'Racetrack' between Yorkshire villages does 'not meet threshold' for speed cameras despite eight serious crashes

Cumwell Lane/Kingsforth Lane was the subject of a petition calling for more safety measures following a number of incidents on the route.

Councillor Simon Ball told the council earlier this year that the road is a “racetrack between the villages”, adding that there had been eight collisions, two loss of life, four serious injuries and eight slight injuries, “all in a short period of time”.

Coun Ball urged Rotherham Council to “go further” with safety measures this year, after the council reduced the speed limit from 60mph to 50mph, resurfaced part of Kingsforth Lane, introduced rain line road markings and installed eflective verge marker posts through several bends.

The council’s overview and scrutiny management board agreed to investigate the viability of average speed cameras along the road – and concluded that “the route does not meet the required threshold for installation of these cameras”, based on speed data.

“Department for Transport criteria stipulates that other cost-effective engineering solutions should be explored before average speed cameras areconsidered,” adds a board report.

A speed survey, undertaken in February 2022, monitored vehicles’ speed on three parts of the road: Cumwell Lane, north of Sandy Lane, Kingsforth Lane, near the fishing ponds bend; and Kingsforth Lane, near the landfill site.

The speed limit at the time was 60mph, and the survey found the majority of vehicles – 14,988 – travelling between 40mph and 60mph at all three points.

The survey found that 125 vehicles were travelling at above 70mph on the road.

A further speed survey was undertaken in November, after the speed limit was reduced to 50mph.

Five vehicles were found to be travelling over 70mph, with 627 travelling between 50mph and 60mph.

The majority of vehicles – 7,336 – were travelling at 40mph-50mph.

The report adds that the new measures will be assessed for the next 12 months to assess their effectiveness, with a reassessment to take place if there is “poor compliance of the speed limit with associated road traffic collisions”.