UPDATED: Fury as students caught in traffic census queues on way to exams

Parents are reporting their children have been late arriving at school for KS SATS, AS and GCSE exams, which are taking place this week. 

There are half hour queues from Bournemouth Airport as census work is carried out on Christchurch Road and more queues at Whitelegg Way, with one driver saying it took half an hour to get from Bearwood to Redhill. 

Posting on the Echo's Facebook page, one mum said: "My daughter arrived 5 minutes before the start of her exam and was very upset. It is her last day of KS Sats tests and she has studied hard but was left in a real state this morning due to this thoughtless decision. I can't imagine the stress caused to those sitting GCSE's and A-levels."

Another said her daughters were late for AS exams, and another said it had taken an hour to get to school for her children's GCSE exams, meaning they were late.

Earlier this week key routes in and out of Christchurch came to a standstill, as selected motorists were asked about their driving habits for the census.

Dorset County Council said it could not give advance warning of the census, as it did not want motorists to change their route.

Phil Channer, Dorset County Council principal engineer, said: "The Government requires us to undertake these surveys in what is called a 'neutral' season.

"At this time of year, that means between the start of British Summertime and before the school holidays begin.  

"We were also unable to carry out the surveys before the recent elections, and had to avoid major local roadworks, weekends and Bank Holidays. That left us with very few windows to  choose from.

"We apologise for any inconvenience the surveys have caused. We alerted the local bus companies and the emergency services, but we cannot tell the public in advance as that would interfere with normal driving patterns, which is what we need to assess.

"We were unlucky with the weather today, as the heavy rain meant the roads were busier than usual. However, our staff carrying out the surveys monitored when queues were building up, and took breaks to allow traffic to flow freely again."

The census is taking place across south east Dorset, with surveys taking place at seven different sites over four days in May and June.

Matthew Piles, head of economy, said: “We know that the surveys will cause disruption to people's journeys but the information we are collecting is vital evidence about demand on our infrastructure and will help us in bidding for more money from central Government.

“We’re not giving the exact dates or location of these surveys as we need residents to travel along their usual route to ensure we’re getting an accurate reflection of vehicles and journeys.

“Whether you’re stopped and interviewed, or caught in the resulting delays, thank you in advance for your time and patience.”

Dorset County Council last carried out major traffic surveys at 50 locations in south east Dorset in 2008. The information being gathered during May and June will validate the information gathered seven years ago and be used as evidence during transport funding bids.

The council has faced criticism for the way in which the Christchurch surveys were carried out, with motorists on Barrack Road and Stour Road stopped in the middle of the road rather than pulled aside.

One motorist, who was caught up in the Barrack Road queues, said cars were backed up from the Iford Bridge to the Fountain Roundabout because nobody could overtake the motorists who were being quizzed. Similarly the census in Stour Road saw traffic queueing back to Tuckton.

He said: "Fair enough they say they need to carry out these surveys but why can't they choose a location where cars can pull over so traffic can keep moving? There was no need to cause this much inconvenience."

Many drivers took to social media to vent their frustration, with Travel Dorset responding to criticism on Twitter.

Were you stuck on the way to exams or SATs this morning? Email us at newsdesk@bournemouthecho.co.uk