Herald Express (Torbay, Brixham & South Hams Edition)
Speed limit will be extended to reduce accidents
COUNCILLORS have unanimously agreed that the South Devon Highway’s 50mph speed limit should be extended back over the Teign Bridge.
The Teignbridge Highways and Traffic Orders Committee agreed that to reduce traffic speeds and to reduce the likelihood of a collision on the South Devon Highway and on Besigheim Way, the 70mph speed limit on the southbound approach to the Penn Inn should be slashed to 50mph.
The two 50mph speed limit terminal signs for the southbound traffic, which are currently located 610 metres north of the junction with Penn Inn, will be moved 500m back up the road, so they are 1,110m north of Penn Inn.
Cllr Gordon Hook, county councillor for Newton Abbot South, said that the proposal was a much needed road safety measure that will hopefully reduce the number of accidents on the road. A road safety audit revealed that three of the six collisions on the approach to the southbound Penn Inn either involved late or sudden manoeuvres from the nearside lane to the offside, or rear end shunts resulting from sudden braking with drivers not reacting to rapidly developing queues of traffic.
Cllr Hook added: “I would equally urge consideration to be given to additional signage on both sides of the river crossing indicating the need for motorists to get into the correct
Besigheim Way, Newton Abbot, approach to the Penn Inn junction lane as soon as possible. A number of motorists find themselves in the wrong lane and as the light dawns, they make a rapid lane switch, resulting in further bumps and shunts. I believe is as least as important a road safety issue to address as the speeding problem.”
Cllr Alistair Dewhirst added that the 50mph speed limit extension was “not what we asked for, as it should be extended a lot further”. He added: “I use that section of road almost every day and the problems all start at the Teignmouth/Kingsteignton turn-off, but this is better than nothing. The signage is hugely confusing as people change lanes all the time as they don’t know what lane to be in, and the signs are hidden away in the hedge.”
The HATOC was also told the proposal to move the 50mph boundary will not affect the introduction of average speed cameras scheduled to be installed in winter 2018-19.