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MP calls for stronger safety measures on frequent accident stretch on Middle Road, Southampton

Emergency services dealt with four traffic accidents resulting in injury during Friday’s public holiday.And one of the crashes has prompted an MP to call for better safety measures on the road in question.No-one was seriously hurt in any of the accidents, which took place in Smith’s, Sandys, Warwick and Southampton. There was also a collision in St George’s on Thursday evening.That crash, involving a motorcycle and a taxi, happened at about 6.40pm on the Causeway.The male motorcyclist, a 51-year-old from Hamilton Parish, was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance for treatment for a leg injury.The cabbie, a 36-year-old Pembroke man, was not injured but traffic was delayed in the area.The first of Friday’s accidents happened at 2.30am on South Road in Smith’s, near the junction with Saucos Hill.A car travelling along South Road collided with a wall. The driver, a 29-year-old Sandys parish man, was taken to KEMH via ambulance for non-serious injuries.At 11.40am, there was a collision between a car and a motorcycle on Middle Road in Southampton, near the junction with Alton Hill.Police said the bike was travelling along Middle Road and the car was exiting a private driveway when the two vehicles collided.The motorcycle rider, a 20-year-old Southampton man, and his pillion passenger, a 14-year-old boy, received “relatively minor injuries”.The car driver, a 27-year-old Pembroke woman, was uninjured. Both vehicles were damaged and traffic was delayed.Just before 1pm, a car and a motorcycle collided at the junction of Middle Road and Spring Benny Road in Sandys.The motorcycle rider and pillion passenger, both 23-year-old women from Sandys, suffered leg injuries and went in an ambulance to KEMH.The car driver, a 27-year-old Sandys parish woman, was uninjured but traffic was delayed.Finally, at about 1.30pm, there was a single-vehicle accident on South Road in Warwick, near the junction with Warwickshire Drive.A 38-year-old American woman riding a rental cycle fell off the vehicle and it then collided with a tree, receiving extensive damage.The visitor was taken to KEMH via ambulance as a precaution and, according to police, was later released, apparently uninjured.The incident in Southampton prompted constituency MP Charlie Swan to call for safety measures in the area.The politician, elected under the United Bermuda Party, said it came just a couple of weeks after another accident less than quarter of a mile away.“That’s a stretch of road through a part of Bermuda where I would like to see something done,” he said. “It’s in my constituency and there have been a few accidents.”Mr Swan said traffic-calming measures such as those on Crow Lane would be ideal.He said it was thankful no-one was badly hurt in Friday’s accident, near SAL and the Granaway Heights estate, but claimed traffic did get “backed up for a mile”.He said he was pleased to see vehicles diverted via the Railway Trail. Mr Swan said a few busy estate roads entered directly onto Middle Road and there were two stretches of the main road where it was tempting to overtake or speed.He suggested a crosswalk with a flashing light was needed, as well as mirrors and permanent access to Middle Road for traffic via the Railway Trail. No-one in Government could be reached yesterday for comment.