Below is an extract written by a roads user who happend to come into contact with one of our Kapu Lighting Columns after an unfortunate accident:

"I was travelling south from the roundabout in the nearside lane when the car suddenly swerved on the wet road surface. I tried to control the car but it left the road hitting the kerb and then the lighting  column. After hitting the lighting column on the drivers side, the car came to rest on the verge and another motorist helped me to get out of the car. An ambulance was called to the crash and the paramedics found that apart form initial shock my only injury was a small 2/3 mm cut on the back of my hand caused by broken glass from the driver’s door window. I was amazed that I did not suffer any more serious injuries especially when I saw the column flat on the ground combined with the fact that I was driving a soft top sports car.

When officers from the County Council Traffic Section and Durham Police Collision Investigation Unit came to see me they explained that it was a new type of lighting column fitted with an electrical safety cut out system. When the Police Officer described from previous experiences what could have happened to me if it had been an ordinary column I realised how luck I really was.

I can never be able to express my thanks to the people who have developed these new systems and the Council for using the systems which allowed me to walk away uninjured from this crash and I hope that my experience will encourage more of these columns to be used to protect other people who may have a crash in future."