§ Mr. WilshireTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the accident record of junction 13 of the M25 over the last five years. [59447]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 24 May 2002]: I have been asked to reply.
In the five years up to July 2001 67 personal injury accidents have been reported at this junction. Of these five have been serious and the rest slight. There have been no fatalities. Some 72 per cent. of the accidents over this period have been nose to tail shunts.
The number and severity of accidents at this junction are similar to those recorded at other motorway junctions with high volumes of traffic.
Last summer the Highways Agency took action to improve driver awareness of the layout by enhancing the signing at this junction. It is too early to conclude how effective this has been in reducing the number of accidents. Traffic signals are due to be installed at the junction as part of the widening of the M25 between Junctions 12 to 15. The road markings are to be renewed shortly and further improvements to the signing are currently being considered. In the meantime the Highways Agency will continue to monitor the situation.