Chaotic road needs speed limit trial - police boss

Suffolk's Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said A14 issues were having a "damaging" effect on the county's commerce

A police boss said users of a major road faced "chaos and pandemonium" as he called for a speed limit trial to reduce collisions.

The A14 in Suffolk has seen a spate of collisions leading to full and partial closures over the past few weeks.

National Highways data given to the BBC showed there had been a significant closure caused by collisions about every four days, on average, between 2021 and 2024.

Suffolk's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Tim Passmore called for a lower speed limit and said "something has got to be done".

"I think many of us have known that for many years it simply is not fit for purpose and doing nothing about it is not acceptable," he said.

Passmore explained he made use of the road most days and just last week faced three mornings where he was delayed due to incidents.

He called for the speed limit trial to stretch 16 miles (27.74km) from junction 51, at the Beacon Hill Interchange, through to junction 58 for the Seven Hills Interchange.

"I am fed up with hearing about delays," he added.

"The use of police time costs the taxpayer a fortune so we do need some solutions."

He continued: "I'm not an expert, I'm not a highways engineer, but what I do know is that this chaos and pandemonium has got to stop.

"If there are areas where you need to have a reduced speed limit well then let's look at it seriously, let's get the evidence and see if it works."

Passmore highlighted the 60mph limit on the Orwell Bridge between junction 56 and 57 which he said had "drastically reduced" the number of collisions in that area.

"A couple, three or four minutes extra in a journey time without being delayed is surely worth considering," he said.

There have been renewed calls for the Northern Ipswich Bypass following recent incidents on the A14

A Freedom of Information request by the BBC to National Highways revealed the number of incidents that resulted in full or partial closures of the A14 between junction 36 and 61.

In both 2021 and 2022 there were 81 incidents, while 2023 saw 83. Last year then saw a slight increase up to 89 incidents.

The figures did not include short term closures or incidents caused by roadworks or breakdowns.

It meant the road was seeing a full or partial closure due to a serious incident on average every four days between those years.

Passmore said he was "not in the least bit surprised" by the figures.

Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, agreed with the PCC and said "local residents deserve safe and reliable roads".

He called for the introduction of average speed cameras along the road to reduce accidents.

Senior enforcement officer, Cara Taylor, felt traffic had increased on the A14

Cara Taylor is a senior enforcement officer on Suffolk Police's Safety Camera Team.

She said between October and December last year the team had caught 4,368 drivers speeding on the A14.

This included one motorcyclist found travelling at 126mph (202km/h).

"It's unbelievably careless for both themselves and other road users," she said of the motorcyclist.

"I've been doing speed enforcement for about 10 years now. The traffic is becoming heavier on the A14, there's many more road users out here now.

"We see all sorts - we see children on people's laps, we see mobile phone use to a high level, it's a big problem."

Additional statistics from the force's Safety Camera Team found there were 192 vehicles caught travelling at 96mph (154.49km/h) on the A14 last year.

Suffolk Police said in 2024 as a whole there were 14,634 vehicles caught speeding on the A14

A spokesperson for National Highways said when collisions occurred it worked "closely with the emergency services and our contractors to ensure repairs are carried out as quickly as possible with the least amount of inconvenience".

"The A14 remains a vital corridor connecting the people of Suffolk and serving as a key economic artery linking the East of England with the rest of the country," they added.

"We continue to appreciate the understanding and patience of drivers as our work to improve the A14 continues this year."