A ‘DANGEROUS’ stretch of road could be in line for significant speed limit changes in the wake of ongoing safety concerns.

Oxfordshire County Council is planning to drop the national speed limit down to 40mph on the B4020 Shilton Road leading northwards out of Carterton, while extending the 30mph section.

The proposals cover the area from the edge of the town to the notorious Shilton Dip, where there have been multiple crashes in recent years.

A consultation on the plans closes at midnight tonight and Nicholas Field-Johnson, county councillor for Burford and Carterton North, hopes they are implemented.

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He said: “It’s a very dangerous bit of road, people come charging down into the Dip.

“There have been quite a few accidents beyond that, with cars crashing through the fence into the field.

“It was time to put a speed limit there – I’ve had a couple of near-misses on that road myself.

“With a lot of development going on nearby too, it makes sense.”

Under the plans, the 30mph zone would be extended 150m northwards out of Carterton, before the 40mph section is put in place up to Shilton Dip.

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It follows consultations for the same stretch of road in 2015 and 2017 in response to several new developments nearby, including Swinbrook Park at the northern edge of Carterton.

In the middle of that period came one of the scariest collisions, when a woman veered off the road at the Dip and crashed into a tree.

Emergency services closed both carriageways, while the driver escaped with minor injuries.

Alex Postan, West Oxfordshire district councillor for Brize Norton and Shilton, said safety measures on that stretch of road had been mooted for more than a decade.

He added: “The Dip has never been controlled. It’s a real obstacle for the people that live there.

“It’s not a question of enforcement, it’s a question of guidance.

“If one person does 30mph it’ll slow the rest down. It’s not speed that kills people, drivers do.”

The county council confirmed a report of the consultation will be online next week, before it goes to the cabinet member for transport’s next meeting.

You can comment on the plans at consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk.