Data has shown the number of crashes on a main A-road through Wiltshire labelled a “death trap” by residents.
The A346 through Marlborough has regularly been flagged by locals as a “dangerous” route with many reporting a high level of serious crashes on the busy road.
Complaints have been raised in the past about collisions on the A346 being caused by the speed and condition of the road both to the north and south of the town.
Data from Collision Map, which has recorded crash statistics across the UK up to the end of 2022, suggests there were five recorded slight crashes and two serious incidents recorded between Marlborough and Swindon in just 12 months.
In the town centre, nine slight crashes and two serious ones were recorded across 2022.
Last year, following a spate of crashes on the A346 between Marlborough and Swindon, residents and businesses shared their concerns over the safety of the road.
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Belinda Evans, an employee at Ogbourne Downs Golf Club, said: “People come pelting down the road at a million miles an hour. It can take me ages to pull out onto the road because they get right up the back of you, and it is dangerous.
“It is a death trap and an accident waiting to happen. I call it the death road.”
Ogbourne St George local Sid Bolt added: “It’s never changed in 30 years, there has always been accidents. My family are frightened of the road so psychologically people are affected.”
Town councillors recently raised the possibility of reintroducing speed cameras in the area amidst concerns over speeding drivers.
At a meeting in November, PCC Philip Wilkinson gave a presentation to town councillors in which he discussed speed enforcement around the town.
During this meeting, he was quizzed about the potential return of fixed speed cameras, which were scrapped several years ago.
Councillors were told this strategy was not “financially viable” and it was claimed that mobile speed cameras are a more “cost-effective” means of tackling speeding issues in the area.
During the presentation, councillors raised “major” concerns about “anti-social and dangerous driving” which they believe is a cause of crashes in and around Marlborough.
The PCC assured them that Wiltshire Police has launched a significant crackdown on speeding around the county since he was elected.
He added that last year 15,000 speeding tickets were issued, compared to 1,324 during his first year in office.
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