A43 - road safety campaign

Four dead in a month - is no one listening?

If four people had been killed in Kettering Town centre due to a dangerous facility run by Northamptonshire County Council there would be an outcry.  If the Council had been warned about it time and time again and given simple tips on how to prevent death people would be sacked.  But it seems that people can keep dying on the A43 out in the countryside and the Council effectively does nothing.

There has been another tragic double fatality this time near the junction with the A14, somewhere near the old scrap yard.  The ET has the story here.

'The accident happened at about 4am on Saturday morning on the A43 near the road's junction with the A14.'

'A police spokesman said: "The men were in a blue ford focus travelling from Northampton to Kettering when the vehicle left the road in the vicinity of the scrap yard by the A14 roundabout.'

This campaign just can't understand the mindset of people at Northamptonshire County Council who go to work, see that more people have been killed on a facility they are responsible for and then plan to do nothing for the next five years.  It is unbelievable that our elected representatives don't do something about it.  We need averaging camera enforced speed limits on the whole length of road between Northampton and Kettering to stop this carnage.  They could paint double white lines to stop overtaking and slow traffic down in under two months.

Cambridgeshire police prove averaging cameras make busy roads safer...

The BBC and Cambridgeshire police show that averaging cameras reduce accidents and improve traffic flow on the A14 - this is exactly what we are campaigning for on the A43.  There is a good video clip at the link here.  In the video the policeman describes how people rush, brake, bunch up and tail back far less causing much better, calmer journeys.  The accidents are down 80%.  The BBC News article says:

'Serious and fatal collisions on a Cambridgeshire road have fallen by 80% after new speed cameras were installed.

'The overall rate of collisions on the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon has dropped by 21% in 2007-2008 compared with the previous year.

'Insp Clinton Hale said: "We have had feedback from motorists saying the road is calmer and journeys are safer.'

We can't understand why Northamptonshire County Council won't install these cameras on the A43

Fatal crash - full details

The Telegraph and the Chonicle and ECho have some more details on the fatal accident on Thursday 7 August 2008 - they now say it was near Broughton as the photo suggests(see map) - another 'safe' modern junction.  If you were on the road on that Thursday morning and saw anything call the police, details below.  The Chron says:

'A VW Passat and a Ford Transit van, both travelling towards Northampton, were involved in a minor shunt. A Nissan Vanette travelling in the same direction behind these two vehicles was then involved in what police said was also a very minor collision with a trailer behind the Ford Transit. However, the Nissan then crossed to the opposite carriageway and was in collision with a Scania Tipper. The Nissan driver, also a 33-year-old man from Leicester, was air-lifted to Walsgrave hospital in Coventry where he is in a serious condition.'

The Telegraph says:

'The Nissan Vanette in which he was a passenger collided with a tipper lorry on the A43 at Broughton.
Police say he was Nicholas Davore Hartshorn, 33, of Park Road South, Wigston, Leicester.
'Another man was seriously hurt in the accident, which closed the road for several hours.
Officers from the Collision Investigation Team are appealing for witnesses who saw the collision to come forward.
"The road was extremely busy at the time and in fact it is believed that the first minor collision happened in heavy traffic, but very few witnesses to the collision have so far come forward," said a spokesman.
Police are asking anyone who was on the A43 on Thursday morning and saw any part of this collision to contact them on 08453 700700 or on the Drivewatch Hotline on 0800 174615.

Another tragic death - when will Northamptonshire County Council act?

The Council has credited the fall in accidents on the A43 to modern well designed junctions - they don't recognises speed as a factor.  The junction at Mawsley is a brand new roundabout - you can see it on the map by clicking here.  Yet still there is a tragic death.  We need concerted action to cut speeds and bring some calm to this lethal road.  The Evening Telegraph reports:

'One person has been killed and another seriously injured in a four-vehicle accident which has closed a section of the A43 between Kettering and Northampton.
'The collision near the Mawsley roundabout took place at 11.45am this morning and involved a lorry, two vans and a car.
'Witnesses said the air ambulance had been called to take casualties to hospital.'

Stakeholder Meeting report - no action until middle of next decade

A report from Chrissie Osborne of the 'Stakeholder Meeting' held by Northamptonshire County Council on 1 August 2008 - we first flagged this up here.  In short more disappointing prevarication when we know there are simple things that can be done now to make the road safer and increase capacity.

'We met the Road Planning man from the County Council, who gave us a short power point talk.  Nothing much has changed inasmuch that it will be the middle period of the next decade before what is ultimately decided in this process is started. Everyone laughed at this and talked of when all this was up for discussion before 20 yrs ago,

'The next step is to do surveys on the road re traffic and we meet again after this for another discussion!
The following problems were itemised

• Strategic connectivity
• Traffic congestion
• Road Safety
• Rat running.
• Severance  ( getting from one side of the road to the other)
• Environmental Issues

'We then split up into workshops, about 7 in each group, and discussed our issues. After this a spokesperson from each group reported back to those assembled.

'There was a startling lack of focus on Road Safety. The main gripes were bunching traffic at Round Spinney and the A14 Kettering end at peak times.

'Although I talked to 50mph making the traffic flow more smoothly small areas of dual carriageway were suggested so that traffic knew when overtaking was coming up and were therefore not impatient to overtake in silly places.

'But in reality it will take many years to build these short stretches of dual carriageway, during which time more and more accidents will happen.'

Local paper picks up campaign

The Kettering Evening Telegraph has picked up this campaign again in a piece entitled 'What can be done about the A43' - read the story here.

'A43 campaigner Chrissie Osborne, who lives near Hannington and has to turn onto the road when leaving her house, said: "I hope this meeting is a step in the right direction.

"I know the council tried to make safety improvements but the real problem is that you have three different speed limits on the road which depend on what type of vehicle you drive.

"If they made it 50mph for everyone we wouldn't have this problem."

The Telegraph also claims that accidents are falling - but people are still dying on this congested unsafe road - one death is to many.

A43 'Transport Study' - will something happen at last or will accidents deaths and injury continue?

A new transport study into the A43 Northampton-Kettering area is under way by the specialist engineers MGWSP working for Northants County council.  It is helpful finally to get some proper work done on the problems the road faces.  But we can't wait until next year before getting something done. 

This site has been lobbying since 2006 for some basic safety improvements. In particular putting in a sensible 50 mph speed limit for all vehicles to reduce accidents and congestion.  This means lorries can go a bit quicker and cars slower so there is less dangerous overtaking.  The Council have done absolutely nothing since 2006 to make the A43 safer.  The Government have made it absolutely clear that Northants County Council is responsible for the road, not the DfT in London.  Because the road is unsafe people drive through the villages parallel to the road.  So the Council are doing a study.  This site will become active again as we follow the study.  Sign up for an email update (on the left of the screen) each time we post something new.

There is a 'stakeholder group' on Friday for MGWSP to guage the extent of local feeling as a precursor to the study and one would hope build a community around making the road safer quickly (see below).

MGWSP have just been appointed this year with a lucrative £320m contract over 8 years.  It is their job to look after roads:

Bob Seery, Northamptonshire County Council's cabinet member for roads and transport, commented: “MGWSP were identified as the best bidder based on the needs of the council and for the county's roads going forward. MGWSP will play a key role in the development of highways programmes and projects. The contract will look to develop and bring forward innovations in highways management using all the latest technology to secure the best value for money.”

The invite to a consultation/stakeholder event follows:

>>I am writing to inform you of the transport study that is currently taking place on the A43 between Northampton and Kettering and to ask for your involvement in the process.
The study at this stage is gathering information through surveys which will be carried out in the autumn, to identify possible options on how to tackle the congestion issues along this stretch of road.
These options will then be taken forward next year and explored further with a view to developing a scheme to implement in future years.
Currently many people use the roads through the villages to avoid the congestion on the A43 and we therefore intend that our study should cover the area bounded by Northampton in the south, the A14 in the north, A508 to the west and A509 to the east.
We are keen to ensure that we take on the views of the local communities and have therefore organised a stakeholder meeting to which we are inviting the councils representing the study area so that we have a comprehensive view of the problems related to the A43.
This initial meeting will be mainly to establish that the surveys we are intending to carry out in the autumn are suitable.
The details of this stakeholder meeting are as follows:
Date:    Friday 1st August 2008
Time:   10:00 – 12:00
Venue: Kettering Conference Centre
Thurston Drive
Kettering
Northants, NN15 6PB
Tel (of the venue): 01536 414 414
Please could you let me know if you or a representative are able to attend this meeting.
Yours sincerely
Rula Abou-Rahme
Transport Planner
Email: [email protected]
Rula Abou-Rahme
Transport Planner 
MGWSP Northamptonshire Highways
2nd Floor, Riverside House, Riverside Way, Northampton, NN1 5NX
DDI: +44(0)1604 654661

Another A43 tragedy - when will they act?

Yesterday a young woman was tragically killed and her passenger seriously injured in a collision with a lorry on the A43 at one of the danger points this site has highlighted.  Eye witnesses reported that the dead driver was overtaking at one of the many deceptively blind corners on the A43 and hit a lorry head on.  Cheap and simple double white lines along the length of the A43 from Sywell to Kettering would have prevented this tragedy.  We called for this here. The air ambulance was called out and the road closed for three hours according to the BBC (report here Radio Northampton also covered the crash) The survivor was said to be 'poorly' - a euphemism for seriously ill.  Our sympathy goes to the families of those involved.

Since the last post we have been busy campaigning and lobbying the Council, the police, local hospitals and local politicians to take some simple measures to improve safety. We have been appalled by the indifference amongst council officials and some Councillors and the unwillingness to take simple steps to improve safety in the face of overwhelming official statistical evidence that this road is very dangerous. Officials seem to be hiding behind the downright weird confection that labelling the road a 'red route' makes a difference.

There are loads of simple things  that can be done to improve the road without waiting 15 years for dualling.  How many more people have to die in speed related or overtaking accidents on this deadly road before the Council takes action?

We don't think there is any evidence that this is making a difference to accident rates and indeed that no one knows what 'red routes' are in Northants.

Contact us

This site was set up out of desperation to publicise the problems on the dangerous A43 between Northampton and Kettering.  One of the authors travels daily on the A43.  To contact please email the address at this link or comment directly in one of the entries above.

Red cats eyes would improve night safety

The near side edge of the A43 between Northampton and Kettering is not easily visible at night.  As the road dips and weaves it can be really hard to see where it is going next.  Some red cat's eyes along the edge would make a huge difference.  This section of the A43 is also not lit from end to end - this has a pronounced effect for long distance drivers who may well have come from well illuminated roads and motorways and suddenly find themselves in pitch darkness on the A43. 

Red cats eyes would be a fairly simple thing that would improve night safety no end.