A34 overtaking lorry ban supported

Lorries could be banned from overtaking on a 34-mile stretch of road in Oxfordshire and Berkshire following a vote by councillors.

Didcot East councillor Patrick Greene put forward the motion to reduce accidents on the A34 between Junction 13 of the M4 and Junction 9 of the M40.

Earlier at an Oxfordshire County Council meeting it received 51 votes in favour and nine abstentions.

A letter will now be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport.

Mr Greene said: "A lot of problems are caused by these HGVs overtaking each other and that frustrates the ordinary driver."

His motion said the council was "concerned and alarmed at the recent number of major traffic accidents".

But Rhys Williams, the Oxfordshire area manager for the Road Haulage Association, said new regulations would cause "mass congestion".

"What you'll end up having is convoys of trucks tailgating... that's going to cause a safety hazard to other road users who can't enter or exit the A34."