Road safety plea for A40 ahead of summer getaways

The A40 between Carmarthen and St Clears recorded 359 collisions between January 2019 and August 2019

There are calls for safety improvements to one of Wales' "most dangerous roads" as people flock to Pembrokeshire for the summer.

The A40 between Carmarthen and St Clears recorded 359 collisions between January 2019 and August 2019.

The calls come as Dyfed-Powys Police urges people to be patient following a sharp increase in serious and fatal road accidents in the force area.

The Welsh government said a study was under way into road safety on the A40.

Cefin Campbell, Member of the Senedd for West Wales and South Pembrokeshire, described the stretch of road as "one of the most dangerous roads in Wales".

In the last year alone, he said, the road had seen the deaths of a 20-year-old man in September 2020 and a 37-year-old female police officer in February.

Mr Campbell has called on the Welsh government to bring forward plans to improve the road to help prevent further incidents.

"After years of campaigning on the issue, local residents want to see changes implemented," the Plaid Cymru MS said.

The dual carriageway is an important link for tourists travelling to Pembrokeshire and for agricultural traffic

"Following the further tragic losses experienced this year, people are desperate for change now."

He said he understood Welsh government had undertaken a review but stressed that "we haven't seen the results".

Mr Campbell added: "They need to ensure that this is a priority, and need to outline a clear timeline of when we can expect to see plans being proposed and implemented."

The Welsh government said it planned to publish the review shortly.

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"We take road safety extremely seriously and monitor safety across the entire road network.

"A study is under way into this particular stretch of the A40 which is looking at road safety as well as other issues.

"We will consider the findings from this study as soon as it has been complete."

Sgt Ian Price is asking road users to have patience during the busy summer months

Dyfed-Powys Police said that as coronavirus rules eased in Wales, traffic was increasing in the force area - prompting fears of further collisions.

Statistics show seven people were seriously injured or killed on roads in the force in March.

That number increased to 17 in April, 18 in May and 21 in June.

'Recipe for disaster'

"We're probably seeing more traffic on our roads in the last number of months than previous years, on the basis that people can't travel abroad," said Sgt Ian Price of the Accident Reduction Partnership.

"The increase of traffic brings the risk of collisions... The recipe of having more traffic on the road can lead to impatience."

He said motorists needed to treat the A40, which runs through the force area, "as an 'A road' and not a motorway" to reduce the risk to other road users.

Despite one section of the road being reduced to 50mph (80km/h), Sgt Price said vehicles were travelling at speeds in excess of 100mph.

That, on top of vehicles joining the road, was a "recipe for disaster", he said.