Speed limit could be cut on road after death

A speed limit on a road in a town centre could be cut after a pensioner was killed crossing it, a council said.

Anthony Paine, 75, was knocked over by a car whose driver had not seen him crossing North Bar Street in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on 24 March 2023.

Mr Paine, from Warwickshire, used a crossing at about 22:45 GMT but did not wait for traffic lights to change because he thought the road was clear.

Oxfordshire County Council told coroner Nicholas Graham it could reduce its 30mph (48.3km/h) speed limit to 20mph (32.2km/h) as part of a programme to cut road deaths.

Mr Graham said the council should cut the limit following Mr Paine's inquest in January.

He was told that an investigator found that even if the driver had seen Mr Paine, they would have had "insufficient time to react and avoid the collision".

The investigator found the Nissan was being driven at between 29mph (46.6kph) and 36.2mph (58.3kph) when it struck Mr Paine and that, had it been slower, the driver might have been able to react. They were not prosecuted.

In a letter to Mr Graham, the county council's director of environment and highways, Paul Fermer, said North Bar Street had been included in its Vision Zero safety programme.

Subject to consultation and subsequent approval, that could mean the speed limit is cut before the end of the 2025/26 financial year.

It will remain at 30mph until then, he said.

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