As part of my ward walks today, I went out to the A5 Queens Head junction again. An awful accident blackspot with over 30 incidents in recent years. Of which 22 serious or fatal accidents show in the available data on crashmap.co.uk
The last image is Feb 2017, when I first pointed out my concerns – there have been 11 accidents between 2017 and 2023 according to crashmap.co.uk
2023 is the last full year of data they have.
I have asked National Highways to cut back the trees on the left of the junction on the southern side and on the northbound side at the southern end. I have also suggested that the giveway line for traffic turning right is moved back one car length to also improve visibility and allow vehicles more room to gain speed to join the traffic flow more safely. Quite often, the vehicle at the front has to wait, but the next two vehicles (with better visibility) follow straight out. If the starting point is further back, more vehicles will clear the junction more smoothly and reduce the length of the queues. This will reduce the incidence of people lurching out after getting impatient or misjudging the space to get out. The high speeds of all vehicles make that judgment harder at even quiet times of the day.
I will again ask Highways to clear the vegetation from the 30mph sign towards Queen’s head, replace the missing sign on the opposite side, and clear the debris left from the vehicle fire.
