The Welsh Lane B4525 Accidents and Improvements The Welsh lane (B4525) has become a Red Route (route with high number of fatalities and injuries). In the 2 years from jan98 to dec 2000 there have been 55 accidents with death and injury 4 fatal 19 serious injury 32 slight injury The Causes of accidents 53% drivers loss of control 16% Dangerous overtaking Speeding was a major contributory cause Failure to stop at Junctions 70% in daylight 65% dry conditions 17% involved HGV's Actions speed limits down to 40 mph at Crowfield and Thorpe Mandeville speed cameras : 2 mobile and 2 stationary roundabouts at Helmdon and Middleton Cheney junctions major road maintenance scheme planned for 2003 Bid to end road Carnage by Victoria Taylor (Banbury Guardian 24th May 2001) THE SPEED limit is to be cut by a third on one of the area's busiest roads in a bid to save lives. The limit is to be dropped from 60mph to 40mph around the vil lages of Thorpe Mandeville and Crowfield on the B4525 or Welsh Lane. The change should take place in the next few weeks and will be en forced by speed cameras. Between January 1998 and De cember 2000 four people were killed and 19 people seriously in jured along the Welsh Lane. A fur ther 28 people were slightly in jured. Northamptonshire County Coun cil is to .pHiU <;750,000 over the next two years to make the road safer. This will mean roundabouts at the Middleton Cheney and Helm- don junctions and work at the junc tion with the A43. Two mobile speed cameras are to be established along the road and two permanent speed cameras will be installed. On Monday, Northamptonshire Police's Safety Camera Project was launched at the Middleton Cheney junction to tell people about the plans and hand out leaflets warning motorists. The leaflets will also be left in shops and post offices, handed out to parish councils and distributed in our sister publication, the Banbury Citizen. County spokesman Naomi Cooper said: "This is a very dan gerous road. On my way to the roadshow I witnessed two near ac cidents. "A car driver taking a comer at speed went onto the other side of the road and a lorry driver nearly didn't stop at a junction. "The B4525 is a dangerous route with speeding, dangerous overtak ing and basically people not being patient with other road users." Five people have been seriously injured and five slightly hurt at the Middleton Cheney junction in the last three years. Parish councillor Jean Green said villagers had been campaigning for a roundabout at the crossroads for six years and were delighted work was to be carried out. She said: "We've been talking about the danger at this crossroads for a long, long time. At last there is something in sight and we are thrilled about it."