TWO men remain in hospital following a serious accident along a lane in Smallford at the weekend.

As reported by the Herts Advertiser earlier this week, the collision involving two cars – a Honda Civic and a Kia Rio – happened just after 2pm on Sunday in Oaklands Lane and resulted in three people sustaining serious injuries.

The man driving the Honda, a 28-year-old from St Albans, was taken to the QE11 hospital before being transferred to Addenbrookes Hospital with serious injuries where he was still in a critical condition yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon.

The two people in the other vehicle, a 45-year-old man from Hatfield and a 38-year-old man from St Albans, were taken to the QE11 hospital where one of them is still being treated for serious injuries.

The accident is the latest in a string of collisions along the road this year including an incident which resulted in the death of a runner.

Cllr Chris Brazier pointed out this week that he and local residents had been calling for safety measures to be imposed for drivers and pedestrians for some 10 years. He voiced strong disappointment that no action has been taken.

Craig Tallents, who lives along with Oaklands Lane, has been on the scene of several accidents along the lane this year including the fatal accident in May as well as this weekend’s incident, which he said appeared to involve the Honda spinning into the path of the Kia.

He continued: “We heard a big bang up the road and run out to find two cars had hit each other. One bloke was siting on the roadside, one bloke was lying in the road and a young man was slumped over his steering wheel .

“One of the cars that had stopped was driven by a nurse and so we all backed off. She had a first aid kit and bandaged up the young guy’s head. He had an airway all the time but he was drifting in and out of consciousness. I saw to the guy in the road who I put in the recovery position and tried to get his friend to keep talking to him.”

Mr Tallents said the accidents – which also include a young woman rolling over in her vehicle in May – have occurred at the bend in Oaklands Lane next to the gravel pits and he insisted the problem had worsened this year as more and more drivers used the lane as a rat run.

He said the bend was not only a hazard because it was relatively blind but it was also highly dangerous if taken at the national speed limit, which the road was currently set to. He wants to see it reduced to 40mph and electronic warning signs installed urgently.

And Mr Tallents, who has lived in his house with his wife and two young children for five years, said the cost of installing the safety measures would be meagre compared with the vast resources expended when serious accidents happened.

He added: “It has a major affect on everybody involved and something needs to be done.”

A spokesperson for Herts Highways said: “We have been working closely with the police on their investigations into collisions on this road and await their findings and any recommendations they might make.

“In the meantime, we are trying to find a mutually convenient time to meet with Cllr Brazier to discuss his and residents’ concerns about speeding on this road and how this might be dealt with.”

Anyone who can assist police in their investigation into the accident should call the Road Crash Investigation Unit via the non-emergency number 0845 33 00 222.