The ‘dangerous’ road with so many crashes one’s even been …
It is considered a ‘hazardous’ stretch of A-road due to the number of crashes that take place. The A4123 Wolverhampton Road in Sandwell[1] has seen numerous smashes over recent months and years, resulting in serious injuries and some even being tragically fatal.
The 2.8-mile stretch between Birchley Island and Hagley Road West, in Oldbury[2], was earlier this year labelled “dangerous”[3] and a “death trap” by Old Warley Cllr Jay Anandou, who is campaigning for better road safety measures on the part of the road that runs through his ward. Now it’s been revealed that Google[4] Street View has captured a crash on the road, highlighting just how many crashes actually take place there.
The smash was photographed by the company’s passing camera car on Wolverhampton Road, at the junction with Causeway Green Road, in the Langley ward. Two cars were pictured having sustained serious damage – with one left lying on its roof – while a number of people were gathered around the smash site. A van was also pulled up next to the wreckage.
It’s unclear whether anyone was injured. But the dark grey hatchback was pictured on its roof, with its front door open and glass shattered, and it had come to rest on the pavement through a set of metal railings. A grey Mercedes was seen nearby, with its front bumper ripped off and bonnet crumpled.
The crashed appears on Google Street View for April 2021. The possibility of Google’s car capturing a collision is slim. On average, the car has only passed through that junction once every 12 months for the past seven years.
Causeway Green Road (Image: Google)
Cllr Jay Anandou, reacting to the finding, said: “I’m not surprised at all (with) the number of accidents we are having on that stretch. You get a lot of accidents on the Causeway Green and Wolverhampton Road junction.
“Basically, the entire stretch where you have the Birchley Island, the junction there, to all the way to where you have the McDonald’s[6] on the Hagley Road.” Cllr Anandou said railings by the McDonald’s have been left “massively damaged and barely hanging”.
“It’s been raised with the council, which they didn’t fix for a few months, and that’s because cars have been frequently crashing there. It almost looks like they are just turning a blind eye on this entire stretch because that stretch is dangerous. If it is not one junction, you get accidents on another junction.”
The crashes on Wolverhampton Road:
Cllr Anandou has documented a number of crashes which have taken place on Wolverhampton Road at the junction with Queensway and Parsons Hill, which lies within his ward Old Warley. He is calling on Sandwell Council to make improvements to the junction.
Speaking in April this year, Cllr Anandou said: “People come quite fast through here. There are no road signs, so it becomes quite dangerous. We have had several accidents here over the last years, we have had fatal accidents as well, people dying in this very junction.”
In response to concerns raised about the junction[7] with Queensway, a Sandwell Council spokesperson said in April: “The council takes its responsibilities seriously and is delivering road safety measures at key locations across the borough to help reduce road casualties. A quarter of Sandwell’s road network now has 20mph zones and there has been an increase in road safety measures and initiatives, thanks to the council’s evidence-based Strategic Road Safety Plan.
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“Our Road Safety Team has helped reduce casualties in the borough by 19% from 2017 to 2021. There was a reduction in casualties in all areas and significantly the number of child accident/casualties was reduced by 30%.
“In January 2022, a series of average speed cameras became active along the A4123 Wolverhampton Road, a stretch which covers the Queensway Junction. In the three years before the average speed enforcement was installed, there were on average five casualties a year recorded at the junction of Queensway and Wolverhampton Road.
“In the year following the installation, one casualty has been recorded. The safety measures installed on the A4123 have vastly improved safety for all road users in this area and we will continue to monitor this location.”
References
- ^ Sandwell (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Oldbury (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ labelled “dangerous” (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Google (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ I visited the ‘death trap’ road that residents avoid using over fears they could be ‘killed’ (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ McDonald’s (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ concerns raised about the junction (www.birminghammail.co.uk)