Motorists on Queens Drive face 'significant inconsistencies', a new report has revealed.

Swindon Borough Council is poised to reduce the speed limit on the busy road from 40mph to 30mph, after a string of crashes caused concerns from residents.

When members of the cabinet meet to discuss cutting the speed limit, they will learn the details of the cause and consequences of those collisions.

The report, which recommends cutting the speed limit between the Drakes Way roundabout and Whitbourne Avenue, follows a motion passed by the council last year which called for a study of the road and an assessment of the speed limit and any safety implications.

The report to cabinet recommends that the members instruct officers to begin the work necessary to drop the speed limit.

It says: “The physical features of the corridor give the impression that Queens Drive has an open aspect which could be said to influence driver perception of the environment, leading to higher vehicle speeds.

“This dual carriageway has been changed significantly since originally constructed with many ad-hoc alterations and changes to the layout. There are partial bus lanes that are in force for part of a day a change in speed limit part way along, a variety of lane arrangements and junction layouts. There are significant inconsistencies for drivers travelling along the corridor.

“There are high numbers of pedestrians crossing at school/college times, with further increases in movement as schools expand and also due to the New College campus. Recent infilling of two subways, in favour of at-grade controlled crossings, has increased pedestrian movements across the road.”

Attached to the report is a breakdown of the collisions. A note says: “Although average speeds are within the posted limits, speed has been identified by Wiltshire Police as a contributing factor in 22 per cent of collisions.”

The report details the 37 accidents on the road in the five years between February 2018 and January 2023, with three being classed as serious and 34 as slight. There were no fatal collisions.

Two of the serious collisions involved collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians. One in October 2022 saw two pedestrians hurt badly, while another within a month in November saw three casualties, including a child, injured.

The other serious incident in March 2022 involved a collision between a car and a motorcycle, with the casualty falling off the back of the motorbike.

Five of the collisions involved a motor vehicle, including one motorcycle, being driven through red lights, including the collision where three pedestrians were hit while using a signalled crossing.

Another cause of collisions was the conflict caused when cyclists joined the road from the footpath alongside.

Looking at the 37 collisions as a whole the report says: “For the 37 accidents, 93 likely or possible factors were listed.

Of these, the largest three groups were: failure to look properly – 31 per cent; failure to judge other person’s path or speed – 15 per cent; careless/reckless/in a hurry – 12 per cent.

The causation factors can be broken down into four main groups: driver behaviour – 83 per cent; external conditions – six per cent; vehicle conditions – three per cent;  external/outside factors – eight per cent.

The single worst location for collisions is the area around the junction with Somerville Road, south of Drakes roundabout, where there were seven collisions, six on the southbound carriageway. The next worst was the area around the junction with Whitbourne Avenue with six, five on the southbound carriageway.

The cabinet meeting begins at 6pm on Wednesday at the Civic Offices in Euclid Street.