A ROAD campaigner is calling for safety measures to be installed at an unsafe junction where traffic "thunders past" around the clock.
Mark Cole, chairman of the Colchester and District Driving Instructors’ Association, highlighted issues about the junction off the A120 and Primrose Lane, in Wrabness, in a letter to Highways England.
He emailed Highways England on February 23 regarding the dangers of the junction, which is set at a 90 degree angle to the A120.
Mr Cole said drivers have to brake and lose substantial speed in order to safely make the turn - which can be especially dangerous if an HGV is directly behind.
Drivers have to slow their speed down from about 60mph to 15mph to take the turning, he claims.
He added: "Even more difficult is a right turn, which I understand locals avoid - preferring to drive through Ramsey and past Stour Woods for safety reasons.
"The difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that both national and international traffic thunders past this junction 24/7 and the lack of local road knowledge only adds to the risk."
He has called on Essex Highways to modify the junction by installing a longer slip road off the A120 towards Wrabness.
His other suggestion would be to engineer a Y-junction - coupled with a filter lane - to assist with turning right.
Mr Cole said he received a response from Highways England stating the data it holds for the junction of the A120 and Primrose Lane does not show a history of recent collisions and the last recorded injury at the junction was in 2012.
He said he was told it would not be reasonable for Highways England to prioritise the junction when data from other locations show a greater need for attention.
An Essex Highways spokesperson said: “Proposals for road safety improvements are best put initially to the local Essex County councillor, in this case Mr Andrew Erskine, for his support in raising it at the Tendring Local Highway Panel.”
“Mr Andrew Erskine’s email address is cllr.andy.erskine@essex.gov.uk”
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