Neighbours on a busy road in south Wales say they’ve had 19 cars written off because drivers keep crashing into them. Since James Crowley and his family have lived on Chepstow Road in Newport they’ve had ten cars written off, while Andrew Griffiths and his family next door have had seven wrecked in the past decade.
Another neighbour, Gerald Carter, who is 89, has had two cars written off in the last six years - one of which almost ended up in his lounge. After both James and Andrew’s vehicles succumbed to yet another collision late on Sunday evening they repeated their calls for traffic measures to be used to ensure drivers remain alert when travelling down the busy road near the Man of Gwent pub.
It isn’t clear what caused the collision on Sunday evening. James, Andrew and Gerald said they’ve become frustrated at a lack of action over their appeals for help since the accidents began happening over ten years ago.
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“We’ve been promised the world over a response to this and nothing ever seems to be done,” Andrew told WalesOnline. “I wonder whether it’s going to take a fatality before this is taken seriously.”
Father-of-two Andrew claims motorists have “nodded off” after coming off the M4 at the Coldra junction before colliding with his cars. “They come off at the Coldra and seem to just lose concentration and fall asleep and bang. The accidents seem to happen at night or in the early hours of the morning. There is a slight bend at the pub up the road but other than that it’s a straight road.
“It’s unbelievable. We’ve lost seven cars in roughly the last ten years. We lose out every time, it always costs us more money. Our insurance goes up even though it’s a no fault claim. We’re working class families and have worked all our lives. We try to get the most suitable car for us at the price we can afford but every time it ends up costing us more money. We’re waiting now to see what they’re going to offer us for this one [the latest to be written off]. The majority of them we’ve ended up putting four or five grand extra down.
“We need to see some sort of traffic calming in between our houses and the Man of Gwent pub - whether that be rumble strips or a central reservation for example - something to alert the drivers.”
James said: “It appears they drive from the Coldra which is approximately a mile away. If there’s nothing at the Coldra then usually the first cars you’ll see parked on the side of the road are ours.
“More and more so I am worrying about someone being hit rather than a car. We’ve had all sorts but it’s mainly people who fall asleep at the wheel.
“We get no compensation whatsoever. My insurance has gone up and I’ve lost a lot of money. On average every time we get a new car we then lose around £3,000 every time there is an accident.”
Gerald said the road should be monitored more closely with traffic cameras. “The last one that happened to me the car came through my garden wall, knocked the wall down and the car ended up in next to my front window,” he added.
“They ought to put cameras on the road at the pub and one further up the road because it needs to be monitored and something needs to be done. Someone could be killed, and then there will be a hullabaloo. Well I’m going to make a hullabaloo now.”
Local councillors and MS John Griffiths are meeting with the residents affected by the crashes on Friday. In 2020 Inspector Martin Cawley for Gwent Police said the force “is continuing to monitor the situation and will take steps to resolve any issues”.
A spokesman for Newport council said: "The council has received a report of problems along a particular stretch of Chepstow Road. As it is a strategic through road, we are not considering any additional traffic calming measures at this time, but we have offered to facilitate a community speed watch scheme for residents. It should also be noted that Chepstow Road will be defaulted to 20mph under the new default national speed limit which is coming into force in Wales from 17 September 2023. Further information on which streets in Newport will be defaulted to 20mph can be found on our website. https://www.newport.gov.uk/en/Transport-Streets/20mph-streets/20mph-streets.aspx."
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