A NOTORIOUS road will become a no-overtaking zone, after a man involved in a crash there campaigned to make it safer.

Ian Sephton says he is ‘delighted’ that double white lines will be installed in Harvil Road, from the start of the 50mph limit zone on the edge of Ickenham just before the railway bridge at Skip Lane.

In a letter, Hillingdon Council has thanked him for alerting it to the issue and said the lines would be installed ‘as soon as feasibly possible’.

Mr Sephton, who lives in Barrington Drive, Harefield, said he ‘could not have lived with himself’ if he had not done anything following the accident – and now he can’t wait for the work to be completed.

“While I felt it was so obvious that action was needed, it was made clear to me that finances are limited and so there would be competition for funds,” he said.

“My view has always been, for the sake of two white lines and a couple of ‘no overtaking’ signs, lives would be saved for very little cost.

“And it looks like they agree.”

Ian Sephton and his wife Pam picking up their new car after their old one was written off

In January, Mr Sephton requested a meeting with the council highways maintenance manager. Instead, he was sent a road safety suggestion form to fill in, in which he suggested painting lines.

Hillingdon Council’s deputy chief executive, Jean Palmer, told the Gazette that signs, road markings and anti-skid surfacing have already been applied to Harvil Road but the authority
always welcomes more improvement ideas.

Last November, Mr Sephton was driving towards Ickenham with his wife in their Peugeot 206 when a car overtook another, not seeing the Sephton’s car because of the dip in the road.

All three cars collided, and although no one was hurt, Mr Sephton said it was a close call.

The Metropolitan Police says in the five years to last September there had been one fatal accident and 28 collisions involving injury, ranging from the minor to serious, in the entire length of Harvil Road.