Calls for reduced speed limit on Chafeys Roundabout, Weymouth

A Weymouth Town councillor has called for a reduction in the 50mph speed limit on Weymouth Way, leading up to Chafeys Roundabout. He is suggesting a 200-yard stretch of the carriageway approaching the roundabout be reduced to 30mph.

The call comes after a crash last week where two women had to be cut free from their car after colliding with another vehicle. The women were both taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Councillor Peter Barrow, a former firefighter who represents the Radipole ward, said: "As a user of the roundabout I have observed that traffic speeds there are fast and it is often quite difficult to get onto the roundabout because of the speed of the cars coming round it.

"I cross the road regularly but when the pedestrian crossing was removed two years ago so that road repairs could be carried out, it became quite scary trying to cross because cars were flying down the road.

"I am hoping that something can be done to reduce the speed of the vehicles leading up to and using the roundabout to make it safer both for motorists and pedestrians."

Cllr Barrow, who is passionate about road safety and trying to reduce accidents on Weymouth's roads, is in the process of taking up the matter of reducing the speed limit with the Dorset Highways team and hopes that they will support him and lower the current 50mph limit.

He said: "I spent 39 years in the fire service and spent a lot of time cutting people out of cars so I know first-hand the kind of life-changing and horrific injuries that can be caused in crashes so this is an issue I care deeply about.

"I am extremely passionate about trying to reduce the number of road traffic collisions that we see in Weymouth and I hope that lowering the speed limit will go some way to help that cause, although more still needs to be done about enforcing the speed limits.

"I also really hope that the young ladies involved in the crash last week make a full recovery."