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The speed limit on the B3013 could be reduced to as low as 40mph
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Death crash road to see speed limit cut

By Stephen Lloyd
January 19, 2012

SPEED limits on roads across the area are being cut in an attempt to reduce road deaths and serious crashes.

Urgent action on reducing speed is recommended at accident blackspots in Fleet, Hartley Wintney and Hook.

One of the top priorities will be the B3013 Minley Road from the A30 towards the Elvetham Heath estate in Fleet.

Figures for the last five years reveal there were a total of 26 accidents along the road, including seven that were fatal or serious.

The road, which currently has a 60mph limit, will have stretches cut to 50mph and 40mph.

Speed changes are also earmarked for the A30 from Hook to Phoenix Green near Hartley Wintney where there have been 15 accidents in the last five years, five of them fatal or serious. Several roads have been placed on a reserved list of speed changes, including the A30 between Phoenix Green and its junction with Bracknell Lane in Hartley Wintney, which would be cut from 50mph to 40mph.

Another stretch of road set for change is the A30 at Water End, just over the Hart district border between Basingstoke and Hook, which faces a cut from 70mph to 60mph.

Figures show there have been 13 accidents along this stretch of road in the last five years, including six that were fatal or serious.

They included a crash that killed 18-year-old Hannah Morris from Church Crookham.

Hannah, the driver and only occupant of a blue Renault Clio, was waiting at a give-way sign in Blackstock Lane near Water End before pulling out on to the A30 London Road.

During the manoeuvre, her car was in collision with a blue Audi travelling towards Basingstoke. Hannah, of Award Road, Church Crookham, died at the scene.

In 2005, residents mounted a road safety campaign after three serious crashes on the road in just five weeks.

In one, a 44-year-old motorcyclist died after his bike collided with the back of a 7.5-tonne Ford Iveco lorry.

In another, a 64-year-old woman died following a car crash as she and her husband returned to their Hook home after visiting their son and grandson.

A Hampshire County Council report has outlined a total of 48 routes for speed limit changes.

The schemes, costing around £450,000, would come into force between now and 2014.

An in-depth review of speed limits on all A and B roads maintained by the county council was conducted, a total of 292 routes equating to around 780 miles.

Mel Kendal, Hampshire’s executive member for transport, said the aim of the review and subsequent programme of recommended revisions to speed limits was to ensure that road users are clear about the maximum speed they should travel at and to identify suitable stretches of road with higher accident rates as a priority for speed limit changes.

Cllr Kendall added: “Roads are the arteries that keep our economy going and it is important that people can safely travel on them to go about their day to day business.

“Road safety is a top priority for the county council and although it is impossible to eliminate the risks of accidents completely, a lower speed limit, in suitable circumstances, can help significantly to reduce the level of risk on appropriate routes.”

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Education not legislation is required....why put in speed limits that cannot be enforced....poor driving will not improve and those who blatantly drive dangerously will still do so....another waste of paint and money for good intentions that will do nothing to prevent accident and just catch a few innocents that are easy prey

Irreverend, Basingstoke
22/02/2012 at 09:13

I agree with ths. I don't use the road often, but I used it in the heavy rain last Tuesday and had no concerns about the safety of the road. If users respect the corners on the road and the weather conditions, then the existing limits are OK. If restrictions are implemented, then jusy restrict to the bends, when most drivers would slow down anyway. America commonly has advisable speeed limits for corners without affectng the general speed limit for the road, maybe we should adopt this approach.

Adder, Fleet
03/02/2012 at 22:59

I drive the Minley Road every day including weekends, I have not found that the road is difficult to drive within the current limit, so long as you take into account the road conditions (wet, icy etc.) as a driver should! and would like to point out that this road has had anti slip surface laid on all the bends bar one,(in the last five years!) the one outside Minley Pig Farm, so how many accidents have there been since this work was carried out. the bend without the anti slip surface can be deceiving and also has the entrance for the farm, so I can see how people unfamiliar with this road could misjudge the bend, especially at night. I do not feel that reducing the speed limit will necessarily stop drivers leaving the road, many of these accidents are at night, when ther is no one to implement the limit...........