Brighton’s Most Dangerous Roads

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News of plans to introduce a 20mph speed limit in Brighton and Hove’s residential streets, as reported in Friday’s Evening Argus, got me thinking about which of the city’s roads are the most dangerous.

In 2010, research by Endsleigh found that Brighton was the seventh riskiest place for motor accidents – Slough was the riskiest and we finished two places below fifth-placed London and just ahead of Manchester and Sheffield.

According to the Office for National Statistics, from 1999 to 2010, 105 people died on the roads in Brighton and Hove local authority. An accident map (reproduced above) shows that many of these tragic fatalities occurred around Brighton city centre.

It is good news that there are already 20mph speed limits in place around many schools in Brighton and Hove – Stanford School in the Prestonville area is one such area – but there are still plenty of places where adult and child pedestrians and road users have to be particularly careful.

Below is a very subjective list of five roads and junctions which I think are particularly hard to cross safely – these roads must pose even more dangers for children.

New England Road (outside the Cobbler’s Thumb pub)

Travelling down from Seven Dials roundabout towards Preston Circus can be a problem on foot. To cross from outside the Cobbler’s Thumb pub to the side of the road nearest the London Road involves paying attention to traffic coming from three directions. The traffic lights at this busy junction seem heavily weighted in favour of drivers – making it very tempting to take a chance and dash across the road.

Preston Circus

The area where the A23, Beaconsfield Road, Viaduct Road, New England Road and London Road intersect is called The Circus for good reason; this junction has all the chaos of a circus and none of the fun.

Obeying the traffic lights and trying to cross the road before vehicles speed past the green light and into your path is a tense and un-enjoyable sport. And then there is the fire station – the doors of which can suddenly spring open to let a fire engine join the fast throng of traffic.

The A23 opposite Preston Park

Preston Park is a lovely place to go to if you want to slow down life and move at a relaxing pace. So it is a bit of a shock to leave the park and try to cross the busy A23 road opposite. This is where lots of vehicles are speeding back to Brighton from London and it is obvious that some drivers are struggling to reduce their speed after a lengthy stretch of time on the motorway.

Vogue Gyratory system near Lewes Road Sainsbury’s

The name ‘Vogue Gyratory’ makes this traffic system sound like a trendy fashion catwalk or an interesting children’s toy but in fact it is neither – anyone who’s been there will know it as a spaghetti junction peopled by confused drivers and pedestrians. The council plans to introduce a separate bus lane and the city’s first cycle-only priority light at the gyratory but there seems to be no plan in place to make life easier for Vogue pedestrians.

Outside Boots at North Street

For as long as I can remember the traffic lights at the corner of North Street and Queens Road (just outside Boots the chemist) has been a dangerous place to cross the road. This is the spot where anxious pedestrians clutching shopping bags must keep one eye on the opposite side of the street and one eye on the double-decker buses which swing round the hilly corner at frightening speeds.

I’m sure there are lots of other places in Brighton which are dangerous to cross – feel free to let me know which roads I’ve failed to mention by using the comment box below.

James Christie writes for GEM Motoring Assist: a road safety association which is also a leading provider of breakdown cover.