ROAD safety campaigners have renewed their calls for parts of the A140 to be dualled in the wake of the 80th fatality on the road in 21 years.Former county councillor and county surveyor Jeffrey Stansfield, who has campaigned for improvements to the Ipswich-Norwich route, has accused Suffolk County Council of a lack of commitment on the safety of the road.

By Danielle Nuttall

ROAD safety campaigners have renewed their calls for parts of the A140 to be dualled in the wake of the 80th fatality on the road in 21 years.

Former county councillor and county surveyor Jeffrey Stansfield, who has campaigned for improvements to the Ipswich-Norwich route, has accused Suffolk County Council of a lack of commitment on the safety of the road.

He claimed yesterday the road signs the council had introduced to warn motorists of the dangers were not good enough, and said dualling was the only option.

"All the county council seems to be doing is using pots of paint and signs as a temporary measure and they're proving to be totally inadequate," he said.

"I want some commitment, and we haven't had any for 12 years from the county council. There has been none at all from the Department of Transport.

"It's a very ancient problem and the fact that now 80 people have died because of inadequacies of the road make it a very real problem indeed."

Mr Stansfield was speaking after Saturday's A140 accident, which claimed the life of 22-year-old student Alisa Biddlecombe.

The crash happened shortly after midday when her Vauxhall Nova was in collision with a Mitsubishi Spacewagon.

Mr Stansfield said the A140 needed to be dualled from Needham Market through to the county's border with Norfolk.

"Every incident shocks me. We have been on about this for ages now. County Hall seems to be totally deaf and insensitive to these appeals of common sense," he added.

But Liberal Democrat leader Peter Monk, portfolio holder for public protection, said dualling the A140 was not the answer to the problem, and said motorists needed to drive more carefully.

"There's more money and work being done under the county council than there was under the Highways Agency," he said. The road was de-trunked several years ago and responsibility for it passed from the HA to the county council.

Mr Monk added: "Everybody is aware we have built in a lot of measures to improve safety along the A140.

"Dual carriageways are not the answer to the problems. It might make the motorists feel like they are getting there quicker but our roads in the county are busier and people have got to drive more carefully."

n The road was the scene of another crash last night, on its northbound stretch at Mendlesham, near Stowmarket.

Police were called to the scene at 5.45pm after a lorry and a car collided. Rush hour traffic was held up, but the occupants of both vehicles only suffered minor injuries.