Crashes in Chepstow Road, Newport prompt traffic safety call
Andrew Griffiths said a driver crashed into his daughter’s parked car in Chepstow Road on Tuesday evening before leaving the scene.
Road safety in the area has “got worse”[1], he said, and despite calls for traffic-calming measures[2], nothing has been done – leaving him fearing “it will take a fatality before something serious happens”.
In the past decade, the Griffiths family has had seven cars written off, and two more damaged, by drivers in crashes on the busy road.
A van driver crashed into Andrew Griffiths' daughter's parked car in Chepstow Road this week. (Image: Andrew Griffiths)
Other residents have fared no better. Mr Griffiths said his “next door neighbour has had 10 cars written off, and on the other side they’ve had two”.
Mr Griffiths was still waiting for his own car, hit by a driver while parked in March, to be returned from a mechanics when his learner-driver daughter’s car was struck this week.
Chepstow Road is one of the main routes connecting eastern Newport to the M4, and residents have previously called it a “death trap” and “the city’s most dangerous road”[3].
Last year, data showed the road was a hotspot for crashes in the city, with more recent incidents[4] than any other street.
In 2020, Mr Griffiths told the Argus “something needs to be done”[5] after a series of smashes.
Speaking this week, he said residents’ pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
“It’s going to take someone to get seriously hurt or die before [the authorities] do something about it,” he said.
Andrew Griffiths' family's car was damaged in a crash in December 2019. Picture: Andrew Griffiths
Newport City Council said there had been safety work in Chepstow Road “in previous years” but “we are not considering any additional traffic calming measures at this time”.
The council has offered to set up a community speed watch scheme with residents, and a spokesperson also said the road’s speed limit would be slashed to 20mph, from 30mph, in line with new Wales-wide laws[6] in September.
Police at the scene of crashes in Chepstow Road in 2020 (top and middle) and 2022. (Image: UGC)
But for Mr Griffiths, lowering the speed limit will do little to curtail drivers who already ignore the rules[7].
“Making it 20mph isn’t going to make any difference, unless they put speed cameras all along Chepstow Road,” he said.
Until the road is made safer, he fears more costly crashes and more stress for his family and neighbours.
“People say ‘move’ and it’s something I’ve really considered, for the safety of my family,” he said.
“These are not scrapes, they’re not scratches. That’s the frightening bit about it.”
Gwent Police confirmed officers were investigating Tuesday’s crash, which “involved a van and two cars, which were parked on the roadside at the time of the collision, and no injuries were reported”.
A spokesperson added: “The van driver did initially stop at the scene although the van was left at the scene and later recovered.
“Enquiries are ongoing to trace the driver and anyone with information can call 101, quoting log reference 2300149933, or send us a direct message on social media.”
References
- ^ Road safety in the area has “got worse” (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
- ^ calls for traffic-calming measures (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
- ^ residents have previously called it a “death trap” and “the city’s most dangerous road” (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
- ^ data showed the road was a hotspot for crashes in the city, with more recent incidents (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
- ^ Mr Griffiths told the Argus “something needs to be done” (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
- ^ the road’s speed limit would be slashed to 20mph, from 30mph, in line with new Wales-wide laws (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)
- ^ lowering the speed limit will do little to curtail drivers who already ignore the rules (www.southwalesargus.co.uk)