‘It’s a fatality waiting to happen’: Drivers hit 60mph and flip cars on road with 25 crashes this year

Residents on a road that has seen at least 25 car crashes on it this year alone are desperate for safety measures to be introduced “before a child gets killed”.

Croxted Road, a main road that runs between Brockwell Park and West Dulwich station, has been the scene of many dramatic car crashes this year. Of the 25 recorded collisions, at least five have seen cars flipped onto their roofs. Luckily there have been no fatalities.

Alex Farrington, 39, is chair of the Croxted Road Residents’ Association and said he is scared for his young children’s safety when he puts them in his car parked outside their house.

“Where I live is one of the notorious spots for speeding,” he said. “Cars whip around the corner. You hear people gunning it at what feels like 60mph. It’s terrifyingly fast.

“I’m worried someone walking down the street is going to end up with a car on top of them. It’s a fatality waiting to happen.”

Mr Farrington had his car written off in June 2021 while it was parked outside his home when another car collided with it and flipped onto its roof. The driver escaped unharmed.

Residents have complained about speeding drivers on the road for more than five years but say it has gotten much worse in the last six months, as speeders to try and overtake those sticking to the 20mph limit on the wide road.

Bends in the road see speeding overtakers collide with cars parked on both sides of the road, residents said.

The latest crash came on November 24, near the junction with Turney Road at around midday. A red Kia hit a parked car and flipped onto its roof, sending the other car into a nearby fence.

A spokesman for the Met said the driver of the car was treated by paramedics but her injuries were deemed not life-threatening or life-changing.

Since that crash, residents started a petition demanding new safety measures for the road. It has received 260 signatures in three days.

They are calling on Lambeth council, who own the road, and Transport for London (TfL), who are responsible for speed cameras in London, to make the necessary changes needed to reduce the collision rate.

Demands for road layout changes, safe crossings and speed cameras were made in a proposal to the agencies in September, but residents say they have heard nothing back.

It is believed the installation of speed cameras has been delayed after reports of a “cost-benefit review process” for all cameras.

Mr Farrington said: “We feel ignored, we have to chase and chase. It’s completely bonkers. An accident could happen during a school run and kill a child while we’re waiting for a decision to be made. There’s a feeling of ‘unless someone dies you don’t get a speed camera’.”

A number of crashes have taken place during school hours and the nearby Rosendale Primary School in Rosendale Road has written a to the MP for the area, Helen Hayes, and councillors around safety for its students.

Another Croxted Road resident, Susan Hirt, said it was “really shocking to witness how many accidents had happened”.

“The horror I feel every time I see an accident knowing how much campaigning is going on,” Susan said. “We’ve had a number of accidents during the school run and one car ended up in someone’s fence. Had a child been there it could’ve been a tragedy.

“While they’re debating this the speeding just carries on.”

Lambeth council deputy leader Rezina Chowdhury said: “We have introduced Lambeth’s Road Danger Reduction Strategy becoming the first London borough to focus on these inequalities and recognise road danger does not affect everyone equally.

“This includes Croxted Road where we will continue to push for road safety improvements in their most suitable form. We know that enforcement also has a role to play in reducing road danger, although as a local council unfortunately we do not have the powers to install speed cameras ourselves. We continue to press for the further rollout of speed cameras by TfL.”

TfL were contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication.

Pictured top: Emergency services attend a collision that saw a car flip on its roof on November 24 (Picture: Jim Rivers)