Speed limits move on danger roads

9:00am Tuesday 27th November 2007

SPEED limits will be cut on five of Oxfordshire's most dangerous stretches of road.

Oxfordshire County Council announced plans to lower limits on the A417 between East and West Hendred, the B4017 between Abingdon and Drayton, the B480 between Stadhampton and Chiselhampton, the B4035 between Banbury and Broughton, and the B4477 between the A40 and Brize Norton.

In the past five years, three people have died on the affected sections of the roads, with eight more people seriously injured and almost 50 more accidents.

The move was welcomed by road safety campaigner Jane Evason, whose 19-year-old son Gareth was killed by a drink-driver in 1998.

Mrs Evason, from Evenlode Close, Grove, said: "It is good because it will definitely save lives.

"There has been an awful lot of accidents on the Hendred Dip. I know there have not been fatalities there, but people do go down there like a bat out of hell.

"The county council has obviously been watching and listening to what people have had to say."

Two of the three fatalities occurred on the affected section of the B4477, which will have its limit cut from 60mph to 50mph.

The B4017 and the B4035 will also have speed restrictions lowered from 60mph to 50mph.

Drivers on the B480 will see a 20mph drop in the speed limit to 40mph, while restrictions on the A417 will be lowered to 40mph from 50mph for a trial period of three years.

The council decided to lower the speed limits after a public consultation between September 26 and October 19 this year.

A council spokesman said the limits would come into force in the coming months.

There have been 31 fatalities on Oxfordshire's roads so far this year, following 33 deaths in 2004, 40 in 2005 and 68 in 2006.

Ian Hudspeth, the council's cabinet member for transport, said: "Our experience in Oxfordshire shows that reducing speed limits works. Our monitoring, along with national research, gives us sufficient confidence to go ahead.

"We are determined to improve road safety in Oxfordshire. We want to see reductions in the amount of accidents and we will take whatever affordable measures we can to deliver that."

However, the move to cut speed limits was attacked by Paul Biggs, spokesman for the Association of British Drivers.

Mr Biggs said he had seen Department for Transport figures which showed that exceeding the speed limit was a contributing factor in only ten per cent of road fatalities, and three per cent of road injuries. He added: "I think it is just pointless. It will not generally reduce accidents there and there will be frustrated drivers who will drive closer to the people in front."