Fixing the slip roads onto the A34

"To get onto the A34, drivers first have to make a perilous journey down what must be some of the most dangerous slip roads in England."

So says the MP for Reading West and mid Berkshire, Olivia Bailey, who is calling for safety improvements to the slip roads leading from the villages of East Ilsley and Beedon on to one of the South's busiest A roads.

The MP is hoping to get a bill through Parliament to make the slip roads safer. Her campaign is now moving on to its next stage.

There is no guarantee the bill would become law but even if it does not get that far, it is putting the spotlight on a part of the local road network that can make even the most confident of drivers nervous.

Tony Brainbrigge from Tadley contacted BBC Radio Berkshire and said that, even though he is an experienced driver, he thought the road "can be quite lethal".

"I prefer to use the sliproads at quieter times but during busier times I sometimes go through Newbury to get onto the A34 instead," he said.

Back in 2017 and following a safety review, National Highways introduced a series of improvements to make the A34 through Berkshire safer, including widening and resurfacing the East Ilsley slip road.

It is now looking at what else it can do to improve safety on the slip roads, both there and at Beedon, but, while welcoming this, Olivia Bailey said she wanted National Highways to move faster.

National Highways says it was continuing to review safety with Greg Stone, its route manager for this stretch of the A34, saying: "The A34 around East Ilsley is due to be resurfaced in the spring, whch will include the slip road, and improved safety barriers will be installed at East Ilsley.

"This should improve safety for road users and has been prioritised following recent incidents."

Drivers who have to navigate the short slip roads onto fast moving traffic on the A34 itself have to accelerate hard to match the speed of the cars and lorries heading up the busy A road, knowing they may have to brake to a hard stop on the slip road at the last second if no gap appears.

Matt Staton who's the Head of Consultancy at Agilysis Limited, a Transport and Road Safety data specialist based in Banbury, said: "My advice would be to be prepared to slow and stop if you have to on the slip road.

"If you're following another car down the slip road you should also be preparing for the fact that you may have to stop behind that car too."

He added: "It's clear that there are challenges in joining the junction there but I think it's also worth mentioning that that type of junction would be much safer than having a T-junction or an equivalent on to that kind of road."

The Reading West and mid Berkshire MP Olivia Bailey is not alone in calling for more safety improvements on the slip roads leading onto the A34.

She is working closely with her fellow MP, the Newbury Liberal Democrat Lee Dillon to speed things up.

National Highways said it was listening to both the MPs' and their residents' concerns, adding that England's motorways and major A-roads are some of the safest in the world.