Accident blackspot is 'most dangerous' in the West Midlands
A main route between Stourbridge and Kidderminster has been branded the most dangerous road in the West Midlands in a new survey.
The report says there were 13 serious crashes on the four-mile stretch of the A451 in a four-year period – including one that killed an elderly couple from Dudley. Now a Road Safety Foundation study has singled out the road, which runs through Norton and Iverley, and has now seen speed limit reductions, as the most "high risk" in the region.
Joseph and Lily Fellows from Netherton, who were aged 85 and 84 respectively, died after a collision involving five cars on the road in May 2010. They were enjoying a day out when the tragedy happened in Ismere.
A car also ended up in a front garden after overturning at the roundabout with Racecourse Lane two years ago.
Two cars crashed at the Axborough crossroads on Boxing Day last year, leaving a 77-year-old woman with a broken collar bone and a 75-year-old male passenger having to be freed by the emergency services.
And a lorry careered off the road near the Old Waggon and Horses pub in Ismere in 2008, knocking down an electricity pylon.
The study looks at the period between 2006 and 2010. Since then, action has been taken.
Speed limits for most of the road were reduced in March this year from 60mph to 50mph, and between Iverley and Norton the limit is now 40mph.
Councillor Howard Martin, who represents Broadwaters at the Kidderminster end of the A451, said: "It is a single carriageway road and there is always the danger that people will be tempted to overtake.
"I think there should be an accident awareness campaign."
