A petition has been created by a Hereford woman, hoping to increase the road safety on the A49 road, south of Hereford city. The online petition, published on change.org has so far attracted more than 2,000 signatures in a just a few days.

Caroline Slough created the petition after the most recent collision which took place on the A49, near to the Toyota Garage at Callow. In this incident, three vehicles were involved in a collision, which saw a sheep trailer on top of a car.

Although no-one was killed; three people had to be taken to hospital to be checked over.

Caroline told the Ross Gazette that she had witnessed this most recent crash take place. One of the drivers involved in the collision was a friend of hers, and she had children in her car. Caroline said that she had wanted to do something about the road safety along that stretch of road for a long time, but what she witnessed on March 16th spurred her in to action.

She explained that the stretch of road is dangerous, particularly at the junction turning to the nursery; she said people turning off to the nursery will likely have children in the car, so extra care needs to be taken. "There’s such a nasty black spot there," she said. "The road does not look hazardous, but it is. Drivers have built up speed from the Callow and they may not realise there is a junction."

This is not the first crash to happen in the area, along the road; in November last year, the local community was devastated after a young man, Ivan Thomas Wemyss, from Phocle Green near Ross-on-Wye, died after he was involved in a severe road traffic collision on November 6th. He was taken to hospital in Birmingham with serious injuries, but he died on Monday, November 9th.

Just a few days later, another fatal crash occurred; Joseph Mayers, aged 36, died following a crash between the Renault Clio he was driving and a lorry.

Caroline Slough told the Ross Gazette: “Following the serious accident involving a sheep trailer and two young families on the A49 just south of Hereford, I would like to inform your readers of a petition that is to be sent to Highways England and to the local highways authority urging them to introduce safety features at and around the site to prevent further accidents."

“These safety features include a 40mph speed limit, school signs (there is a nursery school which is accessed via this turning), clearer Reduce Speed notices and the construction of a wider splay at the bottom of Norton Brook Lane to improve visibility and leave room for two cars on the lane at the junction with the A49.

“The petition has 2242 signatures and this number is increasing every minute. It is not surprising that there is so much support as it is very clear that many dangerous areas of the A49 are in desperate need of review. I am moved by many of the comments where family members have been lost on this stretch of road."

To sign the petition, please click here