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MPs Tom Tugendhat, Greg Clark and Amber Rudd request changes to be made on A21 between Tunbridge Wells and Pembury following deaths
17:30, 16 October 2019
updated: 14:55, 30 October 2019
A group of MPs have issued a call to improve the safety of a busy road near Tonbridge which has seen several crashes and deaths this year.
Tom Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge and Malling, and his colleagues Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells and Amber Rudd, MP for Hastings and Rye, have all signed a letter addressed to the chief executive of Highways England, Jim O’Sullivan.
KMTV's Louisa Britton reports
They are calling for improvements to be made to the A21, particularly on the newly dualled section between Tonbridge and Pembury.
The letter explains the trio have been approached by several of their constituents expressing their concerns about the safety of the road for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, plus families who have lost their loved ones in accidents on the stretch of road.
There have been several accidents on the road in the past year, some resulting in the death of drivers.
In July, 38-year-old Subhash Pai was driving from his home in Tunbridge Wells to the Dumbledore Dental Care practice in Handcross, Haywards Heath, when he crashed his car on the A21 Pembury Bypass, between Longfield Road roundabout, Tunbridge Wells, and the junction with the A26, Tonbridge.
He died at the scene after his car hit the central barrier and left the carriageway.
In addition, Michael Outlaw, from Aylesford, died 10 days after being involved in a crash on May Bank Holiday when the 62-year-old’s motorbike crashed into two other motorcycles.
The letter urges Mr O’Sullivan to consider improvements, suggested by the coroner during an inquest relating to a crash on the road, in its latest Road Safety Audit which evaluates highway improvement schemes.
The letter includes four recommendations and reads: “There is no variable message system or means of warning motorists to slow down during adverse weather conditions. Could consideration be given to the installation of an appropriate variable message system or other signage to warn motorists of the presence of surface water and to reduce speed.
“From the police evidence surface water was flowing across the width of the carriageway prior to the collision site. Could the drainage at this point be reviewed/improved to reduce the volume of water running across the carriageway.”
The letter also calls for changes to the fence after evidence was found a driver was hit by a panel which was found to be around the same height as a seated driver.
They also want a collision barrier installed to protect people on a footpath behind the fence.
A Highways England spokesman said: “Improving safety on the A21 was a key aim of ours when we upgraded it to a dual carriageway in 2017, and early indications are that it is successfully reducing collisions.
"We are keeping its safety performance continually under review.
"We regularly assess all our major improvement schemes through Road Safety Audits as well as reviews of any accident clusters or safety issues. We will respond to the MP’s letter in detail in due course.
