A LETHAL stretch of road has been given the police treatment this week in a bid to prevent more crashes happening in the future.

The A1060 was marshalled by traffic officers after a number of accidents over many years have resulted in serious injures and in many instances death.

Leading a dedicated safety drive, partnership and community engagement officer PC Deborah Gray Farrer said: “The Dunmow Roads Policing unit carried out a road check on the A1060 in Hatfield Heath in a bid to reduce the number of seriously injured fatal road traffic collisions along that road.”

The most high-profile case was in July 2010 when 29-year-old motorcyclist Steven Martin was killed in an accidental collision with a black cab on his way to Chelmsford.

PC Gray Farrer explained that the A1060 is considered by the force as one of the top killed and serious injury roads within Essex.

She said: “The four most common factors that can have a big impact in RTC’s are drink/drug driving, excessive speeding , using a mobile phone and failing to wear a seat belt.

“We continue to tackle offending behaviour through education, engagement and enforcement and feel we made a positive impact.”

Between 7am and 10am, 10 breath tests were carried out, all of which were negative, three fixed penalty notices were issued for using mobile phones whilst driving, 16 fixed penalty notices were issued for failing to wear a seat belt and seven fixed penalty notices were issued for excess speed.

Rose Johnson, an Essex County Council road safety officer, educated 12 drivers – two for mobile phone use, nine for not wearing seat belts and one for excess speed.

PC Gray Farrer added: “The residents of Hatfield Heath are always extremely welcoming, and the drivers who flashed their headlights to warn other drivers that we were working in the area will be dealt with accordingly.”

• IS speed a problem along country roads in rural Uttlesford? Tell us your experiences by e-mailing editor@dunmow-broadcast.co.uk.