Skip to content

MP welcomes lower speed limit plan on deadly road

Matty EdwardsWest of England
News imageBBC A woman with mid-short blonde hair standing by a police car on a road.BBC
Lib Dem MP Anna Sabine has long campaigned for improved safety on the deadly road

An MP has welcomed plans to reduce the speed limit at an accident 'hotspot' where six people have died in the last three years.

Somerset Council has announced proposals to cut the speed limit on the A361 Frome Bypass from 60mph to 50mph, in response to numerous fatal crashes.

Anna Sabine, Lib Dem MP for Frome and East Somerset, said this was a "good first step" but called for a feasibility study into bigger changes to the 'dangerous' junctions.

The council will now consult on the speed limit reduction, which would come into force as early as May when resurfacing works are due to take place.

Four people lost their lives in crashes on the A361 in 2024, including a woman in her 20s in April, two women on Marston Road south of Frome in May, and a man in a crash between a motorbike and a lorry in August.

Safety improvements were introduced in 2024 following the raft of fatal crashes, including better signing and road markings, as well cutting back vegetation.

Then in August 2025, AI cameras were trialled in a bid to curb dangerous driving, including people using their mobile phones or not wearing a seatbelt.

'A good first step'

Sabine said she was "really pleased" to hear about the plans to lower the speed limit.

"Long term, I'd love there to be structural changes that would improve things, but improving the speed limit has got to be a good first step."

She called for a feasibility study on making changes to junctions with the A362 and Warminster Road, which are "a real blackspot".

The MP added she was moved when she met the parents of Madison and Liberty North who died in a crash in July 2023.

"If you'd met them, you would know how important it is that we resolve it so no more young people lose their lives at these junctions."

News imageAn A-road leading into a roundabout
The A361, to the east of Frome, has been the site of many crashes in recent years

The council is also planning other safety improvements to bypass, including cutting back vegetation and new road markings that will make a noise when driven over.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council's lead member for transport said: "We are developing further plans for making this road safer.

"We share the concerns of the community about the number of incidents on this stretch of road."

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.