A Bristol man has spoken out about dangerous driving near his home following a multi-vehicle crash earlier this week, which is the third accident on the same stretch of road in six months. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they were called to Beaufort Road in St George, after reports of a traffic collision involving six vehicles.
The call-out was at around 11.30am on Monday (February 20) and did not cause any significant injuries, but did result in the road being closed for around three hours. Barney Harris lives close by and witnessed the scene moments after the accident, saying: "Basically, two vehicles passed one another at speed and crashed.
"One of the vehicles mounted the pavement and smashed into someone's garden wall. Just 24 hours earlier, my family were walking along that exact spot. It's quite scary to see that we would have been crushed.
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"We immediately just thought about where our children were. Even though they were at school, it just makes you worry because we were walking along that exact stretch of pavement where there was now an SUV crashed into a wall."
Bristol Live has reported on two other crashes on the same stretch of road in the past six months, including one just weeks ago on January 10. Mr Harris claims drivers regularly scale the pavement to pass each over while moving at speed.
The road runs alongside Avonview cemetery and parallel to the A420, leading many to use it as an alternative thoroughfare. According to Mr Harris, heavy traffic is a daily problem for nearby residents.
He said: "Almost every morning, there's a stand-off. People mount the curb shouting with aggressive driving, delays and confusion."
He says that although the road has been earmarked for traffic calming measures for years, such as making it one-way, he says the matter urgently needs addressing. He said: "I emailed our counsellor 20 days ago, saying there's going to be an accident and that I'm really worried.
"I just got some boilerplate reply; I felt just completely unrepresented. It doesn't feel like safety is prioritised on the roads.
"And it feeds into the wider picture of the absolutely disastrous, broken transport network in Bristol, which is, in my view, just completely holding back and the city, which just seems to be paralysed on actually implementing joint strategic reforms to how people get around the city.
"Bus services are still practically useless for most people, so then people have to drive. Because so many people are driving that makes public transport worse and makes it dangerous for cyclists, which then disincentives cycling, which then puts more cars on the road."
In his email to the council, Mr Harris wrote: "Without wanting to sound too alarmist, I actually think there is a direct threat to life, and it is just a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or killed".
In response to Bristol Live raising the issue, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “Driver behaviour on Beaufort Road in this part of St George is among the issues that have been raised by local residents as part of our East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood pilot project.
“During the second round of engagement, we asked the community to tell us what potential solutions they would like to see on their streets. Over the last few months, we have been analysing this feedback and are working on designs for how we can improve the road and make it safer and more pleasant for everyone. We look forward to sharing our plan in the coming months and publishing the engagement report soon.
“In the meantime, our highways team has been in touch with the police to make them aware of the community’s road safety concerns to ensure they are aware of the issue.”
Avon and Somerset Police has appealed to the public for witnesses to Monday's collision. A spokesperson said: “If anyone witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage and has not yet spoken to police, we encourage them to call 101 and quote reference 5223041128.”
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