🚨 Calling for an Urgent Road Safety Review of the White Horse Hill Road (B4507)   - Before Another Life Is Lost

Help Make the B4507 Between Wantage and Uffington Safer

Petition to Oxfordshire County Council
Addressed to:

Leader of Oxfordshire County Council
Cabinet Member for Transport Management
Oxfordshire County Council Highways
Oxfordshire County Council Traffic Regulation Team
Decision Maker: Oxfordshire County Council (Highway Authority)

 
On 23 June 2026, our community was devastated when a 32-year-old motorcyclist tragically lost his life following a collision at the Dragon Hill Road/Broadway Road junction on the B4507, known locally as the White Horse Hill Road.

Many people within our community attended the scene or were deeply affected by this tragic incident. While nothing can undo what has happened, we have an opportunity to learn from it and ensure that every reasonable step is taken to reduce the risk of future tragedies.

This petition is not about assigning blame for any individual collision. The cause of every collision is a matter for the ongoing police investigation.

However, this tragedy has highlighted long-standing concerns shared by many local residents about the safety of this stretch of road. As regular users of the B4507 between Wantage and Uffington, many of us have observed issues including restricted visibility at junctions during the growing season due to overgrown hedgerows and verges, deteriorating carriageway condition in places, and concerns about whether the current road layout and approach speeds remain appropriate for a fast-moving national speed limit road.

In particular, the approach to the Dragon Hill Road junction from the Wantage direction includes a pronounced dip in the carriageway. Vehicles frequently accelerate as they climb out of this dip before immediately encountering the junction. Combined with restricted visibility for drivers emerging from Dragon Hill Road, we believe this location should be carefully assessed to determine whether the current layout, visibility and approach speeds provide an appropriate level of safety.

Using the Department for Transport's publicly available STATS19 collision data, police-recorded injury collisions have been identified at and around this junction spanning more than twenty years, together with the recent fatal collision in 2026.

These publicly available records suggest that the recent fatal collision is not an isolated incident but forms part of a history of recorded injury collisions at or around this location.

While road safety is influenced by many factors, including driver behaviour, vehicle condition, weather and road design, we believe it is entirely reasonable that a location with a history of police-recorded injury collisions should now be subject to a comprehensive, evidence-based review to determine whether further improvements could reduce the risk of future collisions.

We are calling on Oxfordshire County Council to:

Carry out an urgent Road Safety Audit of the B4507 at the Dragon Hill Road/Broadway Road junction.
Review whether the current national speed limit remains appropriate for this section of road, particularly where drivers are required to emerge from side roads onto a fast-moving carriageway.
Assess the road layout, junction geometry and the approach from the pronounced dip to determine whether vehicle approach speeds are appropriate for the location.
Review whether advance warning of the junction is adequate for motorists travelling at the legal speed limit.
Introduce a scheduled verge and hedgerow maintenance programme throughout the growing season to ensure visibility splays remain clear before vegetation reaches a hazardous level.
Carry out traffic speed and traffic volume surveys to establish actual vehicle speeds and traffic movements through this section of road.
Carry out a detailed inspection of the carriageway surface, including potholes, edge deterioration, rutting and general surface wear, and undertake repairs or resurfacing where necessary.
Consider any engineering improvements identified through the Road Safety Audit, including:

"SLOW" carriageway markings.
Enhanced junction warning signs.
Vehicle-activated speed warning signs.
Improved road markings.
High-friction road surfacing.
Any other measures identified through the Road Safety Audit.
Publish previous Road Safety Audits, traffic surveys, collision history, carriageway condition reports and any previous speed limit reviews relating to this section of the B4507.

This petition does not ask Oxfordshire County Council to determine the cause of any individual collision. It asks only that the Council undertakes a comprehensive, evidence-based review of this section of road to establish whether improvements to visibility, road design, maintenance or speed management could reduce the risk of future collisions.

Every road user deserves to travel safely.

If improvements to visibility, road design, carriageway condition or speed management could help prevent another family experiencing the same heartbreak, then every reasonable measure should be explored.

Every signature demonstrates that our community supports an urgent review of road safety on the White Horse Hill Road (B4507).

Please sign and share this petition.

Together, we can help ensure that every reasonable step is taken to make this road safer before another life is lost.