Fifteen people have been hurt in a series of collisions on a Surrey road where authorities are now planning to cut the speed limit by 10mph to improve safety.
A 1.1-mile section of Portsmouth Road has seen 13 crashes since 2020, with two people sustaining serious injuries in separate incidents. The stretch between Claremont Avenue and the A3 bridge currently has a 50mph limit, but Surrey County Council wants to bring it down to 40mph.
Safety concerns have been particularly acute near Claremont Fan Court School, where motorists continue at 50mph right up to the school’s access road before having to brake sharply. Officials believe a lower speed limit would give drivers additional time to reduce their speed safely when approaching the entrance.
The proposal would also create uniformity along the entire Portsmouth Road corridor. The remaining sections of the route running between Esher, Cobham and Kingston already operate at 40mph, meaning the change would eliminate the current variation in limits that drivers currently encounter.
An examination of collision data and speed monitoring information has led council officers to conclude that reducing the limit would make the road safer for all users. Surrey Police have backed the assessment and support the speed reduction plan.
The project is expected to cost less than £20,000, with money being drawn from the council’s central Road Safety budget. New signage will need to be erected along the affected stretch, though officials have stressed they will keep installations to a minimum. Where feasible, signs will be mounted on posts that already exist to avoid cluttering the roadside. Any new posts required will be carefully positioned to ensure they do not create obstacles for pedestrians or other road users.
The council has ruled out installing speed cameras as an alternative measure. According to the authority, permanent camera installations are only considered in locations where there is a persistent long-term speeding problem that cannot be addressed through other methods, and where traffic calming infrastructure is practical to implement.
Details of all crash locations reported to police are available to view on CrashMap, an online service that plots incidents across the country based on reports made to officers.
The proposal is currently going through consultation, with the council gathering feedback before making a final decision on implementation.
