Rachel Rook is campaigning for a roundabout to be built on the A249

by Nicola Forman

A safety review and two more crashes in as many days on the notorious A249 has renewed calls for u-turns to be closed.

Kent County Council commissioned a report titled A249 M20/M2 Safety Review Update to find out the extent of problems on the road.

The report says:

• There have been four fatal accidents, 14 serious and 55 slight accidents in the past three years;
• Of the vehicles using the road, 20 per cent are lorries, which is above the national average;
• The accident figures are acceptable when compared to other similar roads in Kent.

It comes as there were two more accidents along the same stretch of road in as many days.

The first occurred on Monday when a Peugeot car collided with a Transit van at about 5pm, at a u-turn just before the Stockbury roundabout for the M2. It is not known whether either vehicle was using the u-turn as the time of the incident. No-one was injured.

Then on Tuesday two people were injured after a van and a car crashed near the Three Squirrels pub. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Rachel Rook, 30 from, Iwade, near Sittingbourne has been campaigning for the u-turns to close for the last two years, since her father died.

Courier David Murray-Hill, 62, from Sittingbourne, died after driving into a low-loader, which braked suddenly when two foreign lorry drivers made u-turns. An inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Rachel Rook tells kmfm what she thinks should be done on the A249

Miss Rook wants a roundabout put somewhere along the road and has set up a page on Facebook as well as organising a petition. She is pleased the report acknowledges there is a problem she says there is still a long way to go.

KCC is struggling to find a suitable place for a roundabout. The report suggests the Detling showground area as a problem and suggests closing that u-turn or lowering the speed limit.

Kent county councillors will discuss the report at the next meeting of the transport committee in September.