Pressure is growing from north Kent residents for road safety improvements on the Sheppey Crossing after 130 vehicles collided with one another in heavy fog last Thursday morning.

Sittingbourne & Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson has said he will be asking the Department for Transport to undertake an urgent review of safety on the bridge to ensure a similar incident does not happen again.

The bridge opened in 2006 to carry the A249 towards the town of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. There are no streetlights on the bridge and the structure carries a maximum speed limit of 70MPH.

Mr Henderson said: “I think it is important that we wait to learn the results of the accident investigation before coming to any conclusions on lighting. But I think matrix signs are needed to warn motorists of potential hazards.”

Road safety advisor Kevin Clinton from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “The incident does suggest that many drivers were going too fast for the conditions.” He added that lighting on the bridge would be something to consider along with a reduced speed of 50MPH.

The Highways Agency said that the design of the bridge is consistent with a maximum speed of 70MPH.

Following the incident, AA President Edmund King called for a mandatory reduced speed limit on all roads during poor weather, as is the case on autoroutes in France.

(Photo: Jaime Emmett)

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