FOI request reveals number of crashes at Dorset roundabout
The Bakers Arms Roundabout runs along the A35 at Lytchett Minster in Dorset.
The Daily Echo submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request after reporting on multiple crashes constantly occurring at the Bakers Arms Roundabout in Wareham.
These figures show injury collisions reported to the police within 30 days of the occurrence.
In January and February this year, there was a combined total of 34 crashes.
In 2023, there were 151 minor crashes, a significant increase from the number of serious crashes that year which totalled 24 incidents.
The data from the Dorset Road Safety Department shows crashes in the area of Bakers Arms Roundabout.
However, the number of serious crashes in 2023 has decreased
These do not include medical episodes, off-road collisions or confirmed suicides.
In total, there were 407 collisions within five miles of Bakers Arms Roundabout between January 2022 and February of 2024, four of which were fatal.
Speaking on the figures, a spokesperson for Dorset Council said: "Our Road Safety Team is currently undertaking a review of the collisions that have occurred in the Bakers Arms area.
“A wide variety of factors influence the occurrence of road traffic[2] collisions, many of which are outside the direct control of the council such as human error and behaviour.
“Road safety is one of the highest priorities for the council and we adopt the safe systems model which seeks amongst other things to implement mitigations that can address common human errors or the consideration of more significant highway improvements when required."
In January earlier this year, a man was airlifted to Southampton Hospital after being involved in a motorbike crash on the roundabout.
In 2021, a man in his 30s died in hospital four days after a single-vehicle crash, also on the Bakers Arms Roundabout.
Earlier this month, police were called to help recover two cars that had been involved in a crash on June 3.
Last December, there was an arrest made after a three-vehicle crash near the same roundabout.
A man in his 40s from Bournemouth was arrested on suspicion of a driving offence and taken to hospital for treatment of injuries not believed to be serious.
Livestock have also suffered, in July 2023, emergency services rushed to an incident where two cows died after a lorry overturned at the roundabout.
References
- ^ Bournemouth (www.bournemouthecho.co.uk)
- ^ traffic (www.bournemouthecho.co.uk)