THE number of accidents on a stretch of the M40 has sparked a Government review of the motorway's safety.

Between January 2013 and April 2015, there have been 432 crashes on the M40, which has five junctions between Thame and Banbury.

But Highways England said the number of crashes between junction 8a, Oxford, and junction 10, Cherwell Valley Services, was steadily on the increase – going against the trend for the rest of the route.

Roads experts will now be look at what has caused the rise along that stretch to see what can be done about it.

Oxford Mail:

  • An aerial view of February's crash

Spokeswoman Sarah Silk said: “We have noticed a slight increase in incidents between junction 8a and 10 recently and we are carrying out a further look at the causes of these incidents to see if there are any changes we can make that will have a worthwhile safety benefit.”

Almost half of all Oxfordshire M40 crashes were on the stretch of motorway between junction 9, Bicester, and 10, Cherwell Valley Services.

The stretch saw 78 crashes in 2013, 94 in 2014, and 30 so far in 2015.

Another 40 per cent of the accidents since the start of 2013 were between junction 10, Cherwell Valley Services, and 11, Banbury.

Along that route there were 79 in 2013, 72 in 2014 and 24 so far in 2015.

By contrast the stretch between junction 8, Oxford, and 9, Bicester, saw just 10 accidents in whole 28-month period.

Ms Silk said the overall trend was that crashes on the M40 had gone down between 2010 and 2013.

Oxford Mail:

  • The traffic build-up after the collision

She added: “Safety is Highways England’s top priority and we regularly monitor safety on the M40 between junctions 6 and 12, as we do everywhere on our network.”

Sallie Wright, co-chair of Bicester Traffic Action Group (TAG), said that speeding drivers could be the problem.

She said: “I can’t see any reason that anybody would crash there short of being very careless or speeding.”

Oxford Mail:

  • The crash in 1991

The roadworks to widen the carriageways on the A34 and A41, on and off the M40 at junction 9, had been contributing to this, she added.

“Especially at junction 9, when drivers get all snarled up in traffic at the lights.

“They sit there for a long time and people need to get to work so they go like a bat out of hell.”

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