Hampshire mum demands action after second near miss on ‘terrifying’ crossing in Lowford

Near misses at a busy crossing are getting worse, a mother has warned, after her family was involved in two incidents on the same stretch of road in just three years.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment Juliet Mayne’s seven-year-old daughter and her friend were narrowly missed by a car as they tried to use the zebra crossing.

The close call comes only three years after Juliet and her family were almost hit by a bus on the same crossing in early 2023.

Juliet, 43, who has lived in Lowford for nine years, said she was walking home with two seven-year-olds – her daughter and her friend – and her four-year-old when the latest incident happened on Portsmouth Road.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said: “I was a couple of feet behind my daughter and her friend when they stopped, and my daughter put her foot on the crossing.

“This driver zoomed past us, really closely, only about a foot from us. So much so I put my arm out on protective instinct to shield the girls. The driver went past without a care in the world. They were driving way too fast for that bit of road.”

She said near misses on the crossing have now become a feature of daily life for many residents.

Juliet added: “Everyone local knows you have to be really careful along Portsmouth Road. It is terrifying how often this seems to happen.

“This sort of incident must have happened to me about 20 times in nine years. I use the crossing on a daily basis.”

Juliet believes more must be done by Hampshire County Council to force drivers to slow down.

She said: “We really need another lollipop person, or the council could raise the crossing, or have sleeping policemen along the road.

“If it was a raised crossing, you would hope that would slow people down, so that could be a solution.”

She said problems have worsened as Portsmouth Road is increasingly used as a cut-through, particularly at rush hour, by drivers trying to avoid Windhover Roundabout.

Paul Holmes, Conservative MP for Hamble Valley, said he is “sympathetic to residents” having worked on this issue “for many years”.

He said: “The problem is real and the safety issues severe. Unfortunately, this is another case of a lack of action by Hampshire County Council and I am continuously pushing for action, which I’ll continue to do.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: “We understand the concerns raised and have carefully reviewed the data for this route. Since the completion of safety improvement works in 2023 which included upgraded Belisha beacons, enhanced street lighting, carriageway resurfacing and revised road markings to improve visibility, no injury collisions have been recorded at the zebra crossing itself. The county council has limited resources and therefore must focus these on road safety improvements at locations where evidence shows that measures will reduce incidents and have the greatest impact. 

“We are working in partnership with Eastleigh Borough Council to explore future transport improvements across the borough and will be seeking residents’ views next year on a draft plan. We would encourage residents to take part in the consultation when it launches, as feedback will help identify local priorities and inform future funding opportunities and investment decisions.”