A motorcyclist has taken his personal campaign for a dual carriageway on one of Norfolk's most dangerous roads directly to the top - by launching a petition on the 10 Downing Street website.
A motorcyclist has taken his personal campaign for a dual carriageway on one of Norfolk's most dangerous roads directly to the top - by launching a petition on the 10 Downing Street website.
Steven Dix, of Oxford Avenue, Gorleston, believes the A47 Acle Straight, from Acle to Yarmouth, should be dualled to prevent further accidents and deaths, and hopes the petition will force people to “sit up and listen”.
He said: “If everybody who uses the road signs the petition, then the government might finally take action.
“Safety improvements are long overdue. The only way you will save lives is to have the road dualled, and get rid of the roadside ditches.”
Mr Dix, a regular user of the
eight-mile stretch, has launched the petition on the website that attracted more than a million signatures about road pricing proposals.
He said: “After the business of road pricing, I thought this would be an effective way to try and get something done.”
Michael Edney, Norfolk police's casualty reduction officer, said that dual carriageways were inherently safer than single carriageways.
He said: “The roadside ditches are one of the main problems because cars involved in accidents often end up in them.
“However, most of the accidents tend to be the result of driver error. Drivers who overtake put their lives, and the lives of others, at risk, so a lot of the safety aspects could be improved through driver behaviour.”
Yarmouth MP Tony Wright said: “I am concerned with the safety aspects of the road and, in the past, dualling of the road has been heavily supported. The last petition gained 20,000 signatures.
“The fact remains that, in the short to medium term, there is little chance of getting things moving with regards to dualling, but I hope this changes with the coming of the outer harbour and the expected increase in traffic.”
Chief executive of Yarmouth Borough Council, Richard Packham, said: “I think we should use all levers that we can to lobby government for improved infrastructure.
“We need investment to keep up with developments happening in the town.”
Sign the petition at http:// petitions.pm.gov.uk/A47-DEATHS/
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