VIDEO footage of cars ‘speeding’ on a busy Chepstow road where there was a fatal crash in the summer has prompted calls for speed cameras to be installed.
Pleas for action have been made after residents said they witnessed motorists ‘racing’ on the A466 Wye Valley link road on Sunday evening.
A driver appears to be far exceeding the 50mph speed limit in these videos taken by Chepstow resident Kevin O’Brien.
Gwent Police said motorists were “moved on” after being spoken to by officers in relation to the incident.
“I know three people who have died in the last five years,” Mr O’Brien said.
“It’s the speed of the road.
“I really do not think it will be long before someone else gets killed and it’s going to be too late.”
Mr O’Brien, of nearby Western Avenue, said he witnessed around 10 to 12 cars ‘racing’ on the road on Sunday evening.
“We were sat in the living room watching the television,” he said.
“We heard what we thought were fireworks going off, but as it turned out it was the noise of the cars.”
Mr O’Brien is calling for speed cameras to be installed, a move which has also been backed by Chepstow councillor Armand Watts.
“The community won’t need reminding of the risk of tragedy occurring again on the link road,” Cllr Watts said.
A pedestrian died after a crash involving a heavy goods vehicle on the road in June. Investigations are ongoing.
A review of the safety of the road was carried out after a fatal crash in October 2015, following concerns raised by residents and the family of the man who died.
Police were called to 77 traffic accidents, six of which included injuries and three fatalities, from January 1, 2011 to March 2, 2016.
The speed limit was lowered to 50mph, from 60mph, an order stopping U-turns was made and additional warning signs were put up last year.
Improvements were also made to the road marking layout following the review.
But Chepstow councillor, Paul Pavia said some residents have raised concerns about the upgrade – and whether drivers are sticking to the new speed limit.
“These residents don’t believe the improvements have made any significant difference because while they can’t physically see the traffic, they have a good understanding from the traffic noise how quick vehicles are travelling,” he said.
“Their firm belief is that cars continue to regularly speed along that stretch of road.”
Cllr Pavia said installing speed cameras would be “the next obvious step” to address the issue.
In en email sent to Cllr Pavia in March, Tim Barnes, highways team leader at Welsh Government, said a safety audit of the road will be carried out once 12 months’ worth of collision data following the implementation of the new speed limit is available.
“In addition, speed surveys will be commissioned in the next financial year 2021-22 to establish whether measures to ensure compliance such as average speed cameras are required,” Mr Barnes said.
Inspector Matt Havard, from Gwent Police’s road policing and specialist operations unit, said: “We received several reports regarding the anti-social use of cars in the Chepstow area, close to the A466 Wye Valley Link road, on Sunday 26 September.
“Officers attended and a large number of motorists were reportedly seen in the area.
“The motorists were moved on, after they were spoken to by officers, and no offences were identified.”
Inspector Havard said the force received a report of a motorist throwing items at a member of the public from a white BMW M3.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting log reference 383 26/09/21.
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