CRASHES continued to blight Herefordshire’s roads this week, with seven people injured in one accident near Leominster.

A further three crashes on Sunday resulted in casualties being taken to hospital, the latest in a spate of accidents on our roads.

Now the Hereford Times calling on drivers to take care.

We are especially concerned that accidents might increase as the dark nights arrive in earnest when the clocks go back on October 27.

We will be making efforts as that date approaches to remind drivers of the need to obey speed limits and adjust their driving to suit road conditions.

On Tuesday, three cars and a lorry were involved in a crash on the A44 at Docklow, but West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said modern safety systems in cars did their job.

Seven casualties were treated at the scene on Tuesday evening by ambulance medics.

A spokesperson said: “Five patients from one car assessed and treated by ambulance staff, two taken to hospital as a precaution, three discharged, along with the man from the other car.”

Fire crews from Bromyard and Leominster were also at the scene, dealing with a fuel spillage after the smash.

Another crash involving three vehicles closed the main road between Hereford and Worcester on Sunday morning, and one person was trapped in a vehicle.

WMAS said they were called at 10.30am to the A4103 near Bishop’s Frome, and treated two patients injured in the crash, including a women who was treated for potentially serious injuries.

Later that day, a crash between a car and motorbike blocked the A49 at Hope-Under-Dinmore.

On Sunday evening, two cars caught fire after crashing on the B4220 near Stony Cross. A young man was treated for potentially serious injuries.

Earlier this month a serious accident shut the A49 at Dinmore.

A lorry driver was killed in a crash that closed the main road between Bromyard and Worcester earlier this month.

The tragedy brought a call for a review of safety on the A44.

And two men in a vintage Model A Ford were killed in a crash with an ambulance on the A49 near Ross-on-Wye on August 25.

Hereford Times comment

TODAY the Hereford Times launches a short but important campaign to stem the horrific spate of accidents on Herefordshire’s roads.

We are moved to action after weeks of reporting what seems to have been crash after crash.

There have, sadly, been fatalities. But there must also be relief that there have not been more.

It is too early to say if these accidents are out of the ordinary, or just part of a relentless annual sequence on our winding rural roads.

We have asked the police to examine their statistics, and will report back to you.

In the meantime, our worries are mounting about the approaching end of British Summer Time on October 27.

This is the date when the clocks go back, and darkness descends quicker and denser while our roads are still busy with rush-hour traffic.

At the same time, the weather worsens, with rain and even ice posing additional risks to safety.
So until then we will be making every effort to remind drivers to take greater care.

We do not yet know the cause of the recent crashes, and there may, of course, be a myriad of factors at play.

But we do know that statistically excess speed plays a part in the majority of road accidents.

So we appeal to drivers to cut their speed, take greater care, and remember that it is so much better to be a few minutes late than be involved in a crash that could have deadly consequences.