Calls to cut speed on notorious stretch

Fordingbridge Mayor Malcolm Connolly told the Journal that the accident rate had dropped on the notorious 17 miles road in parts where the speed limit had been reduced.

He said the "proof was in the pudding" and now is calling for the speed limit to drop from 60mph to 50mph between Ringwood and Fordingbridge.

He said: "Fordingbridge Town Council have approached Hampshire County Council and Ringwood Town Council to extend the 50mph speed limit between Fordingbridge and Ringwood.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the number of casualties on the A338 has reduced where the speed limit of 50mph has been put in place.

"Life is always a terrible loss but when it can be averted people need to take responsibility for their actions."

Investigations into whether the speed limit should be reduced have been welcomed by Ringwood Mayor Michael Thierry, who has mooted a joint meeting between both councils.

Mr Thierry said: "I am grateful to Mr Connolly for raising whether 60mph is quite the right speed over some stretches along the A338.

"Ringwood and Fordingbridge town councils should meet together in a united effort with a shared goal.

"I would like to see the idea of reducing the speed limit in stretches between Fordingbridge and Ringwood, placed as an agenda item for the planning and transport committee."

A 75-year-old man, believed to be from South Wales, died just outside Ringwood on June 1.

Two air ambulances were sent to the scene of the crash.

Inspector Gary Munt confirmed the man had died, possibly as a result of a medical episode.

He said: “The man was alive when paramedics arrived, but he was in cardiac arrest. The indication is that he died possibly from a medical episode. He had no other obvious injuries.”

In May, cyclist Richard White, 70, was killed on the same road after he was struck by a vehicle that failed to stop just outside Fordingbridge.