Has the derestricted Sloc Road become a new accident black spot as speed limits drive TT visitors away from the mountain course?

The A36 between Glen Rushen Mines, Round Table and Ballakillowey, saw a number of serious collisions during the TT fortnight.

The road surface, controversially relaid in 2016 at a cost of £473,000, now features a series of chalk marks indicating the scene of collision investigations.

By the picnic site at the bottom of the Sloc, circular skid marks in the road suggest motorbikes have been performing ’doughnuts’.

At 3.30pm on Thursday, May 30, a biker suffered serious injuries after a collision with a bike travelling in the other direction on the Sloc Road.

On Sunday, June 2, a French rider came off his bike near Round Table in high winds and was airlifted to hospital with a broken collar bone.

He fortunately escaped more serious injury.

Then last Thursday morning, Joshua Keith Thornton, aged 23, a visiting biker from Baildon in West Yorkshire, died at the scene of a three motorbike crash.

The other two riders involved were taken to Noble’s Hospital and one was subsequently flown to the UK with serious injuries.

And last Sunday, a 57-year-old man from Ireland was pronounced dead at the scene of a collision involving two motorcycles further down the road towards Ballakillowey.

Police have issued statistics for the TT fortnight that show that the number of collisions was down, although there were the two fatal accidents on open roads, compared with one last year .

Total collisions between the Saturday of practice week to the end of Sunday after Senior Race Day fell by 21% from 78 in 2018, to 62.

Serious collisions were down from 19 to 11 and slight collisions reduced from 20 to 16.

There were 20 accidents on the one-way Mountain Road, nine of which were serious injury.

Five involved single cars, five involved a car and a bike and the others involved either single or other motorcycles.

Police said the fatal collisions on the A36 road were being investigated and any issues raised would be thoroughly examined.

This year, there were no collisions involving motorbikes on the Douglas to Ramsey coast road, which retained a 50mph temporary speed limit and a strong visible police presence throughout the fortnight.

A police spokesman said: ’Roads away from the TT course have always been popular during the TT period. We continue to work with our partners to make sure they are as safe as possible.’

One visiting rider has given an insight into attitudes of some fellow race-goers.

Steve Price of Cheadle said this year’s TT would be the last as it had lost its atmosphere thanks to the efforts of ’do-gooders’ in introducing speed limits around much of the TT course.

He said: ’The final nail in the coffin of the trip to the TT for me and at least 10 of my fellow regular TTers is the very quiet introduction of speed limits on the entire TT course except the mountain.

’There was no prior notice of the introduction. Part of the TT experience was being able to ride the course at a speed not possible on the mainland, without fear of falling foul of the police. This year’s police presence and speed guns was excessive, so much so I think you had more chance of being booked for speeding than on the mainland.’

He predicted the mountain mile’s unrestricted days will now also be numbered as the "do-gooders" will claim most of the accidents now take place there.

’I can’t see them possibly leaving the mountain as it is now after reducing limits all round the course,’ he said.