Improvements approved after accidents at junction

The meeting heard the junction was "too often the scene of collisions, often severe ones"

Long-awaited safety improvements at a junction on the A40 have been approved.

It means vehicles will not be allowed to turn right out of South Leigh and Barnard Gate on the route between Witney and Eynsham, where there have been multiple crashes and a motorist was killed in 2012.

An estimated £100,000 has been allocated towards the safety improvements as part of Oxfordshire County Council's Vision Zero safety strategy.

Andrew Gant, cabinet member for transport management, recommended introducing the experimental traffic regulation order.

It will prohibit right turns from the two roads, exempting agricultural vehicles, and Mr Gant told the meeting it was a "good solution to a serious problem".

He also highlighted figures that showed about three-and-a-half times more vehicles turning left than those turning right on exit.

"The implication is people don't want to turn right onto the A40 – that tells you something," he said.

'Extremely busy'

The meeting heard statements from local councillors, such as Liam Walker, representing Hanborough & Hailey, who launched a petition calling for the council to carry out a road safety assessment of both Barnard Gate junctions.

He said it had been a "concern for local residents and road users for a long time", but said the right turn into South Leigh from Witney was also a "major problem" and a "real danger".

The meeting heard that while that was "not a comfortable turn" it did not have the "collision history" of cars coming the other way, though it would be kept under review.

Dan Levy, representing Eynsham, also welcomed measures to improve safety at the junction.

He said: "It is too often the scene of collisions, often severe ones.

"The A40 is extremely busy, and it can take a long time for a gap to appear in the traffic in both directions at the same time.

"Collisions here not only cause injury, but even more minor road traffic collisions block the key freight, car and bus route to and from the west of Oxford.

"Banning right turns will reduce the number of incidents."