More than 50 accidents in less than 6 years on 'dangerous' Leighton Buzzard southern bypass

Flowers left at the scene of the fatal A505 bypass crash which claimed the life of Brandan Moriarty in March 2022Flowers left at the scene of the fatal A505 bypass crash which claimed the life of Brandan Moriarty in March 2022
Flowers left at the scene of the fatal A505 bypass crash which claimed the life of Brandan Moriarty in March 2022
They include four fatal accidents including two deaths within five months

More than 50 accidents have happened in less than six years on “a dangerous stretch of road” south of Leighton Buzzard, a meeting heard.

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There have been four fatalities, including two deaths within five months last year, one of which was on the A4146 and the other on the A505.

Central Bedfordshire Council commissioned a collision data analysis report for this route, and further investigatory works.

A joint working group with Bedfordshire Police and the county’s fire and rescue service was set up to undertake a strategic review of the area.

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Conclusions reached by engineering services company Jacobs were presented to a CBC traffic management meeting.

Conservative Heath and Reach councillor Mark Versallion said: “Anyone who uses that road on a regular basis will have experienced being overtaken at all times of the week. Some idiots doing 60mph, 70mph, 80mph use it as a race track.

“We should consider average speed cameras for the whole length or at least in sections, which will generate revenue for Bedfordshire Police or perhaps for us. That’s the only measure which is going to have any effect.”

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Conservative Eaton Bray councillor Philip Spicer said: “My residents have a problem accessing the main road because of the increased traffic from the new link roads (to the M1).

“It’s mainly during rush hours. The recommendations from Jacobs are a good start, but I’d like to see the junctions improved.

“The road is past its sell-by date for the amount of traffic using it. From both the Leighton-Linslade and the Dunstable direction the traffic has quadrupled since we opened those new link roads.

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“I need confirmation you’ll examine the Totternhoe junction and the Stanbridge junction. If we don’t address these, it’ll cut two villages off from Leighton Buzzard.

“I’d rather act now before there’s a fatality at that (roundabout) entrance.”

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Conservative Arlesey councillor Ian Dalgarno said: “This road feels like a dual carriageway, but it’s not. Drivers become impatient and take risks they wouldn’t normally do.

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“The nature of the road doesn’t lend itself to being a shared space. That’s something we’ll consider. It’s in the open countryside and you want people to be confident using it.

“The speed data is accurate. Given the impatience motorists have on this road and its nature, there are accidents.

“On speed cameras, nothing comes to us. We can put them in, but we don’t get any revenue to support those. It goes to the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s office.

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“We need to control the speed, but it isn’t just speeding. People can pull out at roundabouts. We can take up the state of the road with the local team.

“I’ve spoken to officers about extra signage we could use now and to consider any possible short-term measures. This is a dangerous stretch of road.”

Councillor Dalgarno, who chairs the meeting, asked highways officers to respond to the five recommendations made by Jacobs in its research.

A review of current signs is planned, as well as design work to identify areas for improved safety measures.