The police and crime commissioner for Nottinghamshire is to take a closer look at the A46 Farndon roundabout amid growing safety fears.
HAULAGE COMPANY boss Andrew Morris has convinced police and crime commissioner Paddy Tipping to take a close look at the problems at accident blackspot the A46 Farndon roundabout.
Mr Paddy Tipping will visit the roundabout in April at the request of haulage company boss Andrew Morris who says there have been more than 25 crashes at the roundabout since it opened in June, some of which were not serious enough to be reported.
Mr Tipping told the Advertiser: “I think there is a problem with the Farndon roundabout. I believe it to be dangerous.
“I drive by it regularly and there was a car crashed into it at the weekend.”
Mr Tipping said he wanted to make a closer inspection of the roundabout for himself.
“Mr Morris thinks the access and egress is particularly dangerous for his vehicles and that’s what we will look at,” he said. “He wants the police to look into the issue and I have asked the police to do that.”
Mr Morris, from PA Freight, is concerned drivers have to slow from a 70mph limit on the dual carriageway onto the roundabout that has three narrow lanes and an exit speed designed to be 11mph.
In the centre of the roundabout there is an electricity pylon surrounded by a low wall to deflect vehicles away from the pylon, a ditch and crash barriers.
The barriers have been replaced several times and the wall rebuilt after vehicles crashed on to the roundabout.
Mr Morris said it was lucky that an HGV hadn’t yet been involved in a crash. He said a lorry could break through the wall and barriers and go into the pylon, resulting in a major incident.
He said although the Highways Agency had previously said the roundabout was safe and approach signs adequate and to industry standard, new high-visibility signs had been added.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said there had been 14 reported incidents on the roundabout.
“The safety of road users is a key priority for the Highways Agency and we are confident that the roundabout is safe,” said the spokesman.
“Approximately 25,000 vehicles a day use the A46.
“However, given that most of the 14 incidents that have occurred since opening involved single vehicles overshooting the give way line on the new A46 northbound approach, the Highways Agency alerted its safety auditors.
“The auditors recommended additional signing, most of which has been implemented and will be completed in the coming weeks, weather permitting.
“We continue to monitor the operation of the roundabout to review the effectiveness of these actions and we will take further actions should this be necessary.”
