There are calls for something to be done about a relatively short stretch of road in Carmarthenshire which on average sees a crash almost once every two days. The A48 between Carmarthen and Pont Abraham has long been complained about as a notorious crash hotspot with a “serious safety issue” and concerns about the suitability of the double carriageway have amplified once more in recent weeks and months after a spate of collisions.
In July a 75-year-old woman was killed in a crash between Cross Hands and Llanddarog while in November three people were killed in crashes between Cross Hands and Pont Abraham. A crash on November 5 on the eastbound side of the A48 near Cwmgwili claimed the life of 90-year-old John Howell Price. Due to the same collision Emily Thornton-Sandy, aged 30, was taken to a Cardiff hospital with serious injuries but died six days later on November 11, while on November 15 Ian Michael Owen, aged, 55, was killed following a collision on the eastbound stretch between Cross Hands and Cwmgwili.
The road itself is only 15 miles long in total running from Pensarn Roundabout on the edge of Carmarthen and Pont Abraham Roundabout which connects to the M4 heading east all the way to the Prince of Wales Bridge and into England. Now statistics obtained by WalesOnline can reveal the huge number of crashes which occur on the A48.
READ MORE: The holiday with wonderful pubs, beaches and walks just 80 miles from Wales
DON’T MISS: Man ‘thought his life was about to end in a muddy field of cows’
Data released by Dyfed-Powys Police via a freedom of information (FOI) request shows there were 169 crashes on the road in the space of just one year between the start of October 2023 and the end of September 2024. The worst spot for crashes along the route was the six-mile stretch between Pensarn Roundabout and the junction for Llanddarog, which saw 38 collisions in the space of 12 months. For the latest Carmarthenshire news sign up to our newsletter here.
Looking at the data over a longer time period the full stretch of carriageway between Pensarn and Pont Abraham saw 1,296 crashes in almost 10 years (between January 2015 and September 2024). Once again the section between Pensarn and Llanddarog was the most likely spot for a crash with 301 incidents across the nearly 10-year period. Safety on the road appears to be getting worse, not better, as a previous FOI submitted to police six years ago revealed that between January 2009 and June 2018 there were 871 collisions between Pensarn and Pont Abraham including six crashes in one day in February 2018, five of which occurred in just one hour.
The speed limit on the road is 70mph, the same limit that applies to the M4 to the east of Pont Abraham heading towards Swansea. However – a major difference with the A48 is the fact that it has several characteristics which would seem totally alien on a motorway. On the eastbound side between Pensarn and Cross Hands there are nine turn-offs and junctions – the vast majority of which do not have slip roads or slip lanes to make turning off easier. There are also seven laybys on the eastbound stretch, two bus stops, and several points where you can legally cross the opposite carriageway. If you are travelling westbound between Cross Hands and Pensarn you will pass eight turn-offs or junctions – only two of which are preceded by slip roads. There are also six laybys on this section, two bus stops, and various opportunities to cross over the eastbound carriageway.
The A48 showing vehicles approaching Pensarn Roundabout in Carmarthen -Credit:WalesOnline/Gayle Marsh
In 2020 the Welsh Government commissioned a WelTAG (Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance) study into the safety of the A48 specifically between Pensarn Roundabout and Cross Hands Roundabout. Four years on no substantial changes have been made to the carriageway on either side. When pressed on the matter after a fatal crash on the road in July a spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “We were saddened to hear of the fatal collision last week and await the police report. We are implementing safety improvements on this section of the road following a transport appraisal. We are working with Carmarthenshire Council on a range of safety improvements including speed considerations and closure of junctions between Cross Hands and Pensarn.”
MS Adam Price represents the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency in the Senedd, the area of Carmarthenshire where the A48 dual carriageway is located. He has called on the Welsh Government to do more to improve safety on the road. “I was deeply concerned to learn that there had been further fatal incidents on the A48 [in November] and my thoughts go out to all those involved,” he said. “These statistics indicate that there is a serious safety issue along this stretch of road.
“I understand that the Welsh Government has previously carried out a study on the A48 and its safet, but the number of incidents is still far too high. A road traffic incident every other day demonstrates the scale of the problem here. I urge the cabinet secretary for transport to further investigate these issues and to introduce measures to improve road safety on the A48.”
When pressed on the matter again recently a Welsh Government spokesman added: “We take road safety very seriously and regularly monitor police records including personal injury collision data to inform engineering measures to improve road safety on the strategic road network. This monitoring includes the section of previously-improved road in 2012 between Cross Hands and Pont Abraham which involved closing and modifying gaps in the central reserve and accesses on the A48.
“We are currently developing a road safety scheme on the A48 between Cross Hands and Carmarthen. Options are being looked at which will be subject to consultation before the works programme is finalised. It is likely to include similar improvements to the Cross Hands to Pont Abraham scheme with central reserve gap closures and possibly speed reduction measures.” They added that the scheme is likely to be delivered “during the next financial year”.