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Calls for better driving after man dies in Bidford collision and more crashes at Campden blackspot




A FAMILY living at an accident blackspot near Chipping Campden fear waking up in the early hours to find a fatality outside their house after a series of alarming crashes.

Their worries and appeal for better driving comes as the country marks National Road Victim Month throughout August.

The family’s fears were echoed by many residents who have expressed their despair at the reckless and dangerous driving they observe, even as tragic stories hit the headlines.

Every day, five people are killed and 80 people are seriously injured, on average, on UK roads.

In Warwickshire, 29 people lost their lives in road collisions in 2023, while 260 were seriously injured. On Sunday (4th August) around 6am, a 60-year-old man died, while a 28-year-old male and 18-year-old female were seriously injured following a two-car collision near Bidford on the B439 Evesham Road near the Wixford Road junction.

While the cause of the accident is unknown and is being investigated, people living on the road were sadly not surprised at the loss of life.

Campden to Mickleton blackspot. Image: Facebook
Campden to Mickleton blackspot. Image: Facebook

Sharing thoughts on Facebook, Jackie Smith said: “We live on this road and have tried to get the speed limit lowered. The council said we haven’t had any fatalities, but we have now, so will they do something? This road is like a racetrack, help us to get it safer.”

In response, a spokesperson from Warwickshire County Council said: “We have a process where work is prioritised in areas with a history of accidents, this information is led by data gathered over a period of time. It is too early at this stage to identify if this will be a priority area, however we are liaising with the police over what caused the accident.”

According to the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents, nearly all crashes are due to human error.

A spokesperson explained: “The word ‘accident’ to describe an event on the road has fallen out of fashion as it implies being blameless. In reality, car crashes aren’t accidents and 94 per cent are due to human error, not an accident. Police often use the word ‘collision’ instead whereas the general public often just say ‘crash’.”

The government statistics on collisions are eye-opening. It shows that the leading cause (67 per cent) is ‘driver error or reaction’; this is followed by ‘failure to look’ with 37 per cent; and ‘behaviour or inexperience’ at 23 per cent.

Other reasons are: loss of control, poor manoeuvre, pedestrian not looking, slippery road due to weather conditions, sudden braking, driving too fast for the road conditions or following another vehicle too closely.

All of these ‘driver errors’ are ones that could be avoided.

The Campden blackspot that attracted attention in the last week is the B4081 (Campden Road) heading downhill to Mickleton.

Owners of a house near to an often misjudged corner on the downhill road shared a photo on Facebook of the latest car to crash literally outside their house last Saturday.

Incredibly, it is the sixth such incident in 18 months – and worryingly five of those crashes involved a young male driver.

Addressing local drivers, the family said: “Every time this happens we open our front door to expect the worst. I am writing this, in hope, and asking you to please slow down on the Campden Road. It just seems to be a question of time before we as a family are faced with the worst case scenario of pulling someone’s mum, dad, daughter, son or friend’s dead body from the car. Can I please urge parents of young drivers to speak with them as five out of the six vehicles were drivers under 25.

“And to everyone who is travelling past our family home, just slow down before someone gets seriously hurt.”

According to the government, young male drivers aged 17–24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a car accident than drivers aged 25 or older. And 65 per cent of casualties from collisions involving at least one younger driver were male, and 32 per cent of those were male drivers aged 17–24.

The sobering statistics have led to road safety organisation Brake campaigning to introduce graduated driving licences.

This has been widely supported by bereaved families in Warwickshire, including Patsy and Robbin Suffield from Wootton Wawen. Their 18-year-old son, Neil, was killed as a passenger, along with four teenage friends in 1986, in a 17-year-old driver’s car.

Robbin, 85, told the Herald: “They are promising, intelligent youngsters but the government has to reduce the continuing terrible toll resulting from the inexperience of newly qualified young drivers.”

His wife, Patsy, 83, added: “You are left absolutely bereft when you lose your child in a car crash. We’ve tried for 40 years to get something done. Young drivers pass their test, but they don’t have the experience which is why the government needs to do more education.”



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