AN ACCIDENT on the A429 from Malmesbury to Cirencester has prompted calls from residents to improve the safety of the road.

Accidents on the A429 are not a new occurrence but several serious collisions in the last few months have led to a demand for action.

Last week a man died in a three vehicle crash on the A429 near Kemble Business Park, with the two other drivers involved being taken to hospital for treatment. The road was closed for several hours causing a build up of traffic between the two towns.

Malmesbury resident Robert Peel explained that he thought a lower speed limit, a notice of accidents on the road visible to drivers or a sign warning drivers of the upcoming junction could help prevent further incidents.

He said: “I think that whole stretch of road is a problem. It’s a very dangerous road. It wouldn’t cost much to put in a sign with accident information or a reduce speed sign.”

“I don’t know what the fatality rate is like on that stretch but I know there was a fatal outside the business park three or four years ago.”

He also put forward the suggestion that the number of accidents on the road, which connects the two counties, might be recorded by Gloucestershire County Council and Wiltshire Council separately, with accidents happening on both sides of the border.

If this is the case it could be that each side only sees half of the recorded accidents on the road, meaning that it might not seem like an accident hotspot to either council individually.

“The question is: is anything being done with the data?” asked Robert.

Cllr Simon Killane, Malmesbury’s representative on Wiltshire Council explained that the council would of course look into the issues surrounding the crash but said that he could not make decision on which roads were dangerous.

He added: “I had an email from a lady who works in the Kemble business park and all I could do was pass her concerns on to John Thomson to do with that accident.”