Fatal crash prompts calls for A34 speed limit review
Girlfriend of man who died near East Ilsley is leading the campaign
Fresh calls to cut the speed limit on the A34 to 50mph have been made after a crash near East Ilsley claimed the life of a man.
On June 11, a Vauxhall Corsa travelling southbound smashed through the central reservation into the path of a BMW 1 series travelling north.
The driver of the BMW, 28-year-old Gavin Roberts, originally from Australia and who had recently moved to Swindon, sustained a serious head injury and spiral fracture.
He died at John Radcliffe Hospital on Wednesday, June 15.
Now a petition launched by his girlfriend, Meg Williamson, and addressed to Oxford City Council and Highways England is demanding the whole stretch of road be reduced to 50mph and speed cameras erected to enforce the new limit.
She said: “Because of [Mr Roberts’ death] and because of the accidents and fatalities that happen daily and regularly on the A34, I am calling for the speed limit on this dual carriageway to be reduced from the national speed limit to 50mph.
“I also want speed cameras to be enforced to ensure that no one else is injured or loses their life on the Oxford road.
“People treat this narrow dual carriageway as a motorway, endangering themselves and others.”
She added: “We need the council to take note of this and for no one else to be devastated.
“I want Gavin’s legacy to live on and to get justice for all of the other drivers involved in incidents on the A34.”
The call follows a similar campaign in 2012 led by Brightwalton resident and Green Party activist Adrian Hollister, who demanded a reduced limit, calling the stretch of road at East Ilsley an “accident blackspot”.
In 2013, the Road Safety Foundation and European Road Assessment Programme designated the A34 a low-risk “safe” road.
Figures compiled between 2007 and 2011 showed that an average of 45,451 cars used the 50.3km stretch of the A34 between the M3 and M4 each day with 44 people either killed or seriously injured.
Between the M4 and M40, a 53.9km stretch of road, an average daily traffic of 60,016 vehicles was recorded, resulting in 73 deaths or serious injuries over the four-year period.
In response to the petition, Oxford City Council said the road was under the remit of Highways England and declined to comment.
A Highways England spokesperson said: “Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the recent tragic incident.
“Safety is our top priority and we consider any advice given by the police or other statutory bodies to improve safety.
“We also monitor all the roads on our network, including the A34, on an ongoing basis to identify where safety improvements may be made.
“We are commissioning a range of research projects to further improve road safety, including research into the causes of fatalities in collisions on our roads, the impact of roadworks on driver stress and the factors which contribute to poor driver behaviour.”
The petition has been signed 638 times as of Wednesday and can be accessed by visiting: https://www.change.org/p/oxford-city-council-save-lives-a34-50mph-with-speed-cameras
