite clear signs that vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes cannot enter Iwade, near Sittingbourne, the truckers found themselves tightly wedged in narrow residential streets.

It is thought sat nav instructions are to blame for the tight squeezes.

Now the parish council is considering paying for signs with a red line struck through pictures of a lorry and sat nav.

Trucks have been squeezing through narrow Iwade

The matter was discussed by the parish council earlier this month after several incidents were reported.

The first occurred in Ferry Road on August 14. The others were in Monins Road, Sanderling Way, Stangate Road, Grovehurst Road and Chetney View.

In some cases, cars and bollards were damaged.

Parish councillor James Hunt said: "One man has had his car hit three times and a wooden bollard at the side of the road was knocked down because a lorry that got stuck reversed into it.

"They're also driving all over the grass verges because they've got no room to turn around.

"It seems they're coming in and getting lost. We think it may be to do with sat navs.

"We've contacted Kent County Council's highways department and they sent someone out but they claim the signs are sufficient. We don't think they are though."

Lorries in Iwade force cars to mount the pavement

In a bid to solve the problem, the parish council is now looking into paying for signs that might feature either a lorry or a sat nav system struck out with a red line.

They will be placed at the three entrances into the village - Sheppey Way, Old Ferry Road and Grovehurst Road.

Mr Hunt said: "We're not sure how much they're going to cost at the moment.

"We just can't work out why they're suddenly coming through the village - it's never been a problem before.

"Companies at Ridham Dock have recently expanded and new signs have also been put up along Grovehurst Road, Kemsley, telling drivers they can no longer access the paper mill via Grovehurst Avenue so we don't know if either of these have contributed to the problem.

"In the meantime we've been told to ask residents to make a note of the make, model and registration plate of any lorries in the village and to report them to Kent Police as it is illegal for them to be here."

Sat navs are leading lorries on tight turns in Iwade

A Kent County Council spokesman said: "We are already taking action to tackle problems where lorries cause disruption in town centres and narrow rural roads.

"We are completely overhauling Kent's lorry-route map. We are also conducting a county-wide review of lorry directional and regulatory signs.
“And we are reviewing traffic orders that allow us to control where heavy goods vehicles can go.

"We are also working with satellite navigation firms to ensure lorry drivers are provided with the best routes for commercial traffic, rather than using car satellite navigation systems."

Have you ever driven into a tight spot by following your sat nav? Leave a comment below.